(Morrisville, VT) – This brew was inspired by our friend John Little (a telemark instructor in Jay Peak, VT) . . .

Per last week’s Rock Art Brewery newsletter, Rock Art Pumpkin Imperial Spruce Stout has returned:

“It’s a big stout brewed in the colonial fashion with large amounts of pumpkins and spruce tips added to the kettle for flavor and bittering qualities. The pumpkins complement the malt flavors and are used to add sugars to the mash. Whatever you do, do not think this is going to taste like pumpkin pie. For a SLOW experience, pair with BBQ venison loin, extra sharp cheddar cheese, vegetarian chili, fresh warm soft pretzel dipped in a honey mustard or grass fed beef stew.

8% abv 50 IBU available in 22 oz and on draft in a few restaurants.”

In other news, Rock Art, like so many other brewers is looking to expand and is currently in the hunt for a new location. The brewery should have more updates in September.

Note: Shockwave is required to play the video above.

(Morrisville, VT) – Rock Art Brewery was featured on CNN’s HLN Network (formerly known as CNN Headline News) this past week. The network showcased Rock Art’s battle with Monster Energy Drink makers and the work that the brewery is doing to help push trademark reform. Hansen Beverage, understandably, wanted no part in the fiasco and having watched the video, don’t seem to recall their name being mentioned even once. It’s nice to see more mainstream media picking up the story.

In other news, the brewery just announced that it has a new beer coming out. From the newsletter, “A fresh new IPA! You may have already been by the brewery for your growler fill of this one. We are now sending it out to the restaurants to put in their draft line up. This wonderful brew comes in at 6% abv with 40 IBU’s. You’ll enjoy the aromatic combination of floral hops and zesty citrus flavors. The hops are balanced with notes of caramel flavors from the malt body. You will also be able to find it as our IPA offering in the Variety 12 packs this summer.”

(Washington D.C.) – The Rock Art / Monster Energy battle over Rock Art’s Vermonster was one of the top craft beer stories of 2009 and you guys even voted it #1 story of the year. As it would turn out, it’s not quite over yet.

[note: apologies for the video above which is cut off at the end (as is the original)]

The two sides reached an agreement last year in which Rock Art Brewery would get to keep the Vermonster name. It was a PR black eye for Monster Energy Drink and Rock Art received a ton of support, including from Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy.

Leahy is now pursuing trademark reform for which the Rock Art case is the catalyst. He introduced a bill this week that, among other things, will look into whether large companies are using trademark litigation inappropriately. The Senate unanimously passed the bill on Thursday night and it will now go to the House of Representatives.

Leahy said in a statement, “This legislation also requires a study of how the current system can better protect small businesses from abuses of the trademark system by larger corporations. Congress provides strong enforcement tools to intellectual property owners, as we should, to deter infringing activity and to remove counterfeit products from the market. I have become concerned, however, that large corporations are at times abusing the substantial rights Congress has granted them in their intellectual property to the detriment of small businesses. In fact, we saw a high-profile case like this in Vermont last year involving a spurious claim against Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville. When a corporation exaggerates the scope of its rights far beyond a reasonable interpretation in an attempt to bully a small business out of the market, that is wrong. This legislation therefore directs the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, to consider options for protecting small businesses from such harassing litigation, while ensuring that legitimate trademark infringement actions are handled efficiently and expeditiously by the courts.”

(Morrisville, VT) – Now that Rock Art Brewery has won its battle with Monster Energy Drink, things are getting back to normal. The brewery’s winter seasonal just hit the market this week and they’re pumping out as much Vermonster as ever before. That said, Owner, Matt Nadeau is working on helping others in situations similar to the one he faced when he got a C&D letter. More on that in the video below.

As for the beer, Vermonster has been year-round for two years since it was created as the brewery’s 10th anniversary beer. The American Barleywine can currently be found in VT, MA, CT, AZ, and will soon be available in Florida. Also this week, the brewery just put its Mountain Holidays in Vermont seasonal on shelves. The Bock is available across Vermont though very limited elsewhere. Both beers are sold in 22 oz. bottles.

While I empathize with Matt’s wish for the trademark system to change, I don’t see any changes being made to trademark law soon. One of those broken things in our society that is protected with mounds of red tape. What Matt and his supporters achieved through the social media channels does, however, make for an incredible case study of how people can quickly come together to act as, perhaps, the best defense against trademark lawyers.

