01/24/2013
MOTION TO AMEND ANSWER/AMENDED ANSWER OR COUNTERCLAIM

01/15/2013
DISCOVERY CONFERENCE ORDER; TRIAL DATES RESET

Dead Frog puts out a lower quality product than R&B, plain and simple. The measure of a brewery’s quality is indicative of the entire organization’s commitment to said quality, not the capability of one or two employees. I can tell you first hand stories of just how low the quality bar actually is over there in Aldergrove, regardless of who is manning the kettle.

Case in point: have you tasted the so-called best beer in BC lately? The Steamworks Pilsner coming out of Dead Frog has been absolutely dreadful. And don’t think I’m just some hater that’s got it out it for Eli, or Steamworks, or Dead Frog. I have nothing personal against any of them (well, I really dislike Eli’s approach to business and his obvious disdain for the industry, but he’s never done anything to me). I’ve given that beer, along with their pale ale, numerous tastes. In my opinion it’s actually getting worse, not better.

This discussion isn’t about the beer though. Whether you like the beer or hate it, the issue at hand is how they are entering the craft beer market and immediately fucking with other fantastic breweries who just can’t afford to fight back! Then they have the gall to call out GIB as not a “true craft brewery”. How much do you care about your own product when not only do you sub out its production, but you sub it out to one of the worst breweries in the province?

Let the beers compete on the shelves and taps! The people will choose what they want to drink. Keep the back door legal bullshit out of the industry!

But i digress! If Steamworks licence the use of Cascadia, even for a dollar – this reinforces their trademark claim and I’m sure the signed agreement would state that very clearly.

Once they have reinforced the trademark with licensing then they would be free to charge what they like and probably stop breweries from using it.
Breweries should NOT pay the dollar fee, it will only help Steamworks

http://bcbrews.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/tree-goes-hop-head-to-hop-head-with-green-flash/

Of course, what makes this case more egregious is that it can have a more far-reaching negative effect — threatening the adoption of CDA as a beer style (the campaign isn’t over!) and “nitro” as a descriptor of a common beer serving technique. This is not kosher for a business that is supposedly part of the craft beer community.

Up until a few months ago Steamworks was being brewed R&B Brewing. Well, at some point R&B hired someone who used to work for Eli and left on less-than-favourable terms. Eli called up Barry at R&B and demanded the new employee be fired by the end of the day or he would cancel their brewing contract immediately. R&B are great people, but they really needed that contract so they let the employee go. About a month later Steamworks changed over to Dead Frog for their production anyway because they were cheaper and could produce more volume, although quality would unquestionably be lower (so much for the whole “craft” beer thing).

So basically Eli fucked over the former employee over some weird vendetta, AND he fucked over R&B. So even though you don’t approve of name calling, Chuck, I say “FUCK YOU, ELI!”

My boycott remains in effect indefinitely, and I will urge my friends to do likewise.