Dive Brief:
- Beck's beer was born in Germany, but has been brewed in Missouri since 2008, following the purchase of Anheuser-Busch by Belgium's InBev.
- The bottles are marked "St. Louis, MO," and "Product of the USA." But Francisco Rene Marty filed a lawsuit in Florida arguing that advertisements and packaging lead consumers to think the beer is still brewed in Germany.
- The lawsuit, which A-B has called frivolous, is seeking class-action status on behalf of all Beck's drinkers.
Dive Insight:
No doubt we've grown out of touch over the years, so pardon our confusion—but since when is St. Louis an inappropriate place for a beer to be brewed? Back when we were young, St. Louis and Milwaukee were the kings of the beer-making world. And Beck's was an import—one beloved only by some ex-military folks who had been stationed in West Germany during the Cold War.
No doubt things change, and we know it's hard to keep up. But we're not particularly sympathetic to someone who feels strongly enough about his beer to file a lawsuit, but doesn't feel strongly enough about it to read the label.
