MillerCoors sued over Blue Moon

Brewer MillerCoors is being taken to court over claims it is misleading consumers into thinking its Belgian wheat ale, Blue Moon, is craft.

Evan Parent from San Diego has filed a class action lawsuit in the Superior Court of California claiming that MillerCoors is involved in deceptive marketing practices that allow it to charge more for the product.

Alleging that the brewing giant has gone to “great lengths to disassociate Blue Moon beer from the MillerCoors name” the suit asserts that drinkers are being tricked into thinking the beer is made by a smaller brewer.

Even though The Brewers Association changed the standards by which a beer is judged to be “craft” in June last year, MillerCoors’ annual production of 76 million barrels is still some way above the 6m barrel limit now allowed.

The lawsuit continues that by not featuring “a single reference” to MillerCoors and describing it as “artfully crafted”, the brewer is tricking consumers into paying up to 50% more for it.

As US government guidelines on this matter don’t exist, MillerCoors is not acting illegally but Parent’s lawyer, James Treglio, said: “They’re undermining the actual craft breweries, small businesses that are putting their heart and soul into the beer. They’re confusing the public about as to what is a real craft beer and what is not.”