Budweiser Gets 'Panties in a Bunch' over 'Queen of Beer'

A California brewing company calling itself "The Queen of Beer" may be royally screwed now that the "King of Beers" has gotten wind of it. She Beverage Co. applied to register its queen-based slogan with the US Patent and Trademark Office last year, but Anheuser-Busch filed a notice of opposition against it Wednesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Anheuser-Busch makes Budweiser, which has been known as the "King of Beers" for possibly as long as 139 years, and argues confused consumers may be tricked into thinking it also makes She Beverage beers. Anheuser-Busch already successfully blocked a different company's attempted trademark of "Queen of Beers" in 2000.

But She Beverage founder Lupe Rose says she isn't going down without a fight, the Post-Dispatch reports. Rose founded the company to combat all the craft breweries focused on appealing to men and is already using "The Queen of Beer" on the company's website and marketing. (Interestingly, She Beverage stopped using the phrase on packaging out of fear it would "discourage male drinkers.") "We're a female-owned company," Rose tells the Post-Dispatch. "I didn't anticipate Budweiser getting their panties in a bunch." (More beer stories.)