Weed Wins
Weed fought the law and Weed won
Mt. Shasta Brewing Co., makers of Weed Ales has been in a legal fight with the Tax and Trade Bureau over their bottle crowns which read “Try Legal Weed.” The brewery is located in the California town of Weed, which was named for an actual person: Abner Weed.
The TTB notified the brewery they had to remove the language because it violated their vague standard prohibiting drug references. The story gained widespread media attention, prompted by owner Vaune Dillmann’s quote that stated if he couldn’t use the term Weed, then Anheuser-Busch shouldn’t be able to use the term “Bud.”
But alas, Dillmann announced that the TTB has reversed their decision and “Try Legal Weed” can once more grace their bottle caps. Dillmann shared the registered letter he received with the Associated Press earlier today, which stated.
“Based on the context of the entire label, we agree that the phrase in question refers to the brand name of the product and does not mislead consumers,” said the letter, dated Thursday.
In a letter to the hundreds of supporters who reached out the brewery, Dillmann added. “Weed fought the law and Weed won!”
I love this issue- legal phrases and more.
So, if I grow a hop plant from seed, I can name it and patent it- period.
What name to pick? Who knows?- choice.
Example- How about a hop plant called “Medicinal hops” with qualities reflective of the chemistry- yet no claims. From what I hear, it’s illegal in the US to sell any carbonated alcoholic beverage that is “medicinal” and yet the labeling laws mandate truth in labeling; so, if the hop plant has a name “medicinal”, one must put that name on the label as part of the ingredients. Would one be now misleading customers to think this beer is now “medicinal” or are beer drinkers to think that a little bit of the actual “Mt. Hood” and the “Cascades” are really in the beer too?
I know of breweries that were not allowed to mention the health benefits of the blueberries that were brewed in the beer. Great beer though. Still love blueberries.
How far does this go?
Oxbile is on the GRAS list- who brews with such a thing and who uses it anyway?, but it’s legal in food and more.
Just had a reporter refer to the hop cones/strobiles as buds- on purpose as it was his slant on a story. Would you call a new plant ” Good Buds” so brewers can try to put that on a label?
I think that to be able to say, “this beer was brewed with ‘medicinal’ hops” might be real fun- but maybe not if you can’t sell it.
What crazy names would you want for a hop plant you brew with so that you could put the name on the label of the beer? Something like “crazy” hops for use in “Old Peculiar”?- or something like that?
Labeling rules- odd. Shifting truth?
What names would brewers want for a hop they brew with so that that hop name gets on your label? What’s the coolest name you want? Voting with your $ is an option.
How ’bout a hop called “Kind bud”?
I think someone should have a “7 dwarfs brewery”
and name each hop after that haha..
Happy Bud
Sleepy Bud
bashful Bud
…
You get the jist I think it would be quite amusing… if Walt Disney and the gang were not barking on your door.
But needless to say “happy bud”
I would think that if Disney hauled you into court that that would be the most effective marketing campaign any small company could wage.