Public Pressure Leads Lagunitas to Drop Lawsuit Against Sierra Nevada

Tony Magee is no longer hopping mad.

The founder of Lagunitas Brewing says he had "the worst day in the 23 years of Lagunitas" on Tuesday, after he made public plans to sue Sierra Nevada over the latter company's choice of IPA label.

Magee felt the label was too similar. The public disagreed, and let him have it. 

And the Petaluma-based brewer, famous for his Twitter feed, said in 140 characters that he's giving up on this legal fight, according to BeerStreetJournal.com. 

Magee had filed a suit in federal court on Monday that alleged Sierra Nevada's Hop Hunter India Pale Ale had a label too similar to Lagunitas's famous IPA, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Both Sierra and Lagunitas are expanding their brands well beyond the West Coast. Lagunitas opened a brewery in Chicago, and Sierra is working on a brewery in North Carolina. 

And they're locked in competition: Sierra is the second-biggest craft brewery in the United States, and Lagunitas is No. 5, the newspaper reported.

The new Hop Hunter IPA is to be released soon, according to the newspaper.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us