In-N-Out sends cease and desist to SF brewery Seven Stills over In-N-Stout beer

Seven Stills received a cease and desist over their In-N-Stout beer. Seven Stills received a cease and desist over their In-N-Stout beer. Photo: Seven Stills / Instagram Photo: Seven Stills / Instagram Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close In-N-Out sends cease and desist to SF brewery Seven Stills over In-N-Stout beer 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Beloved burger chain In-N-Out seemed to get a laugh over San Francisco brewery Seven Stills' new can offering, a "neapolitan" milk stout called, irreverently, In-N-Stout.

And before the amusement subsided, In-N-Out's lawyers drew up a cease and desist that included no less than nine puns about brewing and distilling (as Seven Stills is also a distillery). The letter, which arrived on July 12, included the necessary wording requesting that the brewery refrain from selling anything with the In-N-Out logo and branding, but did so with humor.

"Please understand that use of our marks by third parties ales us to the extent that this could cause confusion in the marketplace or prevent us from protecting our marks in the future," the document read. "We hope you appreciate, however, that we are attempting to clearly distill our rights by crafting an amicable approach with you, rather than barrel through this."

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Seven Stills co-owner Tim Obert says the company "expected to receive the cease and desist" and was not surprised when it arrived several weeks ago. He adds that they will honor In-N-Out's letter, and will release the beer with different packaging on Thursday at all three of their San Francisco locations.

It's not the first time the Bayview brewery and distillery has attempted to sell a beer featuring a riff on an existing brand. Earlier this month, the company released a beer with gummy candies resembling Swedish Fish on the label, and in April the company dropped two beers that played off Swisher Sweets packaging.

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But Seven Stills is by no means the only local brewery to test the limits of borrowing another company or artist's branding. Earlier this year, Oakland's Temescal Brewing created a very familiar-looking sparkling pamplemousse ale called "La Fizz." The month before that, San Francisco's Cellarmaker, in a collaboration with Monterey's Alvarado Street, rocked the trademark boat a little too hard with their "Big Lots" IPA, which was labeled with a mock store ad. The company received a cease and desist shortly after.

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



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