Here is the link to the Rock Art statement PDF.

Just to clear up any doubt, Rock Art Brewery gets to keep The Vermonster name as long as it stays out of the energy drink business. In addition, Hansen agreed to pay any legal fees associated with the matter. It had previously requested that Rock Art pay its legal fees in the original cease and desist letter.

If you’re the reading type, here is the link to the original article at WCAX.

"Rock Art president Matt Nadeau cautious about spelling out the agreement before getting instructions from his attorney."

Resolution appears to be the exact same one that Nadeau proposed 3 wks ago before all the #monsterboycott tweets and brand damage. Hansen's contended that they were obligated to issue the C&D letter or else they would lose in similar cases in the future. Does their withdrawal mean that they didn't achieve that goal or did they just have to issue the C&D letter to be ok?]

(Morrisville, VT) – No details yet but, within the last half hour, Rock Art Brewery is taking to its website and the social media airwaves right now with the news:

“VICTORY!!!!
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
POWER BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE
THE VERMONSTER LIVES!
THANK YOU ALL!! STATEMENT SOON”

And to think I was having so much fun reading all the insider gory details at Facebook and had another post forthcoming. It’s been fun from a beer news perspective but I’m glad to know that the ordeal is over for Matt and company (and Hansen, too- their brand took a shellacking over this). Details coming very soon I imagine…developing…

(Burlington, VT) – Dan McLean of the Burlington Free Press reported this morning that Senator, Bernie Sanders, I-VT, has sent a letter to Hansen Beverage Company. The letter, of course, is about Hansen’s threat of legal action against Rock Art Brewery for use of the “Vermonster” name on bottled beer and the confusion it may cause with its own “Monster Energy” brand.

“I am not a trademark attorney, but I believe that any normal person would find your claim preposterous,” Sanders writes. “An energy drink is not a beer, and the word ‘monster’ is not ‘Vermonster.’ Any person who would get confused by these two different products and names should probably slow down a bit, and lay off energy drinks.”

You can see the full text of the letter on the Burlington Free Press website.

The cease and desist letter was the first of three questionable ones that came to light this month.

BevReview.com reported on a letter it received concerning a random forum review of Monster Energy Drink from 2007.

An actor from the 2006 film, The Shadow Walkers (rated 2.5 out of 10 on IMDB), also reported that a C&D letter was sent to him for a random candid shot of him holding up a can of Monster Energy Drink during shooting.

Are Hansen shareholders aware of what the company is spending on its legal team?

Meanwhile, the letters have generated a lot of buzz on social media networks within the last week with thousands of messages coming in supporting Rock Art and promoting a boycott of Monster Energy Drink. The buzz has slowed considerably though a few hundred tweets have still come across today.

Hansen Beverage Company manufactures and distributes the famous MONSTER ENERGY® line of energy drinks and owns trademark registrations for the famous marks in the U.S. and throughout the world for beverages, branded apparel and other products.

Over the last eight years, Hansen Beverage Company has spent many millions of dollars promoting and establishing awareness for these trademarks around the world and has additionally spent millions of dollars registering and protecting these trademarks which are the Company’s single most valuable asset.

In July 2009, it came to the attention of Hansen Beverage Company that Rock Art Brewery, LLC had filed an application to register a federal trademark throughout the United States in connection with Rock Art’s Vermonster beer product.

In order to protect Hansen’s valuable Monster Energy® trademarks, Hansen is legally obliged to, and routinely sends, “cease and desist” letters to, and where appropriate, pursues litigation against, entities and persons who use or attempt to register similar trademarks for products that are similar or related to Monster Energy® products. A “cease and desist” letter was sent to Rock Art Brewery on September 4, 2009.

Hansen is a publicly traded company with an obligation to its shareholders to vigorously defend its valuable trademarks and intellectual property rights against dilution, potential infringement or confusion. Opposing the same or similar trademark applications is standard protocol for Hansen Beverage Company, as it is for all other consumer product companies.

Hansen has not, and does not, target or single out one company over any other, nor distinguish between big or small companies or individuals when enforcing our trademarks. The size of the third party misappropriating or infringing the Hansen’s trademark rights is irrelevant.

Hansen management has been working with Rock Art Brewery toward an amicable solution.

As part of prudent business practice, Hansen Beverage Company will continue to take appropriate action to protect its trademark rights and property.

