There's a New Girl in Town...

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:38 pm

Well I can vouch for it. Of course I'm spoiled in Vancouver where you can get a 6 of it for less than $13. But it's a world class beer and arguably the best IPA made in this country. If a keg of it were at the Volo IPA event I have no doubt it would clean up. Buy some and see for yourself.

northyorksammy · Post by **northyorksammy** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:26 pm

Boston, MA) – The first update on the Bear Republic – Central City Brewing lawsuit in four months . . .

Back in February, news broke that Bear Republic would be taking Central City Brewing to court over alleged trademark infringement on its Racer 5 and Red Rocket brands.

The lawsuit is still in its early stages though we’ve got our first taste of what is to come. Bear Republic filed for a preliminary injunction in May. What does that mean? The brewery wanted Central City to cease all activities pertaining to the “infringing” Red Racer brand while the lawsuit was in process. The court ruled against Bear Republic’s request for injunction.

The request, in its own right, shows that Bear Republic means business. Per Wikipedia, to be granted the injunction, Bear Republic is arguing all four of the following:

1) Substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case,
2) BR faces substantial threat of irreparable damage or injury if the injunction is not granted,
3) It is more harmful to BR if not granted injunction than it is to Central City if granted injunction
4) Grant of injunction serves the public interest

According to the legal document filed by the court, Bear Republic’s argument for confusion between the two brands was not particularly compelling, knocking out criteria #1.

In addition, Bear Republic failed to assert that instances of confusion cited so far caused any harm such as loss of sales. The court has found that the three moments of confusion cited by BR aren’t enough to extrapolate confusion to the general population either and that BR failed to show any financial harm as a result of these instances. Also of note, Bear Republic sales were up 16% last year despite Central City Red Racer being available for all of 2009. The end result is that BR hasn’t made a compelling case for criteria #2 or #3 either.

As for criteria #4, the court says “The public interest is best served by fair competition in the marketplace. Since Bear Republic has not shown a likelihood of succeeding on the merits in establishing its infringement claims, to enjoin Central City from selling RED RACER in the United States would not serve the public interest.”

Looks like a clean sweep for Central City. Now the question is whether Bear Republic will swallow its pride and give up or push forward in its battle against the small Canadian brewery.

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:04 pm

Thanks for the update northyorksammy.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 9:22 am

Just noticed it slipped onto BAs top 100!

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers
(#98 at a 4.29 weighted average)

But where's Racer 5? Considering the availability in the US, it might be good for Bear Republic if consumers confuse the two!

Keep6 Imports · Post by **Keep6 Imports** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 5:59 pm

HMH Negotiants are pleased to announce that the Central City Red Racer Private Order has been released! If you have not received a pick-up notice via e-mail please feel free to contact us. Thanks again to everyone who participated in this order, we hope you enjoy the beer!

Cheers!

kwjd · Post by **kwjd** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:19 am

Picked up my cases this morning!

Man, they really make it annoying at all for individuals to pick up a case or 2 when you have bars/restaurants there piling up trucks with boxes of wine in front of you, even though you were the first person there in the morning.

TJ · Post by TJ » Thu Aug 19, 2010 10:00 am

kwjd wrote:Picked up my cases this morning!

Man, they really make it annoying at all for individuals to pick up a case or 2 when you have bars/restaurants there piling up trucks with boxes of wine in front of you, even though you were the first person there in the morning.

I said as much to the people in front of me this morning when I picked up mine. But hey! A half hour out of my life while standing in a truck bay while being ignored by the people who work there and being an hour late for work as a result of their limited operating hours not allowing me to pick up my beer at night or on a weekend is a small price to pay for such a great beer.

Thanks Tomas for making this happen.

kwjd · Post by **kwjd** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 10:15 am

TJ wrote:
kwjd wrote:Picked up my cases this morning!

