There are times in battle when
the general must decide whether to retreat and reassess the situation or
continue head-long into the melee without proper understanding of the enemy
thus facing almost certain annihilation.
Strange Brew Beer & Wine Making Supplies, the Massachusetts homebrew
supply store that’s been antagonizing Strange Brewing Company lately, chose the
latter path by issuing this statement:
Attention loyal customers, friends of Strange Brew, and
others who care to hear the whole story and who care about the truth.
As you may have recently heard, Strange Brew
is in the midst of a trademark dispute with a small two year old start-up
microbrewery in Colorado that “coincidentally” has decided to call itself
“Strange Brewing Company.” Simply put, they are trying to profit from the
valuable reputation and the good will that we have built up over the last 16
years in our brand. They have admitted they knew of us and our name when
they started, but apparently they thought they would just slip under the radar.
We have demanded that they stop, but instead of facing up to the situation,
they have decided to “fight back” by stirring up a social media lynch mob, trashing
us and our lawyer for protecting our brand. This has included several
media posts that contain a completely inaccurate distortion of the real
situation. This is becoming a distraction and it is time to set the
record straight. Enough is enough. Draw any conclusions you want,
but please don’t do so until you have all the facts. Please consider the
following.
Strange Brew LLC. in Marlborough
Massachusetts is a small, family owned business, that has been in existence
since 1997. We are a “local business” just like Strange Brewing Company.
We sell quality products, just like they do. We have worked hard for
years to provide quality home-brewing supplies and brewing advice to the local,
national, and international brewing community. We currently hold a federal
trademark for both beer, and beer and winemaking supplies. We are, in short, no
bigger than the folks in Denver, the only difference is that we have been
around for almost two decades, selling quality products and slowly building a
valuable brand. We have taken the right steps to protect our brand, like
any other well run business, and for that we are now being branded as
bullies. We sell supplies through a number of retail, and online outlets,
including dozens of current customers in Colorado, a place that has become one
of the standout microbrewery capitals of the country, and we’re proud to be a
part of it.
We are also currently in the process of
opening a small brewery in Massachusetts. Through the years we have also sold
beer products, and we are now focused on expanding that division as our
business continues to grow.
Strange Brewing Co. has admitted that they
were aware of us when they started their own business using our name. They have
stated their belief that due to our geographic distance, and the fact that they
only sell beer, not beer supplies, there should be no reason to complain.
Here is the problem. First, like it or not, their decision to copy our
name is causing confusion. We live in a wireless, digital age where
geographic factors are more irrelevant each day. The fact that we are on
the East Coast is meaningless. We continually do business with our
Colorado customers, and have repeatedly had customers, both from Colorado and
elsewhere, comment to us that they tried “our beer” in Denver. Some
of our vendors and suppliers have also been confused, and in a couple of cases
we were unable to purchase supplies on credit because of a negative credit
reference that arose after payments were mistakenly applied to the wrong
account, due to the similarity in our names. Finally, we have been
unfairly portrayed as trying to “steal” their name, as if this is a David and
Goliath scenario in which we are some corporate giant, like Starbucks or
Coca-Cola, mercilessly picking on the little guy. That’s just not the
case. They try to portray us as thieves – but who is the real
thief here? The ones who have been around since 1997 or the ones who
decided to copy our brand less than two years ago, instead of doing it the old
fashioned way and coming with a brand of their own? Who is stealing from
whom?
We have to protect our assets, just like any
small business trying to make it in today’s world. We have struggled hard
to get where we are, not through harassing our competitors with some social
media rant, but through selling good products and backing up our
brand. We would be disloyal to our customers and our families if we
didn’t try to protect what we have earned. To maintain OUR federal
trademark rights, we cannot allow another similar business to use our name and
hijack the good will we have earned.
We were forced to hire a lawyer and send a
cease and desist letter to the infringing company.
Knowing that they have no legal defense here, Strange
Brewing Company in Colorado has decided, rather than to face up to the mistake
they made, to start a social media war, hoping that they can beat us into
submission. Fortunately, the U.S. system of justice is not about
popularity contests, or who is better at sending anonymous (but easily
traceable) hate mail through web portals. It is based on application
of the law to the facts, and in this case, if necessary, a court is going to
find that the Strange Brewing Company has infringed our trademark rights.
