Weyerbacher Zotten – Update

I know we posted details on this a few days ago as the news was breaking but I thought I’d pass on the latest update.  Dan tells me they will be re-releasing Zotten under a new name (with “no jesters, fools of anything that would infringe on De Halve Maan’s trademark.”).  The beer will come out in May and the name they are leaning toward should be confirmed in a week or two.  They are also considering making it a year round beer so stay tuned.

If you’d like to check out the original press release and Dan’s comments on the beer naming…..

Original Press Release:

Press Release:
February 18, 2010
Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Inc., a small artisanal brewery from Easton, Pennsylvania, has ceased production of its beer "Zotten" due to prior rights and US trademark of "Brugse Zot", a beer produced and commercialized by De Halve Maan, a brewery located in Bruges, Belgium.
We take this opportunity also to announce a recall of any and all Weyerbacher "Zotten" beer to the brewery within the next 30 days, for full refund from Weyerbacher.
Weyerbacher was unaware of the US trademark of De Halve Maan and had no intention to infringe on the rights of De Halve Maan. We are particularly respectful of the part of small Belgian breweries in the world beer scene and hereby officially apologize to the family owners of De Halve Maan.
Daniel A. Weirback, Presdient
Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Inc.

Dan’s recent comments on BA: 

The story of zotten is an historical account of an actual event that occurred several centuries ago in Bruge, Belgium. We felt that since it was historical it couldn’t be protected, but we were obviously wrong and were not aware of the trademark. Keep in mind we’re a tiny brewery with 8 employees, and we’ve only sold a grand total of 1500 cases of this beer. We’re also very enamored with Belgium and its history and this was a beer and a story that’s very close to our hearts. The name was actually given to us as part of a contest at one of our wholesalers, and zotten was the submitted name that we picked as winner of this private contest. Just trying to be completely open about it all.
Dan Weyerbacher