(Morrisville, VT) – The stream of support for Rock Art Brewery continues on Twitter today as over 3,000 tweets have poured in over the last 30 hours. All tweets voice opposition to Hansen Beverage Co. for the ‘cease and desist’ order it sent to the small Vermont brewery. Hansen’s alleges that Rock Art is infringing on the trademark of its own Monster brand products.

At least 34 other beers have contained the word, “Monster,” at one point according to Beer Advocate so this case could have implications for other breweries attempting to trademark those beers, especially where Hansen’s is exploring entry into the alcohol market.

How did we get to this point? Here is a timeline of the events:

7/11/07 – Hansen Beverage Co. files two trademark applications for “Monster Energy” under the categories: “Non-alcoholic beverages, namely, energy drinks, excluding perishable beverage products that contain fruit juice or soy.” and “Nutritional Supplements.”

6/23/09 – Rock Art Brewery files a trademark application for “The Vermonster” under the category of “beer.” The brewery began selling the beer in 2007.

9/14/09 – A cease and desist letter arrives to Rock Art Owner, Matt Nadeau asking that Nadeau end its use of the mark and pay Hansen all legal fees in pursuing the matter. Diane Reed of Knobbe Martens Olson and Bear LLP, who represents Hansen Beverage Co. in legal matters, is handling the case. [FULL TEXT PDF courtesy of Green Mountain Daily]

Late Sept./Early Oct. – Nadeau offers “to stay out of energy drinks with The Vermonster, if they leave him alone in beer.” According to Nadeau, “Their lawyer stated that they are not concerned with energy drinks, that Monster wants to now get into beer,” and will likely continue to pursue action against Rock Art.

10/1 – The Stowe Reporter prints the first article on the subject [must register for access] with comments from Reed. Jesse Roman also gets comments from, Doug Riley, Trade Attorney:

“It usually spins out in the end in favor of the Vermont company, because it ends up being very bad for public relations” for the corporation, Riley said. “What I’ve seen happen — where the likable company is the good guys, with a homegrown local Vermont product, and on the other side is this big, faceless, conglomerate corporation — is usually the corporation will back off. It’s bad for publicity, and the Vermont company is really not a threat.”

“Lawyers tell them they must do this; if they don’t establish their rights to a trademark, it could be lost,” he said.

10/7 – The story picks up traction with more appearances in both Vermont and national newspapers.   A major Vermont tv station, WCAX, also features it on its evening newscast [video here]. Dozens of national blogs also pick it up over the next week.

10/8 – Lukas Payette and Jeff Baker start a Facebook group in support of Rock Art Brewery against Monster Energy drinks. Several local businesses have removed Monster Energy Drink or Hansen Beverage Co. products altogether.

10/9 – In response to a now-deleted comment from Baker on the Official Monster Energy Drink Facebook Fan Page, a company representative replies, “Nobody cares, get a life.” To this date, it is one of the only, if not the only, public response on the matter from someone inside Hansen/Monster.

10/14 – Nadeau releases a 6-minute video on Youtube describing the history of Rock Art Brewery and his thoughts on the situation with Hansen Beverage Co. The video goes viral and is now easily the highest-rated brewery video ever on YouTube with over 320 votes and a 5-star average.

10/15 – Payette and Baker’s Facebook group now stands at 7,000 strong.  Over 3,000 tweets have come through on the subject in the last 30 hours with memes such as #monsterboycott (nearly 2,000 tweets first started by @martinbowling).

The video is going viral on Twitter thanks in big part to @beerinator. Continue to spread it and fight the good fight against the mega-corp backing Monster Energy in this frivolous lawsuit. Twitter is a good place to start. You should also contact Hansens, the maker of Monster Energy to voice your opinion to them directly (as I just did).

(Morrisville, VT) – Matt Nadeau, Founder/Brewer of Rock Art Brewery in Vermont, got back to me this week on a couple new labels I had seen approved.

The first, Belvidere Big IPA, takes advantage of the Vermont ABV deregulation. The 90 IBU/8% ABV beer heavily features Cascade hops that Nadeau has been growing in his backyard for the past fifteen years. Belvidere will be released in January.

Hourglass Ale is the other. It was brewed for Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont. Can’t tell what the style is by the label but I presume this can only be found at the lodge.

Mountain Holidays in Vermont is a German bock already out in stores.