Mormon Church Forces Brewery to Discontinue Beer Over Trademark Complaint

(Photo: Bewilder Brewing)

Bewilder Brewing Co. in Salt Lake City plans to discontinue its Deseret IPA after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also known as the Mormon church issued a trademark complaint. On Monday, the Utah brewery announced it will phase out the beer in a newsletter. 

The word itself, “deseret” can be found in the Book of Mormon and means “honey bee” and the brewery’s beer Deseret IPA used honey as part of the recipe.

The newsletter obtained by AXIOS, read, “Unfortunately a large tax exempt Utah-based entity wasn’t pleased with our use of the word Deseret. We have been asked to drop our Trademark and discontinue the brand.”

Bewilder filed a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the name last August. The brewery abandoned the trademark after the church and several affiliated businesses filed as “potential opposers.” 

“They claimed to have some food and beverage offerings and were afraid of ‘marketplace confusion,” Bewilder Brewing Co.owner, Cody McKendrick told Axios.

It was unlikely that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the brewery would find themselves at odds in the market. Practitioners of the Mormon faith follow a set of health guidelines Joseph Smith received from God in 1833. Members of the church are supposed to abstain from alcohol along with coffee, tea, tobacco and illegal drugs.

“Their members would never think the LDS Church would be putting out a beer,” said McKendrick. “I don’t have any money to fight with [the church], so we’ll just move on from that beer.”

Reportedly, a number of local businesses use the word deseret despite not having an apparent affiliation with the church. It may have been the association with alcohol that prompted the LDS Church to file an opposition. The trademark dispute is not holding Bewilder back and it called the situation a “great opportunity” to create new beers. 

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