There’s something to be said for edginess, irreverence, non-conformance, or a push-the-limits style to marketing your product and business. Yet, even those who do it well generally know when to take something seriously and cut the crap. As we wrote last week, West Sixth Brewing Co. recently expressed its frustrations over a trademark lawsuit by…
In the world of beer-related trademark infringement disputes, there’s no more frequent call to arms than David vs. Goliath.* The big boys have the “fancy lawyers” and engage in “corporate bullying” in an attempt to squash the little guy who is just trying to make good beer. The latest in these fights is Magic Hat…
As a beer fan there little doubt you already know it is American Craft Beer Week, a celebration of small and independent craft brewers organized by the Brewers Association. If you didn’t know, it’s time to step up your beer fan credentials. American Craft Beer Week began Monday and runs through Sunday, May 19. Begun…
We are lucky. We are craft beer drinkers who enjoy rallying around our favorite beverage. It brings us together through innumerable social opportunities. It makes us fast friends with strangers. It gives us an opportunity to celebrate and debate and argue about the silliest of things. And we are lucky. We attend brewfests and tour breweries…
This month’s Session* topic is hosted by Bryan Roth, a beer enthusiast and homebrewer, who writes at This is Why I’m Drunk. He raises the topic of “Finding Beer Balance” and writes: Beer is more than the alcohol that goes into it – it’s the passion, history and community. Beer is also just one of…
It wasn’t expected to be like this. Before the 63rd Montana Legislature convened on January 7, 2013, most observers predicted a quiet session for craft beer. The Department of Revenue had it’s brew-on-premise license proposal. A smattering of proposals to provide for true bottle shops and to change direct shipment rules lurked in the fine…
Consider this, if you will: “Once considered nuisances, sources of noxious emissions and debasers of public morals, breweries now are being actively courted. Last May, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) signed into law a measure that allows breweries to retail beer by the pint or growler in their tasting rooms instead of merely giving…
This month’s Session* topic is hosted by Ryan Newhouse, fellow Missoula Craft Beer Week creator and occasional contributor here at Growler Fills, through his Montana Beer Finder site. Ryan came up with a Valentines Day theme and asks us all to explain how we love beer. He writes: Think of this topic and discussion in…
The Montana Tavern Association’s recent attempts to stifle brewery tap rooms touched a serious nerve with craft beer fans. Comments on this blog and other social media sites ranged from a call-to-arms to the unprintable (which I delete). Yet, commenters raised one common question more than any other: Why would the MTA want to enact…
The Brewers Association (that’s the big, national one, not the Montana one) recently stirred up a major backlash when its op-ed piece appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 13, 2012. The piece was written by Charlie Papazian and Bob Pease, President and COO of the Brewer’s Association, and Dan Kopman, CEO of Schlafly…