ALDI beer knockoffs

The Aldi Wernesgruner *is* the real Wernesgruner.

 

And names. Moon mist = mountain dew

I give this a big meh, but to each their own.

 

Guess this is how capitalism works. Not entirely good. But not entirely bad either.

 

O'Shea's are not straight rebadges - they each differ by a .1% or 3 in ABV from their Carlow Brewing equivalent and are distinct if you taste then side by side.

 

The Wernesgruener is nice because it's usually quite fresh (compared to many GER imports) and the Kinroo Blue is a rock solid knock off of Blue Moon that is actually brewed in Belgium (Martens).

 

It’s really good too, if they wanted a house brand why not just distribute more imports we don’t get.

 

Wernersgrüner? I first read about that beer 25 years ago in a Micheal Jackson book. It was listed as one of his top rated German Pilsners. I've had it in Germany.

 

Isn't this the Trader Joe's method?

 

Oreos were a knock-off of Hydrox. There are far more egregious things in the beer world than this. If it bothered BBC that much, their lawyers would have looked at it by now, and decided if it was worth pursuing.

 

I think most of TJs stuff is made exclusively for them, sometimes by the actual manufacturer of the original.

 

They're different companies, but only kinda
https://www.producebluebook.com/2019/07/19/aldi-and-trader-joes-are-they-related/#

 

Isn't imitation the highest form of flattery

 

The article didn't mention how big both of the Aldis are. The comparison would be the Walmart of Germany. Karl Albrecht was the richest person in Germany when he died.

 

I love ALDI. Don’t be coming at my spot.

 

We're going to have to agree to disagree on that. I've had both too, many times, and find them quite identical.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/646/64454/
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/646/1751/
And the tolerance of .2% is pretty negligible, even with the TTB.
"For malt beverages containing 0.5% or more alcohol by volume –A tolerance of 0.3% above or below the alcohol content stated on the label is permissible..."

 

This is an interesting thread. It seems like it's ok to knock off a brewery's beer but not it's packaging. I guess that is because you can't copyright a recipe but you can trademark packaging.

 

I agree with this. Beer styles almost define the recipes for the beers in that style, so knock-offs of the beer's taste and style are acceptable.

You can look down the cereal aisle at the supermarket and see knock-offs of cereal, and the industry seems to live with it. However, you'll find it hard to discover another box that has the same graphics that look like a Cherrios box from General Mills, or two look-alike boxes that contain Corn Flakes (or Post Toasties if considering an exact recipe theft). There's a line drawn in the sand that the cereal industry has apparently established. Now it's the beer industry's turn to create a line.

 

Yeah, the few times in there, I've had to be careful. Always have to do a double-take when I'm there. It's amusing...lol