No More Magic Hat

We're taking a bit of a break from our regularly scheduled program today. If you're at all tuned in to the craft beer world via Facebook or Twitter there's no doubt that you saw all of this mess between Magic Hat and West Sixth blow up yesterday. Now, if you've been reading this blog or following me on Twitter for any significant amount of time you've no doubt realized that I'm a huge fan of the guys at West Sixth and what they do. My girlfriend lives in Lexington so I spend a lot of time down there. They're a local beer as far as I'm concerned. I love hanging out at their taproom and drinking their beers. This is all a way of saying that when I heard about all of this lawsuit nonsense yesterday, it hit close to home, as it were. Now, I'm no lawyer, so I can't speak whatsoever to any of the copyright claims or any of that, but here are my thoughts nonetheless.

First things first, everybody go ahead and read the post on West Sixth's website that went up yesterday detailing their end of the whole thing. You can find it here. You read it yet? OK. Good. Seems pretty bogus right? Especially this bit, "Why would they do that?  After all, they don’t sell all that much beer here in Kentucky.  We don’t really know – although we have our suspicions.  There’s clearly been someone in Lexington spreading the rumor that we were “about to get sued” – I even heard it from a checkout clerk at the grocery store!  So, we’re guessing that someone in the area is prompting the lawsuit in order to try and hurt us locally." Something does not smell right here at all. Not one bit. But all this stuff with a 6 just being an inverted 9? Come on! Those claims are spurious, at best.

Late last night, Magic Hat posted this rebuttal via twitter, go read it here. In that article are links to all of the letters that went back and forth between Magic Hat's and West Sixth's lawyers. Like I said before, I can't talk about any of the legalese without making myself sound like a fool. West Sixth then responded to that response. Check that out here. Magic Hat then responded to that here. It's a lot to read, I know

Honestly though, the numerals are similar. The letterforms used in West Sixth's logo and on the label for #9 share a lot in common. But if Magic Hat really wants to claim that West Sixth's 6 is just an inverted 9 then I think their real beef is with the Indian mathematicians who created the Arabic numerals. I don't think their lawyers are going to be very responsive though.

My biggest problem with all of this mess is that it goes against the whole spirit of craft beer. That spirit of collaboration, innovation, togetherness. I can't help but be reminded of Avery and Russian River's beer, Collaboration Not Litigation. They both brew a Belgian ale that they each call Salvation. Rather than getting lawyers involved they got together and blended the two beers into one and created something new. More details about that collaboration can be found here. That won't happen here though, as Magic Hat is now owned by a huge multinational corporation that feels it has trademarks to protect.

Just because Magic Hat is owned by Cerveceria Costa Rica does not preclude them from making tasty beer. It does, however, preclude them from acting as a craft brewer should. This reeks of, as Uni-Watch's Paul Lukas would say, corporate douchebaggery. It's not hard to imagine the collaboration that might occur between West Sixth and Magic Hat in a better world. I mean you've got a 6 and a 9! The jokes write themselves!

I think that's what bugs me most about all of this mess. Not as much the corporate bullying, or even the questionable lawsuit. Just that it's so against the spirit of craft beer and everything I love about craft beer. The community, the all-in-this-together attitude, the collaboration. It's a shame. There was a time when I looked forward to each new Magic Hat seasonal sampler pack. Those times are past.

I stand with West Sixth. Sign their petition, drink their beer. It's pretty outstanding.

HD