Berkeley-based Fieldwork Brewing Co. releases one-off beers all the time. Its latest? The Meadows, described by the brewery as a "Vermont Farmhouse Ale."

That description has ticked off the state of Vermont.

Shaun Hill, the owner of Greensboro, Vt.'s Hill Farmstead Brewery, contacted the local press and his own state representative to complain that Fieldwork's claim to be a "Vermont Farmhouse Ale" was in violation of the Representation of Vermont Origin Rule -- a mandate that any food product labeled "Vermont" must be from the Green Mountain State.

The rule is more often invoked in disputes surrounding Vermont's most famous edible exports, maple syrup and cheese. But Vermont beer has surged in popularity in the last few years. Many San Francisco breweries now make a "New England-style IPA," inspired by the cultish Heady Topper, a tropical-tasting IPA from Vermont's The Alchemist brewery.

The Meadows was a hybrid of that IPA style and a funkier farmhouse-style ale, fermented with a Saison yeast. It seems to have been intended as a nod to the Alchemist and Vermont brewing traditions; Fieldwork's website explains it as a tribute to the tri-annual secret meeting among five Illuminati-style beer magnates, which takes place at a "secret country mansion in Vermont, known as The Meadows."

There are precedents for Vermont impostors paying a price. In 2014, for example, Vermont's attorney general sued Canadian company VerMints, which called itself "Vermont's All-Natural Mints," under the rule. VerMints settled for $65,000, more than half of which was a donation to the Vermont Food Bank.

"Imagine if we were calling our wine 'California wine,' and it was from Vermont," said state representative Sam Young, whose constituency includes Greensboro.

Naturally, the Fieldwork-Vermont dispute took to Twitter.

Linking to an article in the Burlington Free Press, Young tweeted, "It might be time to change the name." Fieldwork tweeted back: "Thanks for your *concern*. It was a one time beer. We're sure you can find better uses of your time." And the Twitter battle raged on from there:

(The full exchange can be found here.)

The entire kerfuffle might have been avoided if Fieldwork had called the beer "Vermont-style," rather than simply "Vermont." It's the same reason why Fort Point and others call certain beers "Kolsch-style," since true Kolsch beer can only come from a specific area surrounding Cologne, Germany.

When I reached out to Fieldwork for comment, founder Barry Braden would say only: "We don't have anything to say about it really. We made a beer one time for an event and that's that. It's over as far as we are concerned."

It may indeed be over, but Vermont wants you to know it's not going down without a fight.

"People should know that it's not ok to call yourself Vermont," said Young. "They say don't mess with Texas, but don't mess with Vermont!"

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicle's wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob