Legality Question - Releasing a small batch to a bar

That's a good start.

 

I just sent an email to Jacob Wirth with this thread


"Because of family, I am in your area twice a month. I would stop by your place about once a month. I always enjoyed going there. You won’t see me there again because you screwed a fellow BA over. I will make sure to tell people not to go.
I don’t support businesses that don’t live up to their bargains. "

I will let you know if they respond.

 

I'm confused on how this is JW's fault. IMO that email would have been better directed at Sam Adams. JW can't do anything if they don't get any beer, they aren't a brewpub (or are they, i just glanced online quickly, I'm from CA). I wouldn't be surprised if JW was under the same impression as OP, they probably expected that after the competition a few kegs would be delivered to them from Sam Adams.

 

the point people are missing is that regardless of the wording, it was IMPLIED that it was to be brewed at sam adams. sam adams and jacob wirth both look like jerks. this is pretty weak. shame on you both.

also...they're giving you the run-around. sam adams could easily make this beer at their toy brewery in jp. they'd have to register it with the ttb, but all that entails is sending an email. they would sell the beer through burke, they're appointed boston distributor.

 

It sounds to me like this was JW's contest so they should take the hit/blame for things going wrong and try to make it right.

 

I suggest you call the number back, get Jim Koch's email address this time (don't get into why, none of their concern, it's the Investor Relations line and you might be a shareholder or prospective one), send him your message above and a pointer to this thread, and let him decide for himself what bad publicity costs.

 

I might give this a shot

 

like they said before, Do Not Waste Your Time with Underlings!

 

On behalf of Jacob Wirth, I apologize to all for what has become a serious miscommunication.
The publicity for the event promised that entrants would have their beer judged by the brewers of Sam Adams. This did in fact occur.
There was a desire on the part of all involved in the organization of the event to do more, and the limitations of those desires were not effectively communicated to the contestents.
On review of the event by attorneys the goal that was hoped for was not legally possible for a number of reasons. However, the result is a black eye for all of the organizers for a failure to be explicit and creating a perception that was not possible to acheive. As Falstaff said in Shakespeare's "King Richard", "First thing we do is kill all the Lawyers."
I know all of the organizers truly made efforts to find a way of making the misperception a reality. It just was not possible. We all have spoken to the winner. I understand that we have come up short in expectations. On behalf of all involved I can only say I am sorry for the disappointing outcome, even if what was promised did occur.

 

What was meant as an apology, sounds like passing the buck and scapegoating.

Besides that, I'm kind of skeptical that multiple attorneys on the clock would be reviewing something like this in the first place. . .

It wasn't Falstaff either. It was Dick the Butcher.

I'm calling bullshit.

 

I had not realized that this was JW's contest. In that case, I must say that i agree.

 

Care to elaborate for everyone?

 

I received an email that says essentially the same thing except it tries to lay the blame on Samuel Adams.
{I willpost it later when I am at a computer}
Blaming the lawyers is a cop out. First, as it has been pointed out several times, there are legal ways to do this.
Secondly, how about you check with the lawyers before you start the contest.

We may need to call for the BA nation to boycott Boston Beer Co!!!! !!

 

Don't we already do that?

And yes, a more detailed explanation of these legal hangups could go a long way toward preserving public opinion of JW. Or it could go the other way, assuming it's a "pass the buck" type of situation

 

"Winning home brew will be served at Jacob Wirth for 1 month"

OP - is this the entire description of the prize you believe you are entitled to receive?

 

So they advertise the contest, promise that the beer will be served, and then AFTER that check with the lawyers and find out its not possible? I don't blame the lawyers on that one, I blame the nitwit who put the contest together without vetting it through all the necessary channels, including the lawyers, BEFORE it was advertised. Total passing of the buck to blame anyone other than Jacob Wirth.

 

It sounds like the wording of the contest was poor/vague to say the least. Unfortunately this may be the only real cause for the inaction by JW or SA. I do not know all of the proper legal terminology but I do know that it is illegal to offer a prize in a contest and then not issue said prize (assuming that there is a winner by the definition of the contest). And while you would be foolish to start a legal battle (cost, time, etc isn't worth this prize) I do think you'd have some ground to stand on.

As for the bar - I agree that the response above is BS. I highly doubt that JW was in contact with lawyers (or even a single lawyer) concerning this contest. Either way, to then pass blame on to the lawyers is insane. I think it's a cop out and the bar doesn't want to deal with the hastle or cost associated with making this beer a reality.

As for the brewery - the 'legal' quandry they claim to be in is equally insane. Breweries brew one-off beers all the time. No label is required if it is kegged. A local brewery occasionally makes a one-off batch of kegged beer and hand-delivers a single keg to several bars around town. The "label" is just a generic keg collar that has an "other" line, in which the beer name is written in. Done. They just brewed a small batch beer for a single bar if you want to read it that way. No odd legalities, no governmental loopholes to find or flaming hoops to jump through.

Now - it very may well be illegal to give away homebrew at a bar for free and it is definitely illegal to sell homebrew. So if JW and SA want to interpret the contest as claiming the winner gets to provide homebrewed beer to be served at the bar, then yes, it is illegal. And I didn't need a lawyer to tell me that. No need to kill the lawyers either. But if this is what JW and SA truly believed, then both ought to get out of the industry right now, because such an assumption or interpretation is asinine.

This whole thing is a quagmire that both parties seem to be mired in somehow - so I hesitate to claim foul on JW or SA individually. But both ought to suck it up and find a way to make it work. Copping out of it is lazy, bad business, and even worse beer advocacy. For now I'll remember to never stop by JW when in Boston, and I guess I will start asking for legal fine print if a prize is ever offered at a competition I enter.

Sorry bro. These guys are handing you the short end of a shit stick and it stinks real bad.

 

It sounds like the SA never planned to actually brew the beer and the JW people never thought about the absurdity of asking a homebrewer to provide the beer himself, nor the obvious illegality of a selling a beer from a non-licensed brewery. It also might be that the folks at JW thought they had SA on board to brew it but they backed out. Regardless of who made the mistake, it took us all about 5 seconds to realize you can't sell homebrewed beer and another 5 seconds to realize saying that the 'winning home brew will be served at Jacob Wirth for 1 month' implies that somebody besides the homebrewer would be making it. They didn't need a legal opinion to figure that out themselves and blaming it on lawyers is the worst cop out.

I've worked on a number of contests and sweepstakes myself and have been a part of some big boners (we once gave patients a card with a toll free number that went to a phone sex line). Honest mistakes happen and good people often show surprisingly little thought about the details. However, regardless of what really happened here, between both parties they royally blew it and I would be glad to join the dragging of both of them through the court of public opinion until they make it right. The only way is for somebody - it should be SA but it could be any licensed brewer - brews the recipe and makes it available at Jacob Wirth.

I agree with bringing this to the higher ups at Sam Adams. I really do think they have the means and the motivation to fix it. If not, I'll be pretty disappointed in them.