New Oskaloosa brewery steal Peace Tree's beer name?

[Gonzo]

In her mind it was ok for them to use it because she considered New Glarus' usage a sub-title of the beer, so it was used in a different context.

You would think this new brewery could use the same argument, in that it's the name of their brewery and not a beer

Exactly. She shrugs off that the phrase was already being used as part of the name for a New Glarus beer, but gets high and mighty about this. Her rationale that New Glarus was using it "as a descriptor of the style" is pretty weak. It's part of the the New Glarus beer's name. And New Glarus is brewed what, barely 4-5 hours away from Pella? Lame.

 

[intrepid27]

I read an article in a beer magazine about 3 years ago predicting a rash of this sort of thing. With over 11,000 craft breweries in the US they will run out of good names. And very few register or trademark beer names.

 

[baller21]

You think if Pulpit Rock would have named themselves Psuedo Sue instead it would have gone over well?

 

[A-1]

In her mind it was ok for them to use it because she considered New Glarus' usage a sub-title of the beer, so it was used in a different context.

You would think this new brewery could use the same argument, in that it's the name of their brewery and not a beer

Sure they could. I think the reason they are so upset is that they came through their brewery to tour and used the name afterwards even when asked not to. Not to mention they will be distributed in the same state.

Exactly. She shrugs off that the phrase was already being used as part of the name for a New Glarus beer, but gets high and mighty about this. Her rationale that New Glarus was using it "as a descriptor of the style" is pretty weak. It's part of the the New Glarus beer's name. And New Glarus is brewed what, barely 4-5 hours away from Pella? Lame.

I would venture a guess that they did not tour New Glarus then use the name even when asked not to. New Glarus and PeaceTree don't distribute in the same states either. Just my take on the situation.

 

[NickTheGreat]

IMO, Peace Tree would be better off putting their time/money into their BEER.

 

[Gonzo]

I would venture a guess that they did not tour New Glarus then use the name even when asked not to. New Glarus and PeaceTree don't distribute in the same states either. Just my take on the situation.

I'm not saying it isn't kind of a **** move. Just that she has little room to talk since they knew New Glarus was using it and decided to use it anyways. I didn't know Peace Tree didn't distribute in Wisconsin, there's always the chance they'll cross paths at some point.

 

[Schfinkter]

Musco is in Osky. They light the biggest/best stadiums in the world. Pretty smart stuff.

Musco HQ is in Muscatine. Been to the plant a hundred times. They also have McDonalds in Osky, but I don't think they 're responsible for the empire. Osky is only topped in ******** per capita by Pella.

Nice try Macloney, but Musco's HQ is most certainly in Osky. I have family that works there. The manufacturing plant is in Muscatine.

 

[Schfinkter]

So wouldn't New Glarus have already established common law rights? Sounds like they were using it first.

If they were getting married, then yes there is an argument to be made.

 

[JP4CY]

I'm not saying it isn't kind of a **** move. Just that she has little room to talk since they knew New Glarus was using it and decided to use it anyways. I didn't know Peace Tree didn't distribute in Wisconsin, there's always the chance they'll cross paths at some point.

NG doesn't distribute outside of Wisky.

 

[JP4CY]

The Iowa Taproom
3 hrs ·
I want to make sure everyone knows I have and my businesses have been big supporters of Peace Tree Brewing from their beginning. We have also been big supporters of all Iowa Breweries since the start of our businesses. We even built a place in honor and support of Iowa Breweries, which couldn't have happened without the support of our state's breweries and fans. Our support of Iowa Breweries is the point I want to make, we support them in their successes and their miss steps. It is tough starting a business, but even tougher staying relevant to the fans and customers of that business. This is why I have chosen to post-pone our event with the new Oskaloosa brewery to a future date. Thanks for your support! Jeff "Bruno" Bruning, owner

 

[Gonzo]

NG doesn't distribute outside of Wisky.

Knew that, sadly, didn't know PT doesn't distribute in Wisky.

 

[Cybyassociation]

IMO, Peace Tree would be better off putting their time/money into their BEER.

I mean, Blonde Fatale won a gold medal in the World Beer Cup a few years back and many other awards...but yeah man, sure.

I've got lots of opinions on this subject, especially as a beer snob. Once I have a free minute today, I'll chime in with more detail.

 

[Bret44]

Not a huge Fatale fan, but I really, really like No Coast and the Grapefruit No Coast. I think they are fantastic beers.

