Brewdog U-turn over legal threat to 'Lone Wolf' pub

Brewdog U-turn over legal threat to 'Lone Wolf' pub

The founder of Brewdog has responded to the social media storm surrounding its threat to force a Birmingham pub to drop the name 'Lone Wolf' - the moniker of the craft beer firm's vodka brand - and given his blessing for the pub to use the name.

James Watt, Brewdog’s captain and co-founder, tweeted that his lawyers had "got a bit trigger-happy" and said that he was happy "happy for the Lone Wolf Bar in Birmingham to keep using the name".

But the owners of the pub, now called just 'The Wolf', counter-tweeted that it was a shame they had to "spend money rebranding because of 'lawyers'".

Earlier today it was reported that the Scottish brewer had threatened the pub with legal action if it did not change its name, despite claims by the family who own the Birmingham business that they had chosen the name in 2015, prior to Brewdog revealing its vodka brand.

The ensuing social media response saw Brewdog pilloried, with one tweeter accusing it of behaving like "another multinational corporate machine", while press coverage also clearly swayed the brewer’s U-turn.

While Watt’s response has been welcomed by some Twitter users, others have been less magnanimous, accusing Brewdog’s of acting a bit too late, while one user suggested Watts had only backtracked to counter negative publicity.

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