Boycott Monster Enery Drinks
On Sept. 14th, 2009, Hansen Beverage Co. sent a cease and desist order to the owner of Rock Art Brewery, Matt Nadeau. The issue was with Rock Art’s barley wine ale, Vermonster. Hansen is the maker of Monster Energy drinks, and they felt that Rock Art’s Vermonster beer would confuse consumers about who made the two different products.
Nevermind that there are a bunch of other products using the name ‘monster’ (including a job search web site, high-end cables), there are even a handful of other brewers using the ‘monster’ name (or some derivative of it). The thing is, though, most of these other brewers are larger than Rock Art. One can’t help but think that Hansen is targeting Rock Art in the hope that they won’t have the money to go through the lengthy court battles that are sure to come. Once they get one brewer to cave to them, it will be easier to take the name from other brewers.
