BOYCOTT MONSTER ENERGY

On September 14th 2009 — Hansen, the publicly traded parent of Monster Energy, declared war on the craft beer industry when it slapped Rock Art Brewery, a small craft brewery in Vermont, with a Cease and Desist order for the name of its American Style Barleywine — VERMONSTER.

In its letter to Rock Art Brewery, Hansen makes the asinine claim that “use and registration of VERMONSTER in connection with beer will undoubtedly cause confusion or/or dilute the distinctive quality of Hansen’s Monster marks.”

The craft beer industry is up in arms over this attack. Craft beer brewers, enthusiasts and beer bloggers across the country have united to support Rock Art Brewery in their fight against Hansen, Monster and corporate America. There has been a tremendous public outcry against Monster.

BLOGGERS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE UNITING TO SUPPORT ROCK ART BREWERY.

This blog was created to gather all the various blog posts about this issue into one centralized location. Comments on the blog are encouraged. Please forward on any links to relevant articles.

1. LOST IN THE BEER AISLE — “Save Vermonster, Save Rock Art Brewery”
2. LOST IN THE BEER AISLE — “Save Vermonster, Save Rock Art Brewery — A RESPONSE”
3. RUNAWAY JIM — “Why You Should Boycott Monster”
4. DRINK WITH THE WENCH — “Support Craft Beer — Boycott Monster”
5. GONZO GASTRONOMY — “All the dishes rattle in the cupboard when the elephants arrive…”
6. STARTING A BREWERY — “Support the Little Guy“
7. SNOWBOARDING ABOUT.COM — “Monster Energy is Messing With The Little Guy”
8. 52 BREWS — “Boycott Monster Energy”
9. FRIDAY NIGHT BEER — “Boycott Monster Energy”
10. WASHINGTON BEER BLOG — “Boycott The Monster”
11. A GOOD BEER BLOG — “If “Vermonster” Is Confusing – Isn’t “Monster” Worse?”
12. A GOOD BEER BLOG — “More on That US Trademark Law Facing Vermonster”
13. YEARLY LESSON — “More on the Monster V. Rock Art Brewery Battle”
14. SIOUX BREW — “Monster Energy Drink Maker Not Amused By Vermonster Brew”
15. BEERNEWS.ORG — “Hansen responds to trademark dispute between Monster Energy, Vermonster”
16. KEG WORKS — “Another Big Dog Trying to Keep the Little Ones Down”
17. BRAINARD BREWING — “Monster Energy vs. Vermonster”
18. A BEER IN HAND — “Vermonster Debate”
19. BEER WARS MOVIE BLOG — “The Latest David and Goliath Saga in the Beer Wars”
20. HERE FOR THE BEER — “Can a Moron in a Hurry Tell the Difference Between an Energy Drink and a Beer?”
21. HERE FOR THE BEER — “Monster Vs Vermonster — The Battle Continues”
22. BEER NATION — “Why Monster’s Trademark Claims Against Vermonster Stink”
23. TRUE CASK — “Support RockArt Brewery”
24. BRUISIN ALES — “BeerWars: The Latest David & Goliath Saga over ‘Monster'”
25. BREWED FOR THOUGHT — “FRIDAY LINK ROUNDUP — October 16th”
26. DRAFT MAG — “Rock Art Brewery In Monster ‘Faceoff'”
27. DRAFT MAG — “Sign a petition to help Rock Art Brewery fight “Monster” battle”
28. BEV REVIEW — “Monster Energy VS. BevReview”
29. SUDSY MAGGIE — “Support The Rock Art Brewery, Fight Monster”
30. DENVER BEER BLOG — “Boycott Monster Energy”
31. MUTINEER MAGAZINE — “Vermonster v. Monster”
32. WALLET POP — “A ‘Monster’ lawyer comes knocking at a small brewery”
33. STARTING UP A BREWERY — “More Thought on Rock Art, Monster, Trademarks and Puppies”
34. BRAND RANTS — “Why You Should Boycott Monster Energy Drinks”
35. MICHIGAN BEER BUZZ — “Some Kind of Monster: Monster Vs. Vermonster”
36. SMUTTYNOSE TAVERN — “Trademark Disputes: Vermonster v. Monster Energy Drinks”
37. BELLA ONLINE — “The Vermonster Fights a Monster”
38. TOP FERMENTED — “Fighting the Corporate Monster”
39. A BLOG ABOUT BEER — “Rock Art Brewery, Makers of the Vermonster, Told to Cease and Desist”
40. THE HUMANS ARE DEAD — “Monster Energy Sues Vermonster”
41. NEED COFFEE DOT COM — “Monster Lives Up to the Worst Connotations of its Name”
42. THE BREW CLUB — “Rock Art Brewery and The Monster”
43. PINT LOG — “Monster Energy Sues Rock Art Brewery”
44. DESTINATION BEER — “Support Rock Art Brewery v. Bullshit”
45. Brew. Cook. Pair. Joy –– “Monster versus Vermonster — Support the Little Guy”
46. GRAPES AND GRAINS — “David & Golliath: Rock Art Brewery vs. Monster”
47. AUSTIN CRAFT BEER EXAMINER — “Craft beer enthusiasts in Austin take to the Internet to rally for Rock Art Brewery”

12 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT ROCK ART BREWERY

by: Josh Dion of LOST IN THE BEER AISLE

#1: Visit Rock Art’s website.

#2: Join the “Vermonsters and Craft Beer Drinkers Against Monster” Facebook group.

#3: Contact Monster Energy and tell them how you feel:
Hansens company owns Monster: Contact them

#4: Contact Vermont Politicians:
Bernie Sanders: http://sanders.senate.gov/contact/
Senator Patrick Leahy: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Email Peter Welch (House of representatives [VT] and on the House Small Brewers Caucus)

#5: Discuss the topic on Twitter. Use Rock Art’s official hashtag “#ISUPPORTROCKART” in your Tweets.

#6: Follow Rock Art Brewery on Twitter.

#7: Call Hansen’s Natural and lodge a complaint. 1-800-426-7367 Remember to be polite!

#8: Contact Monster energy.

#9: Contact the board of directors for Hansens. A list of board members can be found at this link.

Email addresses are formatted: Firstname.Lastname@hansens.com

#10: Buy Rock Art beer!!!

#11: Sign this petition.

#12: Buy a Vermonster T-shirt. Not yet available on the Rock Art website. Call 802-888-9400, email rockart@pwshift.com, or visit the brewery to get one. $15. M/L/XL/XXL. Vermonster label on the front.