A DAVID and Goliath battle is brewing for an upper dale beer maker who has been challenged by an international drinks manufacturer.
Middleton-in-Teesdale microbrewery Dark Sky Brewery was set up by the county’s former acting police and crime commissioner, Steve White, after he decided to turn his hobby into a business last year.
After investing thousands of pounds in equipment, Mr White submitted an application to trademark his business name, inspired by the dark skies of the North Pennines.
But multi-million-pound drinks giant Campari has accused him of trademark infringement.
New York-based lawyers for the firm said the name Dark Sky Brewery was too similar to Campari’s SKYY Vodka and would cause confusion.
Mr White said: “Campari are trying to stop me. It’s utter rubbish. The way the process works companies have two months after they have registered the trademark to put in an objection.
“Solicitors in New York, acting for Campari, waited until the last day and lodged a formal objection. They are concerned that customers are going to confuse my beer for their SKYY Vodka.
“It’s a classic David and Goliath battle. I’m just a little one-man-band trying to brew beer for local people.”
Brewing takes place once a week and he has developed three IPAs, all of which have names inspired by the area.
Mr White said: “Early Dawn is based on the sun coming up over the North Pennines. Kirkcarrion’s Ghost is of course about the Viking legend. Then there’s Plumbum, which is the Latin name for lead and that alludes to Middleton’s historic lead mining past.”
Mr White has also developed a pilsner named Eddie’s Revenge after his pet dog.
He added: “I use the water from the Pennines, I grow my own hops and I sell the beer next door at the Teesdale Hotel – you can’t get more local than that.
“It’s a small company that brews local beer for local people and anyone else that wants to buy it.”
It was during lockdown Mr White got interested in making beer after being given a home-brew kit.
He said: “I started out with a kit and I really enjoyed it. I got really good feedback from my friends who’d tried it and I thought I’d give it a go.
“I did all my due diligence when I set up the company and I decided to trademark the company and beer but I had forgotten about it until I got this notice.
“There is a Dark Sky Distillery in Snowdonia and they didn’t have a problem with the name.
“All my beers are inspired by Teesdale and the surrounding area but Campari are off their heads if they think people are going to confuse an ale with a vodka in a bright blue bottle.”
Mr White is adamant he is going to fight to keep his company name and has invited representatives from Campari to visit his operation.
He added: “I’m a start-up business and the Government want to encourage new business to grow. And here’s little old me in Middleton-in-Teesdale. It will cost me more money than I have but I am going to fight it.
“I could be looking at tens of thousands of pounds but I’m going to fight it.
“I have no doubt that customers who drink their vodka would be absolutely flabbergasted.” It is Mr White’s intention to sell the bottled beer online once he has the right licences in place. Teesdale Hotel's landlord, Dave Falcolner, says it is already popular with his clientele.
Mr White said: “Since this all blew up. I have been contacted by a bar in Darlington and my beer is going to feature in a beer festival.”
Campari says SKYY Vodka is the number one premium vodka in the US and the fifth in the world. A spokesperson for Campari said: “This is a basic and standard intellectual property matter. A brand is the result of persistent and long-term investments: it is a legitimate interest of Campari Group to protect its loyal consumers, avoiding any confusion about the provenance of a brand carrying a similar name, and consequently protect our very own investment in brand building.”
