Budweiser loses right to Bud name

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

A European Union court has decided that Budweiser-brewer Anheuser-Busch should not have rights to the "Bud" brand throughout the 27 nation bloc.

It is a victory for the Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar, which said it had registered the name in France, Austria and former Czechoslovakia in 1958.

Anheuser will now have to rely on registering its trademark in each individual member state.
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Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in Ceske Budejovice, which was known as Budweis by its German-speaking inhabitants. Beer had been brewed there since 1265.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7786522.stm

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. Bud... Weis... Oops!

[evlbstrd]

2. Good. They can use their real name.

Piss.

[Maeve]

35. We call it canoe beer--like making love in a canoe

It's f#$*ing close to water.

[bahrbearian]

53. Thats too funny.

[fascisthunter]

3. The Once American Bud is Shit... the Czech Budweiser (original) is Pretty Good

[depakid]

4. How much watery "beer" does Anheuser-Busch/InBev sell in Europe?

I guess there's always the expat market....

[dipsydoodle]

8. Depends on what you call watery

InBev own Stella - nothing wrong with that stuff. http://www.mad.co.uk/BreakingNews/BreakingNews/Articles/e2d18895d37b4b828c7abc4ffe47d8b4/InBev-gears-up-for-launch-of-55-Stella-Black-lager.html

It developed an unfortunate reputation a while back. From June this year :

Stella Artois has re-launched itself by dropping its ABV from 5.2% to 4%. Story here. It’s the last throw of the dice for wife-beater, a brew that has become a social faux pas in the same rank as incest and morris dancing.
Remember the days when Stella was reassuringly expensive and exceedingly fashionable?

That was after numerous drunk and disorderly , GBH etc charges used the defense "they were lagered up on Stella"

[depakid]

9. Stella Artois is drinkable

This stuff on the other hand...

[dipsydoodle]

10. Try and find

some Belgian Rasberry Beer. Might sound odd but that's wicked stuff. They make Cherry too.

Best I found over your side was called Mississippi Mud - that was in dry county in KY...lol.

[frylock]

18. california has some of the best beers on the planet..

try some Ballast Point or Stone if you get a chance.

[Sub Atomic]

23. Fellow San Diegan!

:cheers:

Don't forget Green Flash. And Karl Strauss has put out some incredible beers in the past year or so since Karl died.

:cheers:

[frylock]

28. i haven't tried a strauss in years..

it may be worth a trip downtown to check it out. peace!

[tkmorris]

27. Stone is superb

I have a Ruination India Pale Ale from Stone chilling in the fridge right now. An extravagance to be sure, but it is truly a work of art.

[frylock]

29. i don't know if ballast has made it out your way yet..

but check out the Big Eye IPA if you manage to find it. Dorado Double IPA is tasty if you like hops and getting real effed-up!

http://www.ballastpoint.com/index.html

[tkmorris]

30. No, they haven't, though I have heard of it.

My wife gets out to LA a couple times a year and I usually ask her to grab something for me that isn't available here. Those go on the list for the next trip, thanks for the tip. I am a hophead, I just can't help it.

:toast:

[mikelgb]

51. If you are in So Cal you should visit the Brewery and Gardens in Escondido

An outstanding restaurant and a Brewery tour with FREE BEER!

[depakid]

20. A lambic?

If so- gak!

ps: If you want to taste the finest beer & ales in the world- come to the state of Oregon. The range of different styles and flavors is immense- and every bit as polished as expensive Begian ales.

I'm missing the seasonal winter ales right about now (even though it isn't winter on this side of the globe).



At 6.7%, it's one of the lighter ones....

[Trajan]

31. Aye, Cap'n ....

The Holiday Ale Festival was celebrated in Pioneer Courthouse Square some 10 days ago ....

Since arriving in Portland, I have become a first class brew snob ... and I make no apologies for that ....

Oregon beers are superb .... Hail Beervana ! ....

[depakid]

32. That must have been great!

Missing the Lucky Labrador too, right about now.

Or for that matter- a McMinnemins!

Familiar company and a nice pint of Hammerhead-



or even a Ruby (Tuesday)- which I bet edwardlindy would like.

In 1985, McMenamins became the first brewery in the U.S.A. to legally use fruit in the creation of ales. While many other breweries have followed suit, we still make this Ruby exactly as we first did: Light, crisp and refreshingly fruity. 42 pounds of Oregon-grown and processed raspberry puree are used in every batch. Taste the original!

Malts used: Pale Malt
Hops used: Vary
Fruit: Raspberries
Calories: 170 per pint

A couple of Northwest breweries do the lambic thing- or strong ass barley wines, but they're tough to acquire a taste for.