It’s that simple. They claim that they want to avoid a costly legal battle and
collaborate, but their only offer has been to allow us to clone their recipe
kits. How exactly is that fair? They copy our valuable name, and then “offer” to
let us sell their product? Seriously? We too would prefer to spend
our time and money doing something besides going to court, but if that is the
only offer on the table, then thanks but no thanks. We have to, and
will, protect our brand and the 16-year investment we have made, and we are
tired of playing games.
I do not
personally know the people from Strange Brewing Company. I am sure that they
make good beer, and work hard and they obviously have a loyal following, but
the issue of integrity and personal responsibility seems somehow to have been
lost. I was ready to assume that they were also ‘nice guys’ but I
question their approach to dealing with this clear-cut legal matter. They
have posted our privileged legal communications in an attempt to paint themselves
as the victim here. Not so – if there is a victim here it is us, not
them. The local Denver press seems to have picked up on this as well, but
so far not one of the journalists has bothered to get our side of the story or
even attempt to get their facts straight.
‘Someone’ started a Facebook page called
‘Keep Strange Brewing Strange’ in support of the company that is currently
infringing upon our trademark. This campaign is picking up steam, and spreading
slanderous, hateful speech, which is causing damage to the brand that we have
spent decades building.
We were forced to temporarily suspend our Facebook page while we deal with the barrage of untrue and hateful
comments about Strange Brew. The site is back up now, but our Yelp rating
is dropping fast. Please don’t let this happen. We also invite you
to come sample our products as well, and maybe you will understand the
reputation we have worked so hard to earn.
While I am always hesitant to ask for help, I
don’t think I can handle this alone.
Any support you can provide would be greatly
appreciated.
Thank you,
Brian Powers
Strange Brew
Beer and Beer and Winemaking Supplies
Beer and Beer and Winemaking Supplies
Keep Strange Brewing Strange, the Facebook page created to help fight this injustice, rebutted by
saying this:
Fellow Strangers!
A couple of announcements:
1. The Strange Brew Shop Facebook page is back up. If you'd like to continue giving them a piece of your mind, please do so in a decent manner.
2. Brian Powers, the owner of Strange Brew Shop in Marlboro, Mass. has left an open letter on the original Westword article, his company's facebook page, and here on the Keep Strange Brewing Strange page. Read and respond if you like.
3. This page was not started by the guys at Strange BrewING. It was started by a fan of Strange BrewING. So Mr. Powers has his facts wrong.
4. I'd suggest you get down to Strange BrewING as soon as possible to try the Munich Dunkel. No word yet if the producers of the movie "Munich" will be suing, though there have been hints that Dunkin' Donuts might. Must be a Massachusetts thing, because we don't play that way in Denver, AKA Brew City USA.
Stay thirsty, stay happy, stay STRANGE!
And here’s what I have to
say, in no particular order, about the hubbub:
· The Other Strange said “Simply put, they are trying to profit from
the valuable reputation and the good will that we have built up over the last
16 years in our brand.” Strange is
trying to profit off of you? You’ve been in business for 16 years and your
Facebook page has 167 likes, Strange has been open for about 2.5 years and they
have 2,615 likes. If anything, you’re
profiting off of them! How good could your reputation be if you can’t
even accrue a decent following?
· Other Strange: “To maintain OUR federal trademark rights, we cannot allow another
similar business to use our name and hijack the good will we have earned.”
First off, if you had any good will
you’ve lost it due to this frivolousness lawsuit. That’s your fault and nobody else’s. Secondly—and it’s been said ad nauseam but Other Strange still doesn’t understand—there are a lot of businesses with the name “Strange Brew” so there must be a
lot of “hijackers” out there that need to be confronted. Plus, speaking of trademarks, there’s still no explanation
why Other Strange ripped-off the dancing bear logo from The Grateful Dead.
·
“We sell supplies through a number of retail, and online outlets,
including dozens of current customers in Colorado, a place that has become one
of the standout microbrewery capitals of the country, and we’re proud to be a
part of it.” Don’t you dare try to
butter us up; you have no allies here.