Man, they really make it annoying at all for individuals to pick up a case or 2 when you have bars/restaurants there piling up trucks with boxes of wine in front of you, even though you were the first person there in the morning.
I said as much to the people in front of me this morning when I picked up mine. But hey! A half hour out of my life while standing in a truck bay while being ignored by the people who work there and being an hour late for work as a result of their limited operating hours not allowing me to pick up my beer at night or on a weekend is a small price to pay for such a great beer.

Thanks Tomas for making this happen.

I was probably in the group in front of you that you talked to... there were 3 of us picking up 3 cases (I was the white male that didn't have the British accent).

TJ · Post by TJ » Thu Aug 19, 2010 10:28 am

kwjd wrote:I was probably in the group in front of you that you talked to... there were 3 of us picking up 3 cases (I was the white male that didn't have the British accent).

I figured as much.

cratez · Post by **cratez** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:28 pm

hmh.negotiants wrote: HMH Negotiants are pleased to announce that the Central City Red Racer Private Order has been released! If you have not received a pick-up notice via e-mail please feel free to contact us. Thanks again to everyone who participated in this order, we hope you enjoy the beer!
Cheers!

I'm very impressed with how quickly HMH and CC executed this order. Just too bad the LCBO doesn't hold up their end of the bargain. This took 3 1/2 months to be released - pretty fast by private order standards - but one month of that was spent sitting in the warehouse. Then customers are treated like annoyances when picking up their beer from Freeland. Certainly reinforces my belief that our alcohol retail and distribution monopoly simply doesn't serve consumers' interests.

That being said, I can't wait to pick up my order on Friday and suck back Red Racer all weekend in Toronto. Throw in the Golden Taps and it should be one hell of a time.

nickelass · Post by **nickelass** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 11:13 pm

cratez wrote:
hmh.negotiants wrote: HMH Negotiants are pleased to announce that the Central City Red Racer Private Order has been released! If you have not received a pick-up notice via e-mail please feel free to contact us. Thanks again to everyone who participated in this order, we hope you enjoy the beer!
Cheers!
I'm very impressed with how quickly HMH and CC executed this order. Just too bad the LCBO doesn't hold up their end of the bargain. This took 3 1/2 months to be released - pretty fast by private order standards - but one month of that was spent sitting in the warehouse. Then customers are treated like annoyances when picking up their beer from Freeland. Certainly reinforces my belief that our alcohol retail and distribution monopoly simply doesn't serve consumers' interests.

That being said, I can't wait to pick up my order on Friday and suck back Red Racer all weekend in Toronto. Throw in the Golden Taps and it should be one hell of a time.

Enjoy your Red Racer everyone. I feel your LCBO pain. I just picked up my Nogne O and the lady at the LCBO in Timmins exclaimed "Oh a private order, that's annoying." More excellent service can not be found elsewhere.

biegaman · Post by **biegaman** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 12:04 am

nickelass wrote:I just picked up my Nogne O and the lady at the LCBO in Timmins exclaimed "Oh a private order, that's annoying." More excellent service can not be found elsewhere.

Ever since the time I gave them a bottle of the Pannepot Grand Riserva I get a warm reception at the LCBO near me when I have private orders shipped there. (Although I think they've been disappointed after not sharing any of the last few shipments with them.)

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:41 am

Monday I may have to swing by my new local store (BC Liquor). Not sure if I'll grab this or the new Phillips that a haven't tried. Then again, I could pick up some Tree fresh from the souce!

An actual choice of local IPA's... can you imagine?

Torontoblue · Post by **Torontoblue** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 10:08 am

Derek wrote:Monday I may have to swing by my new local store (BC Liquor). Not sure if I'll grab this or the new Phillips that a haven't tried. Then again, I could pick up some Tree fresh from the souce!

An actual choice of local IPA's... can you imagine?

That's if you can find your way through the smoke!

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 10:37 am

I should have my allotment of this by Sunday or Monday, so really looking forward to it!

The Bar Towel

There's a New Girl in Town...

Red Racer unstoppable by Bear Repulic