MINOCQUA, Wis. — It's a battle over beer in Wisconsin as two independent breweries enter a legal fight over the use of a time-honored Midwestern saying.
Two Wisconsin businesses are involved in the fight: OPE! Brewing in West Allis and Minocqua Brewing Co. OPE! filed a lawsuit against Minocqua Brewing Co. after it launched a beer called "OPE: A Lager with Big Dad Energy" in honor of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's vice presidential run.
Both businesses recently took to social media to explain their sides of the story.
Minocqua Brewing Co. posted first on Facebook, saying they got a call from OPE! Brewing after releasing the beer saying they stole the company's trademarked name. The post stated that the two tried to collaborate for a solution - OPE! offered splitting the profits evenly while Minocqua offered 5% of the profit - but they couldn't reach a compromise.
Minocqua Brewing Co. went ahead with selling the beer and OPE! sued their rival for trademark infringement.
In a Facebook post, OPE! Brewing shared its side of the story, saying they asked Minocqua Brewing Co. to rebrand as soon as the beer was announced for presale. The company shared that they own the trademark "Ope" in Wisconsin as related to beverages, beer, liquor, wine and food service.
"We did not rush to the Courthouse without warning; it was only after Minocqua Brewing refused to respect our trademark after multiple requests, that we filed our lawsuit," Ope! Brewing's Facebook post read.
The post went on to request that commenters be kind and not tear down either independent brewery.
Since then, Minocqua Brewing Co. has relabeled the controversial beer as "Big Dad Energy: A Vice Presidential Lager." The remaining cans labeled "OPE" were sold on the brewery's website, according to the Facebook post.
The next time the two brewing companies will be in court is Oct. 1 for a scheduling conference.