Jazz drummer T.S. Monk, the son of jazz great Thelonious Monk and administrator of the late pianist's estate, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Fort Bragg, Calif.-based North Coast Brewing Company over its popular abbey ale, Brother Thelonious. North Coast has been brewing Brother Thelonious for over ten years.

The lawsuit states that the Monk estate had given verbal permission to North Coast to use Thelonious Monk's image in the sale of the beer in exchange for the brewery's agreement to donate some profits to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, a nonprofit jazz education program with locations in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

However, as the lawsuit states in an attached letter dated January 2016, Monk Jr. rescinded that permission upon realizing that the brewery was using Monk's likeness and name on brewery merchandise (which as of this writing is still on sale) and in signage during beer and jazz festivals. The estate's lawyer stated in the letter to North Coast's legal representation that permission to use Monk's image would only be reinstated if and when the brewery entered into a licensing agreement with the Monk Estate.

"At no time prior to January 11, 2016 did either T.S. Monk or the Monk Estate authorize North Coast to utilize the THELONIOUS MONK name, image or likeness for the sale of merchandize such as cups, hats, hoodies, iron on patches, soap, t-shirts, tap handles, metal and neon signs, pins, playing cards, mouse pads, posters, and food products," the lawsuit reads.

The beer's famed label depicts Monk in sunglasses and a red cap, coronated by an aureola of piano keys, and with his hand on a skull. The skull, as the designer of the label states, is a "memento mori," a Latin phrase that translates to "Remember that you are mortal." After a storied career, Monk died of a stroke in 1982. His name was posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993 and a special Pulitzer Prize in 2006, for a "body of distinguished and innovative musical composition that has had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of jazz."

The Monk estate's filing continues to state that "despite notice," the brewery continued to "exploit" the Monk name without permission and without providing compensation to the estate, causing "irreparable" harm to the jazzman's legacy. The Monk estate is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

North Coast Brewing declined to give a statement on the lawsuit.

SFGATE has reached out to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz for comment.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