Down under, there's at one least brewer who bottles that get's it- using local ingredients like wattleseed in their darker full bodied ale and lemon myrtle in the lighter witbeirs.

I know- beer snobs- but then again, being born an American- wandering to Oregon, maybe Ben Franklin's words are- lol- worth taking to heart:

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

:hi:

[Alexander]

41. Are you referring to the framboise beer?

That stuff is really good.

[mikelgb]

52. Framboise = Raspberry

they also have Kreik = Cherry, Cassis = Black Currant, Peach and Apple

[Alexander]

59. Yes. The Raspberry was my favorite by far.

Thanks, I didn't know what those words meant.

[mikelgb]

49. Hey have Lindeman's Lambic Beers

in Raspberry, Cherry, Apple, Peach and Black Currant

they are very sweet and oh so tasty

[frylock]

16. barely

[mopinko]

37. the big companies have taken over lots of the little breweries

everywhere.

[Chulanowa]

45. That's a good question...

I can't imagine there's much of a market for the American breweries and their lawn clipping soda over in Europe. Maybe it's all sold at Eurodisney?

[FarCenter]

5. I thought that Anheuser Busch had been acquired by InBev of Belgium

They are Stella Artois now.

[dipsydoodle]

11. Stella

is just a brand name for one of InBev's lagers.

[Downtown Hound]

6. I'm going to say something very controversial

I kind of like Budweiser. :hide:

[newscott]

13. Every now and then on a hot hot summer day

Bud served at just above 32 degrees is great! Otherwise, it's pretty much piss.

[Psephos]

24. I like it too. n/t

[Joe Steel]

42. Sometimes you just want a beer.

All that boutique beer is OK if for change every now and then. But when you just want a beer not some over-hopped pilsner or an experiment with spices and fruit, an american-style lager can't be beaten.

[mike_c]

44. agreed-- that's why I NEVER drink budwieser....

:rofl:

Why drink diluted horse piss when what you really want is a beer?

[Joe Steel]

48. So...

Do you like hibiscus flowers in your "beer?"

[mike_c]

50. nah-- THIS is beer....

Anderson Valley Brewing Company. Bet you can't drink just one....

http://www.avbc.com/

[Joe Steel]

58. No thanks.

I can all of that stuff right here at home. The problem is, it's either got too much hops or bizarre flavor,. Like a said, sometimes you just want a beer.

[jmowreader]

54. Budweiser is good beer IF it's on draft

When they pasteurize it and put it in cans, it's not good beer.

Note I did not say GREAT beer. It's not. But it's serviceable.

[izquierdista]

7. Reminds me of making love in a canoe

Both are fucking close to water. :rofl: :rofl:

[downindixie]

12. I'm still drinking Natural

ice at $3.60 a six pack,I can afford!

[saigon68]

21. Natty Ice is a Real FAST BUZZ at $11.36 for a 30 pack

It kicks ass. Its also 5.9% alcohol. Not as good as St Ides Malt. But the Fowty of St Ides gets warm near the end.

With Natty on a hot day slamming 6 or 7 in an hour gets one buzzed up pleasantly fast, without the crude after taste or a hang over

[Myrina]

14. Yay!!!!

I remember first hearing about the 'original Busweiser' a few years back and what flabbergasted that the US Company had seemingly stolen their name and (of course) got away with it.


Yay for the little European brewmeister guys!!!

[dipsydoodle]

15. There's an even more tragic example of that.

An American company has got the trademark now for Havanna Cigars believe it or not.

[Igel]

17. It's a bit messier than that.

The way I heard it is that one brother went to the US and took the name with him. The Czech company stayed small and fairly true to the original recipe, the US company swelled and watered down their swill.

Not really theft, just moving to different parts of the world.

Then the US company moved into the Czech Republic and challenged the use of the name by the Czech Company. That went over very poorly, and legal challenges were mounted.

[Penance]

26. Not quite

Eberhard Anheuser and Adolphus Busch, one an American the other Bavarian (southern German) founded Anheuser-Busch. What is now known as Budweiser in the US is in the general style of light lagers first brewed in a city Plzeň in the Czech Republic. (Hence, Bud is a "Pilsner".) The original Budweiser was made in a city known in German as Budweis and now as České Budějovice. "Budweiser" is just German for "from České Budějovice". The name was orginally supposed to be evocative of famous Bohemian beers. The two don't have anything to do with each other beyond the general style of beer.

