Three Magnets Brewing forced to change Rainy Day IPA name

Breweries do what they can to control their image, from their beers to their taglines to their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. They hire publicists. They issue press releases. They give interviews. Sometimes, they even change their names in an effort to rebrand themselves, and sometimes these strategies work. Sometimes breweries are forced to make a name change, such as Three Magnets Brewing forced to change Rainy Day IPA name.

In early April, Three Magnets Brewing Co. in downtown Olympia received a phone call from another brewery requesting that they change the name of their Rainy Day IPA, citing that it was too similar to the name of their brewery, and was causing confusion in the marketplace. While deliberating how to respond, Team Three Magnets ran into the owner of the other brewery the following week at the Craft Brewers Conference in Portland, Oregon.

Three Magnets co-owner Nate Reilly pulled up an Oregon Convention Center plastic chair and explained to Brewery That Must Not Be Named that the Rainy Day IPA was named after the beloved Olympia record store Rainy Day Records, and money from said IPA goes toward supporting another beloved Olympia entity — The Northern: Olympia All Ages Project. Both parties agreed to follow up after the conference and parted ways — no doubt headed to one of numerous free beer stations.

According to a Three Magnets news release, “At the end of April, the other brewery reached out to us and made it clear they were not interested in compromise, and insisted that we change the name of the beer. We asked to have until the end of May in order to have time to develop a well thought-out transition plan to mitigate any potential brand damage. The other brewery was hesitant to this idea, and said they would check in with their lawyer.

“A week later, we received a letter from their lawyer, dated April 30, to immediately cease-and-desist calling our product Rainy Day IPA, due to violating their common-law trademark. Failure to comply within 10 days would result in legal action, which could include being sued for all profits we had made from our Rainy Day IPA.

“Wow. That escalated quickly!”

The news release goes on to explain Three Magnet’s obvious disappointment, in both the name change and the forced short time frame to rebrand.

“But we won’t let this situation ‘rain on our parade’,” states the news release. “We are instead going to turn this into a positive! We are starting with a rebrand of our IPA line. An emergency meeting was called between the brand specialists at Three Magnets and Whitewood Cider Company, and we are very pleased with the outcome. The beers, formerly known as Rainy Day IPA and Sunbreak IPA, will now simply be referred to as 3Mag Rain IPA, and 3Mag Sun IPA. The beers will remain the same recipe, and we will still offer it to our customers in the South Sound, Tacoma, and Seattle markets. We will be rolling out the new brand identity over the coming months.”

So, Rainy Day IPA is officially dead.

About the Beers
3Mag Rain IPA – 6.8%AVB, 65IBU
This IPA, perfect for a cold, rainy day in the Pacific Northwest, has a gently toasted malt profile, balanced by Magnum hops for bittering, and Cascade and Centennial for aroma. It is given an even bigger aroma hit coming from Mosaic, Amarillo, and Cascade dry hops, and our northern English yeast strain lends light pit fruit nuances.

3Mag Sun IPA – 6.4%AVB, 75IBU
This IPA, perfect for those rare Pacific Northwest days when the sun pokes out from behind the clouds, is light in color with a medium body that finishes dry on the palate, but with enough malt to support the overall hoppy character. A blend of Citra, Centennial and Chinook hops give this beer aromas and flavors of citrus, with notes of tropical fruit and pine.

Where to Find 3Mag Rain IPA, 3Mag Sun IPA, or Other Three Magnets Beers

Seattle:
Beveridge Place
Duck Island Ale House
Super Deli Mart
The Beer Junction
The Masonry
The Pine Box

Tacoma:
Engine House 9
Parkway Tavern
Pint Defiance
The Copper Door
The Red Hot

South Sound:
Cooper Point Public House
Darby’s Café
Farelli’s Pizza
G3 Liquors
Gravity Beer Market
iTalia
NW Beerwerks
Old School Pizzaria
Oly Taproom
Oly Underground
Olympia Film Society
Pints and Quarts Barn
Rhythm & Rye
Shelton Liquor & Wine
Skep & Skein
Smokin’ Mo’s
South Bay Pub and Eatery
T Brothers
The 4th Ave Tavern
The Eastside Club
Topside Bar & Grill
Vic’s Pizzeria
Westside Tavern