Florida Keys Brewing Company fans, don't fret. You can still order the local brewer's popular Hogfish Amber. But because of threatened legal action by a well-known Delaware brewer, ask for a Spearfish Amber instead.
Local owners Craig and Cheryl McBay said they received an email late last year from the owners of Dogfish Head Brewery that threatened legal action if the name of the Keys Brewing beer wasn't changed.
Craig McBay said the Dogfish Head Brewery representative was concerned consumers "would not be able to differentiate when ordering a 'Hogfish' or a 'Dogfish' at one of any fine Keys establishments."
Read more at the Florida Keys Keynoter
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE!! HOGFISH AMBER BECOMES SPEARFISH AMBER Islamorada, FL., March 15th, 2017- Florida Keys Brewing Company, the local brewery owned and operated by Craig and Cheryl McBay announced this week that their very popular amber beer named Hogfish will be changing its name to Spearfish. The reason for the change came as quite a shock to the local brewers. Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE threatened the small brewery with legal action if they did not change the name of their beer fearing that consumers would not be able to differentiate when ordering a “Hogfish” or a “Dogfish” at one of any fine Keys establishments. Since the name “Dogfish” and “Hogfish” are two totally different types of fish and proper nouns, Florida Keys Brewing Company thought this was a joke. Adding to the confusion, Dogfish Head also started as a small brewery and always frowned upon corporate bullies pushing around the little guy, as voiced in the Beer Wars Movie Trailer (which can be viewed on youtube). In the past Dogfish Head had been quoted as saying, “They have weapons and we have weapons and ours might seem like slingshots and theirs seem like giant missiles “. This reference was made to the “Big Brands” making it challenging to compete but constantly pushing around the new, smaller breweries. In response Craig McBay said jokingly, “We are both beer men and fishermen, but I guess they have long lines and we use spearguns”. At any rate, Hogfish Amber, will now be named Spearfish Amber. This beer and other styles of beer from Florida Keys Brewing Company can be ordered in over 60 restaurants and bars throughout Monroe County. Please support the little guy when choosing your brew in the Keys. #floridakeys #islamorada #drinkcraftbeer #drinklikealocal #speargunsnotlonglines #keysbrewing #craftbeer A post shared by Florida Keys Brewing Co. (@floridakeysbrewingco) on Mar 17, 2017 at 5:19am PDT
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