 

[MrPeske]

The No Coast Beer Co is owned by Mahaska Bottling Co (www.mahaska.com) which is a Pepsi distributor and has a big distribution area ( CA, IL, IA, KS, MO, NE, NY, SD & TX), I dont think PT sells outside of Iowa. Seems like PT is upset not just with the name but feel like they are a springboard of sorts for a bigger company. Like No Coast Beer wont have to pay the dues of a small company trying to make it.

it will be interesting to see how this shakes out. The Iowa Breweries seem to embrace each other for the most part, well except for here. Other breweries will have their opinions which may or may not support PT. I'll guess most will.

In more interesting news Confluence is doubling their space & adding a canning line to their space with an improved outdoor deck complete with add'l taps for outside pours. Hell yeah.

 

[Al_4_State]

I'm not the world's biggest Peace Tree fan, but No Coast is a great f'ing beer.

 

[Al_4_State]

The No Coast Beer Co is owned by Mahaska Bottling Co (www.mahaska.com) which is a Pepsi distributor and has a big distribution area ( CA, IL, IA, KS, MO, NE, NY, SD & TX), I dont think PT sells outside of Iowa. Seems like PT is upset not just with the name but feel like they are a springboard of sorts for a bigger company. Like No Coast Beer wont have to pay the dues of a small company trying to make it.

it will be interesting to see how this shakes out. The Iowa Breweries seem to embrace each other for the most part, well except for here. Other breweries will have their opinions which may or may not support PT. I'll guess most will.

In more interesting news Confluence is doubling their space & adding a canning line to their space with an improved outdoor deck complete with add'l taps for outside pours. Hell yeah.

Great news on Confluence. They do a great job of making a wide range of styles really well, and not getting too attached to a particular trend. Good beer, without much pretense. It'll be nice to go to the liquor store and grab some cans.

 

[DeereClone]

I want to be the guy that thinks of craft beer names and rodeo bull names for a living. Best job ever.

 

[JP4CY]

In more interesting news Confluence is doubling their space & adding a canning line to their space with an improved outdoor deck complete with add'l taps for outside pours. Hell yeah.

Doubling their space as in production alone, or some more tap room space?
Did they acquire space adjacent to their part of the building?

 

[Cybyassociation]

Maybe its just me, but seems like a tad bit of over-reaction by Peace Tree. The whole "No Coast" phrase is not in any way unique to them, and the term was around long before they labeled their IPA with it. To me, they cant really complain when "no coast" was used in the New Glarus IPA, and they still used it.

So it's ok for PT to snake the term from New Glarus, but after a bout of logical contortionism, it's not ok for someone else to use it. Got it. Get a lawyer and copyright that shite and you won't have this problem. Fair game.

As someone else pointed out, neither of these breweries overlap distribution. Secondly, NG using No Coast as a descriptor does matter. What is the name of TG's lager? Anyone? Dorothy's? Wrong. It's actually Dorothy's New World Lager. New World is the descriptor of the beer. It's a "California Common" which was one of the first new styles of beer created in the United States. Samuel Adam's New World (belgian tripel) and Avery New World Porter (porter) are two examples or beers with the same name as TG's descriptor.

No Coast Pale Ale in the case of New Glarus, is the same thing as saying, Hoppy Red Ale.

You think if Pulpit Rock would have named themselves Psuedo Sue instead it would have gone over well?

This however, is one of the best points. Pulpit Rock's brewers came from TG. If they were to name their brewery PseudoSue, or better yet, New World brewing, I'm sure it would raise some eyebrows.

Agree. Coasting being an intergral part of the fermentation process, its like getting mad over the use of the term high gravity. If you are beer savy you use the nomenclature...

Coasting? What the heck are you talking about? No Coast refers to the fact of Midwest being in the middle of the country and having "no coast".

I read an article in a beer magazine about 3 years ago predicting a rash of this sort of thing. With over 11,000 craft breweries in the US they will run out of good names. And very few register or trademark beer names.

Great point, the problem is the brewers for NoCoast toured Peace Tree just months ago AND commented about how much they liked the name No Coast.

Couple of other things:

Hop onto Twitter and type in NoCoast Brewing...first thing popping up: North Coast Brewing, commonly abbreviated No. Coast Brewing. Looking at mentions, many people are tagging NoCoast brewing mistakenly thinking they were tagging North Coast. This in itself is a branding problem.

As a bartender, right now, if someone asked for a No Coast, I know exactly what they are looking for. They're looking for a Peace Tree No Coast IPA. If I asked someone if they've ever had a No Coast, chances are, if they have, they'll think of Peace Tree's No Coast IPA. Their brand is already strong, whether you like their beer or not or think they're a good brewery or not. If NoCoast brewing enters the market and someone orders a No Coast, now I have to ask the customer to clarify.

Peace Tree has lots to lose by changing the branding of No Coast. NoCoast has not even established themselves yet.

 

[2020cy]

As stated before, the beer snobs are getting out of control. Now criticizing decent craft beers as that's not good enough for them. Wow.