Giant US firm which makes Budweiser crushes tiny UK brewers - for naming beer after their children's primary school

US corporation Anheuser-Busch produces fruit-flavoured Belle-Vue beer

It claims customers may confuse its own beer with those made by Belleville



Belleville's two directors named their ale after their children's popular school

UK firm has just £1,000 in the bank and court action could bankrupt them



With just £1,000 in the bank and one part-time employee, the Belleville Brewing Company is hardly in a position to threaten the global dominance of the world’s biggest drinks producer.



But Anheuser-Busch, the powerful US corporation which numbers Budweiser among its brands, apparently thinks otherwise.



Lawyers acting on its behalf have written to the group of parents who run Belleville demanding that they drop the name or else face court action which could bankrupt them with legal fees. The US giant claims that customers could confuse Belleville’s ales and its own fruit-flavoured Belle-Vue beer.

Anheuser-Busch, which produces Belle-Vue beers, pictured left, has threatened a Wandsworth microbrewery called Belleville Brewing Company, pictured right, with legal action unless it changes it name



The heavy-handed intervention has shocked the fledgling British business, which is named after the popular state school attended by the children of Belleville’s two directors – real ale fans Adrian Thomas and Mark McGuinness-Smith.

Potential investors are also required to have a child at Belleville Primary in Wandsworth, South London, to ensure the small-scale enterprise retains its community links. Mr Thomas, 50, said: ‘The legal threat is ludicrous because the products are completely different.



‘Belle-Vue is a Belgian fruit-flavoured beer with a tart taste. Our beer is made with American yeast and hops and is more like a pale ale. None of the shops and pubs we supply are more than a few miles away.’



However, Anheuser-Busch – which last year generated revenue of nearly $40billion (£26 billion) – has made the extraordinary claim that consumers could confuse the two.



Shocked: Five of the founding members of the Belleville Brewing Company, pictured from left to right are Adrian Thomas, Mark NcGuinness, Guy Martin, Olivier Chatriot and Stephane Rognan, were stunned by the heavy-handed intervention

A warning letter, drafted by British lawyers hired by the Missouri-based company to protect its UK commercial interests, says: ‘Visually and aurally, Belle-Vue and Belleville share the first six letters in common and end with the same letter “e”.

‘Conceptually, both Belle-Vue and Belleville would be understood by the English-speaking consumer as signifying something beautiful.



‘As a result of this considerable degree of similarity . . . your use [of the name] is bound to lead to deception and confusion among the public and our clients’ consumers and potential customers.



‘Such use also enables you to take unfair advantage of, or free ride on, our clients’ reputation in the EU.’ The letter, from Bristol law firm Humphreys & Co, demands the destruction of all packaging and promotional material bearing the microbrewery’s name and the removal of any references to Belleville on the company’s website within 28 days.

Lawyers for Anheuser-Busch claims the name Belleville could easily be confused with Belle-Vue beers by English-speaking consumers

Anheuser-Busch claimed the level of similarity between the names would lead to deception and confusion

Mr Thomas, a musician who played guitar and keyboards with Tubular Bells creator Mike Oldfield in the 1990s – said his first instinct was to defy the threat of a High Court injunction. But after consulting colleagues, he decided a more prudent course would be to choose another name. One option under consideration is Northcote, the name of a road in Wandsworth.



Mr Thomas started home-brewing in his kitchen and offered his ale for the first time at a beer festival organised by the parent-teacher association at Belleville. His nine-year-old son, Callum, attends the school and elder son Jake, now 11, is a former pupil.



Mr Thomas added: ‘There is only one member of Belleville staff – me – and I don’t draw a salary.



‘The legal action must have been triggered when we registered the name. We feel coerced and bullied. It’s as if they’re saying, “We have more money than you, so you’ve got to do as we say.”



A UK spokesman for Anheuser-Busch, whose chief executive Carlos Brito last year received a £2.7 million bonus, said: ‘We are unable to comment on ongoing legal matters.’

No relation: Belleville School in London is entirely separate from the Belle-Vue brand of beer

Simple idea: Two directors of the Brewery suggested the name Belleville after the popular school their children attened in Wandsworth