Both companies essentially had the rights to the name in their respective countries. There's no way any red-blooded Czech court would ever side against one of their leading beer producers and vice-versa. The problem is the legal wrangling in every single country they export beer too. It's now basically become one big legal pissing match between David (with his EU court slingshot) and Golaith. Notice that this news isn't about the trademark "Budweis", "Budvar" or "Budweiser". It's over "Bud". That's not how you shorten a name like that in Czech and it's almost universally recognized as the short form of the US Budweiser.

Oddly enough, Anheuser-Busch imports the Czech Budweiser here in the US! It's called Czechvar and is even listed on A-B's site. It's worth the effort to track down. It survives shipping and pasteuization better than the more iconic (but similar) Pilsner Urquelle does.
http://www.anheuser-busch.com/BeerVerified.html

[4lbs]

19. I don't drink Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch version) unless there's nothing else available.

Otherwise, it's strictly 'real' beer for me. Pilsner, pale ale, amber bock, etc. Microbreweries rule.

I can't see how anyone would actually like that Clydesdale-piss-in-a-bottle that is called Budweiser.

If I have to drink domestic, I'll either go with MGD or Sam Adams.

[alfredo]

25. Domestic- Schafly Dry Hopped APA Stone Pale Ale, Bells Oberon.

Can you tell I like hops? I will drink a Milk or Oatmeal Stout, or an occasional Bock. Great Lakes Elliot Ness is a good dark Ale. Their Burning River Ale is pretty nice. Bells Two Hearted Ale for a smack you in the face hops.

[Cirque du So-What]

22. I've become enamored of this microbrew lately

http://www.tyranena.com/beers/ipa.htm

In the pubs of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Budweiser is scorned by the locals, who reason that drinking that particular brew involves literally drinking their own urine. See, they're way upstream on the Mississippi River, and Budweiser - down in St. Louis - is made from waters that may have some treated effluent from Wisconsin.

I didn't say it was a brilliant theory...

[liberal N proud]

33. This Bud is not for you

[lonestarnot]

34. TEE HEE.

[Habibi]

36. I bet "Buttwiper" is still available, though.

[Renew Deal]

38. European Budweiser bottles usually just say "Bud"

So this will affect them.

[Bigmack]

39. Bud lite...

is the brew of litterbugs. Where we are, 90% of the roadside bottles and cans are Bud Lite.

Scares the shit out of us when we bike. We realize those empties are thrown by drivers getting a buzz while they drive. On shitty beer, too.

We pick 'em up and return for the 5 cents each.

[Bake]

40. Great. The Beer Snobs are out in force today.

Bake

[fascisthunter]

43. Why Do You Call People Snobs? Because They Don't Like the Beer You Like?

You seem to have a real problem with DU in general.

[Bake]

56. The Beer Snobs come out every time Budweiser is mentioned.

Because whatever THEY drink is oh so much better. It's fun to look down one's nose at the most popular brand of beer in America.

Bake

[Trajan]

62. It's easy to look down one's nose at Budweiser beer ...

When it is swirling in the toilet under your face ...

Yeah .... THAT Bud is for you, but it sure as FUCK is not for me ...

I could not stand drinking Bud, even as a young teen ...

Budweiser tasted awful to MY palate, and frankly, lead me to dislike beer in general, which I rarely touched over the years .... Until I arrived in Portland Oregon ....

Now ... I am a great fan of beer brewed by LOCAL artisans, and enjoyed in the same brewpub in which they were created .... Beer is WAY better from microbreweries than from the giant factories of Annheiser Busch ... That is my opinion ....

If all I had to drink was Budweiser, I would not drink beer at all ...

Beer snob ? .... whatever suits your fancy, Bud ....

Traj

jan

whatevah ...

[KansDem]

55. If you think this is bad, just wait until we start discussing scotch!

That's when the gloves come off!

[Bake]

57. For real!

That's why I don't drink Scotch. OK, not really, I just prefer bourbon.

Bake

[lebkuchen]

46. The Czech Bud is fantastic, btw.

no comparison to the American piss-water brand.

[happylib]

47. I have 1 share of bud stock and will lose it

Wife bought it for a birthday present.

I believe it was $100 per share, paid quarterly dividend of .49

After Cindy McCain sold it, the US jobs will be lost. They wrote me and said all share holders must surrender there stock and will be paid about $70 per share back

[iamincali83]

60. Budweiser is the most disgusting thing I ever tasted!

:puke:

[eridani]

61. The lab tests on the American Budweiser came back

Sorry to report that your horse is diabetic.

[Tiggeroshii]

63. I like Bud!!

Unlike some people on this thread...

Jeez man. It seems like I'm on different sides of EVERY issue here on DU all night tonight! Dang...