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So long, Moose Juice
Moosehead wins trademark battle with Grand Teton Brewing
Aug 20, 2002 - Moosehead Brewers, Ltd., of Canada has won its five-year trademark battle with an Idaho brewery, and Grand Teton Brewing Co. will discontinue making Moose Juice Stout.
Grand Teton, formerly Otto Brothers Brewing, applied for the trademark in 1991 and received it in 1992. The U.S. Trademark Appeals Board canceled the trademark based on Moosehead's claim to the word "Moose" worldwide. "I never dreamt it was possible," said Charlie Otto, founder of Otto Brothers and Grand Teton. "I believed that if you were issued a U.S. Trademark it was yours. We built our conpany on the assumption that once a mark was issued you had the freedom to go ahead to grown the brand." "Attempting to understand why Moosehead would think that our regional Stout competes with their Canadian Lager is a mystery to me. We have never compared ourselves to them in any way. We are a true, handcrafted regional microbrewer. We're the little guys being shut down by a monster-sized corporation. It makes no sense and I wonder, who's next?" Grand Teton will discontinue production the stout, which won a silver medal at the 2000 Great American Beer Festival. A brewery press release states that, "Changing the name is not an option to them at this point." Sweetgrass IPA was introduced to the market in the spring of 2002 and a new ESB will hit the shelves later this year.
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