A small craft brewery in western France has found an unexpected silver lining after a legal clash over its tongue-in-cheek beer name – turning a potential setback into a sell-out success.
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Based in Brittany, the Brasserie de l’Imprimerie was asked by Yoko Ono to stop producing its “John Lemon” beer, a playful nod to her late husband, John Lennon. The request, which arrived via lawyers in late March, initially left owner Aurélien Picard facing a daunting choice: comply immediately or risk steep financial penalties.
According to Picard, the legal notice included figures that would make any small business pause for thought – around €100,000 in potential costs, alongside daily fines ranging from €150 to €1,000 euros if the brewery failed to act.
“They demanded we recall all our product and immediately stop using the brand,” he said.
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A legal squeeze
After some negotiation, a compromise was reached. The brewery was granted permission to continue selling its remaining stock of around 5,000 bottles until 1 July, after which production under the “John Lemon” name must cease.
For a modest operation like Picard’s, which employs just two people and produces between 50,000 and 80,000 bottles annually, the stakes were significant. The brewery mainly supplies local liquor shops and restaurants within a 40-kilometre radius of its base in Bannalec, making any disruption to its product line particularly challenging.
The beer itself, a blonde variety with a citrus twist, had been launched five years ago simply because the name felt “cool”, Picard explained.
It was also part of a broader tradition at the brewery of giving its beers playful, celebrity-inspired names.
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Powerful ingredient
Yet what might have been a blow quickly turned into a marketing windfall. News of the dispute spread rapidly, drawing attention far beyond the brewery’s usual local customer base. Within days, demand surged.
“It was crazy. I have less than 1,000 left,” Picard said, describing the rush to buy what has effectively become a limited-edition product.
He added with a hint of amusement: “It was kind of funny, amid our misfortune.”
Now, as the final bottles disappear from shelves, Picard is turning his attention to the future – namely, finding a new name for the popular brew. One idea, “Jaune Lemon” – a nod to the French word for yellow – has already been floated, though it too failed to win approval from Ono’s legal team.
Even so, the episode has given the small brewery a burst of visibility that money could scarcely buy. What began as a legal headache has, in true lemonade-from-lemons fashion, delivered a surprisingly upbeat outcome.
(With newswires)
