Jester King - Spontaneous Fermentation Coolship Blending

Pretty sure they (JK) said they would't call it a Gueuze.

 

Oh, I understand. I just think its a bit hypocritical to not do the same to other traditional brewing regions.

That's a ton of beer. I think it works about to about 29 barrels (not bbl). Let's guess that that's just under a third of the total programs volume (guess), and you could say JK has about 100 barrels dedicated to this program!

 

Oh I know

Out of curiosity why is that? What makes lambic different is it's lack of control and "regional" bugs. IPA is not a yeast strain specific thing is about hops. Pilsner yeast came from Germany I believe. You can make a dark and light lambic if your in Belgium, but if your on Köln and you make a dark kolsch, it's no longer a kolsch. It's the same comparison that's been used for champagne. Anywhere outside of that part of the world is sparkling wine.

 

Instead of a Gueuze, we'll call it a Tueuze, pronounced Tease. You know you like it.

Sorry, bored at work.

 

this will last weeks after release, that's a lot of bottles.

 

I doubt it. I also doubt all 10,000 will be released on site. I'm sure a significant number are held back for events.

 

I see what your saying, but I think it really just boils down to the regional bugs. Maybe we should compare it to the open-fermented weissbiers of Bavaria. You could argue those have a similar terroir in them from their local microflora. I think it's really the trophy beer reputation of beers produced in Belgium which has led to such a fervent defending of the Gueze/Lambic name. Drinkers just don't covet traditional weissbier as much and I think that's why there isn't a concern of the nano brewery down the road has a Hefeweizen. I'm probably in the minority opinion on this, but it's an observation I've had.

 

Open fermentation is different than spontaneous fermentation. The Germans are still pitching yeast from batch to batch, they just may not cap their fermenters. Some English breweries do that as well.

 

So I personally don't care what @jesterkingbeer chooses to call their beer as long as it tastes good and I get some.

However, I'd like to note that the thing with Champagne is kinda complicated, and there are quite a few Champagnes made outside of France.

As it happens, the US does currently respect the name 'Champagne' as a regionally-protected trademark (as well as a few other wine styles, like Chablis), but this is a relatively new thing. Most American vintners have avoided using the term out of the same respect that JK is showing for gueuze-producers, but until the US-EU Wine Agreement in 2006, there was nothing stopping them from doing otherwise. And any brand that used the word before 2006 was grandfathered in, allowing them to continue to use the word.

Champagne became a regionally-protected trademark for the first time outside of France in 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was ratified - a treaty that the US never signed. In fact, most of the wine-producing nations today weren't even around in 1919, or didn't sign the treaty at the time, so it isn't the law in many countries.

The EU typically respects regionally-protected trademarks of its member nations and many allies (you can't call beef in Europe Kobe unless it comes from Kobe, Japan), but the United States typically does not. (You absolutely can call beef Kobe in the US regardless of where it's from. A lot of Texas ranches take advantage of this.)

Other examples of the US not respecting these names include Parmesan cheese, Stilton, and Ouzo. (The wine agreement from 2006 covered only wine - spirits and other alcoholic products were not included. So you can actually call your beer Champagne if you want.)

One final interesting point on this: the US is not alone in this. There's always a lot of "oh why is America so difficult" whining from other nations when we call some Texas beef Kobe, but India makes single-malt Scotch whisky (that's actually not bad), for example. Generally these things are informed by trade agreements - and as the United States seeks to expand the age of trademarks (to protect Mickey Mouse), there's an understanding we'll gradually accept regional designations in exchange. We'll see what TPP brings, if it ends up becoming law.

 

That's my point. Lambic brewers would like a regional appellation for their beer, kind of like Oude Gueuze vs Gueuze, which is not protected in Belgium. Anyone that doesn't call it Gueuze, does it out of respect, not because they can't legally.

But all of this is confusing...that's why I give my beers boring names

 

Thanks for the excellent review on the region marks, however, the "protecting of Mickey Mouse" is strictly Copyright[1], rather than Trademark. Both Copyright and Trademarks have limited scope and allow fair-use, but the tests are different[2]. Trademarks tend to surface every time a "big" brewer, like DogFish Head[3], or New Belgium[4] assert beer name Trademarks against local breweries.

With that said, TPP wants to enhance legal paths for enforcing US interests in stamping out, or applying legal or monetary pressure on places like India or others who do not comply with existing US "Intellectual Property" rights, Trademarks and Copyright included.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act#Support
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_trademark_law#Limits_on_trademark_law
3. http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...c-d-to-namaste-brewing-whip-in-in-atx.118302/
4. http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...oasis-texas-brewing-co-over-slow-ride.258681/

 

Good catch. My mistake. Concept still applies: as the US tries to extend the life of copyrights globally, we are more willing to accept things in exchange that we previously didn't care much about.