Don't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em: Why Brewing Together Works Better in the Craft Beer Industry Craft brewers' cooperative thinking fosters a spirit of collaboration and creates a powerful bloc that shows steady growth.
By Corie Brown •
This story appears in the September 2015 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
Old Foghorn is a killer name for a stout from the coast of Northern California, thought Lenny Mendonca, who made the beer part of his lineup when he opened Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. in 2000. In short order, a letter arrived informing the fledgling brewer that Fritz Maytag's Anchor Brewing Co. already owned the evocative name. A senior partner at management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Mendonca knew the drill—the legal chain of events that occurs when one infringes on a competitor's trademark. He received a letter. But it was not what he expected.
"It was a personal letter from Fritz—not a letter from his lawyers—suggesting we find another name and wishing us luck," says Mendonca, who came to understand that Maytag's collegial, low-key style was the rule among the craft-beer brethren.
"I will return a call from anyone in the craft-beer industry who wants to talk," he says. "Fritz and the other early craft brewers set that tone."
