This year Anheuser-Busch, Inc. introduced Bud Light Lime, a twist on Bud Light that gives the beer a lime flavor. This beer has been a hit. I have tried it myself and it's not too bad, though I can't see drinking more then a couple at a time. This innovation does not seem to be a huge leap in the beer industry or anything that is unique enough to paten, however Anheuser-Busch and Labatt's (both owned by AB InBev) is suing a Waterloo, Ontario based craft beer brewer, Brick, for brewing a lime variety of their Red Baron beer. Anheuser-Busch is seeking a court injunction and compensation from Brick or a cut on their Red Baron Lime profits. The Ontario based brewer said that it wasn't a surprise and they plan to defend themselves in court.
I am not a legal expert, but I don't see how someone can sue for something they didn't invent - I have been putting lime in my beer for years (blonds like Corona or Sol) and this is how they have been marketing the beer and how it's should be drunk. This seems like a bully in the school yard looking for some lunch money and a way for Anheuser-Busch to eliminate competition. This is one of the reasons why it is so hard for smaller brewers to get a piece of the market and for the public to quality and variety we deserve.
This is the latest in an ongoing dispute between Labatt's and Brick. Labatt's had claimed that the Red Baron labels too closely resembled the Labatt's Brava labels (in fact some bottles were mistakenly returned to Labatt's by the Beer Store in Ontario). The matter was settled in June of this year.
Are the big producers in it for the money or the beer? Is big business preventing us, the devoted beer drinking public, from getting the best beers from the smaller craft brewers? What do you think
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