From Denver Pearl Brewing:
Denver, CO: After only 3 months of operations the owners of the family run Denver Pearl
Brewing Company, located on South Pearl Street in Denver, will change their name to avoid
legal action. The re-branded brewery will open Saturday September 6th,
from Noon until
Midnight, with a large "Re-Naming Party" that features new beers, special barrel-aged releases,
and prizes to mark the occasion. They also plan to roll out new merchandise with the new name
and logo! While that name remains under wraps until September the ownership, the staff, the
location and all of the beers will remain the same.
The name change comes after receiving pressure from other operating brewers. One national
and one local brewery threatened legal action because of the name and rather than fight to
keep it, the Rankin family decided to pull back and move ahead with a new name.
Attorneys representing the Pabst Brewing Company, who own the trademark for Pearl Brewing
Company of San Antonio, had given notice of their issues with the name, one citing customer
confusion. Chief Operating Officer Randy Rankin explains, “We researched Pearl being used in
the brewing industry and found brewers using it frequently and assumed our name was different
enough. Our intentions were to have our name represent this great Denver neighborhood and
certainly not to confuse customers in or from Texas.” While Pearl Brewing Company closed in
2001 and no longer produces beer on site, Pabst still produces Pearl and Pearl Light beer for
distribution in Texas and Oklahoma at the Miller facility in Fort Worth, TX.
Additionally, one brewer from the local brewing scene threatened legal action as well, as they
felt they were entitled to the sole use of the word “Denver” in craft brewing. That alone seemed
simple to overcome legally, however with a pair of potential legal snares on the horizon the
solution became apparent: get a fresh name and keep on brewing. Rankin added, “We did not
get into the craft beer industry to spend money in court, we are here to brew and serve
outstanding craft beer in the city of Denver. That is what we are going to continue to do.”
Moving ahead and putting a positive spin on the legal issues is Colby Rankin, the Operating
Partner of the brewery, said “Well, I guess we will just have to open fresh and throw another
crazy party?” On the first grand opening in June, a line of people patiently waited for a chance to
try the brewery’s offerings. Colby added, “We plan to throw a bigger party than our original
opening day… which killed it! We love all of the support we have received from our customers
and we will continue to strive to make them happy with our liquid love.”
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