A tail of two Yetis: Red Yeti sued by Great Divide.

Although I recall hearing about this dispute previously, it seems I neglected to mention it here at the PC blog. Maybe it was on social media. No matter.

Whatever one's position on Great Divide's trademark claim, ignoring a cease and desist order might not be the best legal maneuver.

Having recently been compelled to engage the services of an attorney, who prices hourly services very fairly, it occurs to me that a few hours on the clock can wipe out a Friday night's take -- and Great Divide probably has deeper pockets.  

We await further developments. If it were me, and the lawsuit goes badly for Red Yeti, I'd go with Red Trotsky as a replacement. There may even be posters somewhere.

Colorado brewer sues Jeffersonville’s Red Yeti brewpub in trademark dispute, by Marcus Green (WDRB)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Since opening in 2013, The Red Yeti brewpub and restaurant in Jeffersonville, Ind., has used a sunglasses-clad, arm-swinging creature as its logo.

But to Denver’s Great Divide Brewing Co., the beast that adorns the Spring Street business is an abomination that needs to go.

Great Divide filed a federal lawsuit against Red Yeti on Friday, accusing the Southern Indiana company of trademark infringement, deceptive trade practices and unfairly using the image. It seeks an injunction banning Red Yeti from displaying the “confusingly similar” designer, a jury trial and unspecified damages.

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Red Yeti's brewing operation has started.

I'm happy that Red Yeti is brewing.

It's a difficult conversion to go from featuring beers from everywhere as part of a run-up to shifting emphasis to those beers you're brewing in-house. Trust me. I know this quite well, from experience. It took almost ten years for NABC house beers to outsell guest drafts at the Pizzeria & Public House. The sooner the transition, the better. We all should be in business for what we got into business to be, in this case, a brewery.

Congratulations are in order. That said, it's potentially confusing to have a Sterling ale in a local marketplace where Sterling of old has been revived and is being sold again.

And did I mention that since 1985, NABC has had a beer called Hoptimus ... which is an I2PA?

Red Yeti begins brewing, taps its first beer, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville)

It was a long wait for Paul Ronau, whose wife Brandi opened Red Yeti Brewing back in May. The restaurant portion took off quickly, backed by a lineup of guest taps. But brewing had to be placed on the back burner.

But Ronau, a long-time home brewer, kept things moving forward, installing a small brewing system and getting all the licenses in place. He began brewing a few weeks ago, and the culmination was the Saturday release of Sterling Pale Ale, named for the Sterling hops with which it was brewed. The first tapping was not a full keg, so it sold out quickly, but a full keg went on tap on Oct. 14.

Red Yeti Brewing in Jeffersonville moves closer to opening.

I heard the first stirrings of Red Yeti Brewing roughly one year ago, and the semi-official public announcement was made in May, 2013. It's great news for Jeffersonville. Here's an update from Kevin "502 Brews" Gibson.

Red Yeti Brewing hopes to open by late January in Jeffersonville

Another microbrewery and pub is set to open in early 2014 – Red Yeti Brewing nears completion of its brewing operation and restaurant after completely overhauling a two-story structure in downtown Jeffersonville.

Owner Brandy Ronau said she and her husband Paul Ronau have been planning the brewery for three years, and renovations to the building at 256 Spring St. have been going on for about a year. Brandy said Red Yeti just got approved for a liquor license to have a full bar in addition to house-made beers.

Which led to an interesting digression elsewhere. What do you think? To me, it's a coincidence and no great shakes, although John's right: Out in the marketplace, and the parameters might be different. That's a long way off, and the important thing is for Red Yeti to open and begin brewing good beer.

What’s in a name?, by John King (LouisvilleBeer.com)

... (Kevin) Gibson discussed the proposed opening of Red Yeti Brewery in Jeffersonville, IN with their headlining beer “HopIPAtamus”. As soon I read that, I thought to myself two things:

1. How the hell do you say that? (pronounce it similarly to “hippopotamus”)

2. That sounds an awful lot like it’s neighbor to the west, Hoptimus from NABC. (Not to be confused with Hoptimus Prime by Ruckus Brewing…which can’t touch NABCs version)

HopIPAtamus. Hoptimus. That could get confusing if Red Yeti started putting beer out in the Kentuckiana market.

Red Yeti Brewing Company. Coming to Jeffersonville?

It's always amazing what you can find on the Internetz.

My tip about Red Yeti Brewing Company came from a former beer class student, who remarked that he had been talking to the property owner. I can't place the building, although I was told that it is located at Spring and Chestnut in Jeffersonville.

From Untappd, we learn only that Paul R. is a homebrewer going pro, while much of the information at the official web site has to do with bureaucratic wranglings pertaining to the site build-out.

Hmm. HopIPAtimus. Seems there's a beer somewhere with a name almost the same as that ... surely just a coincidence.