No-Li sues Redhook Brewery over use of "Big Juicy" in name of new beer

May 4—A juicy lawsuit is on tap in federal court, pitting Spokane's own No-Li Brewhouse against Seattle's Redhook Brewery over trademark issues in the ever-competitive craft beer business.

Redhook has released a new beer: Big Juicy Ballard, which uses No-Li's trademark Big Juicy name and a nod to Redhook's Seattle neighborhood.

In the lawsuit filed late last month in federal court, No-Li alleges that Redhook violated their trademark for the words "Big Juicy."

No-Li has grown in the past dozen years to become well known within the Northwest. And Big Juicy IPA is the flagship and top seller promoted statewide, according to No-Li.

In 2015, No-Li filed an intent-to-use trademark for Big Juicy. Two years later, the brewery received a notice of allowance, granting that application.

The trademark registration is for the words only, meaning other parties cannot change the font or add decorative designs to claim their version of the phrase is unique, according to the lawsuit.

Then in January 2023, No-Li filed two declarations to prove continued use of Big Juicy over five years, meeting the requirement to become incontestable. The United States Trademark Office accepted the declaration in July.

In April, Redhook began promoting a new beer: Big Juicy Ballard.

No-Li owner John Bryant emailed the president of American Beverage Crafts, which owns Redhook, notifying him that No-Li had trademarked the phrase.

The Spokesman-Review was unable to reach Redhook for comment.

No-Li's attorney also sent a similar notification to Tilray, the company that owns a controlling interest in American Beverage Crafts. Tilray did not immediately respond to request for comment.

It's clear that Redhook knew of No-Li's Big Juicy IPA because, the lawsuit alleges, Redhook sold No-Li's Big Juicy at its own brewery until recently.

No-Li argued that "Big Juicy" alone is predominately featured on the beer's packaging, with "Ballard" being placed lower and separately.

It's likely that the beer will be referred to as only "Big Juicy," further tainting No-Li's trademark, Bryant argued.

As an example, they cited an article in Sip Magazine from early April where Parker Penley, Innovation Brewer at Redhook, is quoted calling the beer just "Big Juicy."

"We took our time to develop this recipe, challenge our own processes and push the boundaries of what we've done in the past," Penley said. "The result is something special. With its juicy hop profile and robust (alcohol by volume), Big Juicy packs a tremendous amount of flavor inside a remarkably drinkable beer."

No-Li went on to argue that Redhook using the words "Big Juicy" would confuse buyers and imply the beer was sponsored by No-Li.

Redhook has yet to respond to the lawsuit.