·
“Strange Brewing Company in Colorado has decided, rather than to face up
to the mistake they made, to start a social media war…‘Someone’ started a Facebook page called ‘Keep Strange Brewing Strange’
in support of the company that is currently infringing upon our trademark. This
campaign is picking up steam, and spreading slanderous, hateful speech, which
is causing damage to the brand that we have spent decades building.” The support group’s response said it best
when it explained that “This page
was not started by the guys at Strange BrewING. It was started by a fan of
Strange BrewING. So Mr. Powers has his facts wrong.” Never underestimate
the power of a fanbase scorned, Other Strange; you falsely accused the owners of
Strange for starting this hubbub and that, I think, is what’s truly
slanderous. By the way, it’s only
slander if it’s false and I haven’t seen anybody say anything about Other Strange
that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. To be fair, I haven't read every comment.
· “First, like it or not, their decision to copy our name is
causing confusion.” This I simply don’t believe or I believe they’re
blowing it out of proportion. Consider
the following breweries: Mother Earth Brew Co. and Mother Earth Brewing, Epic Ales and Epic Brewing, Burnside Brewing and Olde Burnside Brewing, Fire on the Mountain Brewing and Fire Mountain Brew House (same state!), Big Wood Brewery
and Big Woods Brewing, Bricktowne Brewing and Bricktown Brewing. Somehow, these businesses manage to survive
with another similarly named business in existence.
If they can do it without causing a stir, why not you?
·
“Fortunately, the U.S. system of justice is not about
popularity contests, or who is better at sending anonymous (but easily
traceable) hate mail through web portals.”
Everybody hates us because of our litigious attitude, what can we do about
that? I know! Let’s imply we’ll sue Strange supporters
next! That ought to rebuild our
reputation *Eye Roll*.
·
“I was ready to assume that they were also ‘nice guys’ but I question
their approach to dealing with this clear-cut legal matter. They have
posted our privileged legal communications in an attempt to paint themselves as
the victim here.” Nothing is clear
cut. I point to Collaboration Not
Litigation Ale as precedent (Click here for the story). To say that the situation is clear-cut
reveals your unwillingness to negotiate.
And Strange has done nothing to paint themselves as a victim—their
extremely loyal fans are more than willing to do their dirty work.
·
“We are, in short, no bigger than the folks in Denver…We have taken the
right steps to protect our brand, like any other well run business, and for
that we are now being branded as bullies.” That’s the worst part: two small business
owners at each other’s throats. Where is
the system of mutual support? Where is
the brotherhood/sisterhood of craft beer?
You are bullies, Other Strange,
but, to your credit, you had the decency to pick on somebody your own size.
·
“We have been unfairly portrayed as trying to “steal” their name, as if
this is a David and Goliath scenario in which we are some corporate giant, like
Starbucks or Coca-Cola, mercilessly picking on the little guy. That’s
just not the case. They try to portray us as thieves – but
who is the real thief here? The ones who have been around since 1997 or
the ones who decided to copy our brand less than two years ago, instead of
doing it the old fashioned way and coming with a brand of their own?” What the hell have you been reading? You’re so off-base as to why you’ve pissed
off Colorado. Nobody thinks you’re
trying to steal anybody’s name, we just think you’re a prick for not working it
out amiably. And again, nobody is under the
illusion that you’re a giant, faceless corporation but you sure as hell are acting like one.
·
“We have struggled hard to get where we are, not through harassing our
competitors with some social media rant…”
No, your brand of harassment
comes via lawyers—much worse.
·
“Our Yelp rating is dropping fast. Please don’t let this happen.” Let it happen. The truth’s the truth and it deserves to be
brought to light.
·
“We are tired of playing games.” As
are we but, hey, you initiated the game so now you can either deal with it or
forfeit.
In the end, it’s not a legal
issue but rather a moral one; perhaps Other Strange is well in their right to sue
(I can’t confirm anything but I’ve read a number of comments that imply they,
in fact, do not have that right) but
just because the law says you can do it doesn’t mean you should do it; there’s always a better way—a way that doesn’t destroy
your own reputation and cause a hassle for all involved. Join the craft beer
club or get out. However, let me go on record as
saying I will be the first to thank and forgive these folks from Massachusetts
the second they give up this nonsense.
Please like “Keep Strange Brewing Strange” on Facebook and keep supporting Strange on their Facebook page as
well.
Prost!
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