BrewDog launches fake Aldi IPA after Twitter spat with supermarket
United Kingdom | It is a fun story. BrewDog will launch an Aldi-themed ale, after its Twitter spat with the discount supermarket chain – and Aldi will even stock it as of October.
The whole thing started when Aldi released a new “Anti-Establishment IPA” – which many thought was a knock-off of BrewDog's brand Punk IPA, as it came in a similar looking blue can.
This led to BrewDog suggesting on Twitter on 20 August 2020 that maybe it should release a “Yaldi” beer. Aldi responded and said that “ALD IPA” would be a better name... and BrewDog agreed, rebranding the beer under that name.
The website techdirt.com commented that “notably absent from the whole episode were cease and desist notices from either side, lawyers filing trademark lawsuits, or any legal machinations of any kind. Instead, there was much good-natured ribbing and a fair amount of congenial creativity at play.”
In the end, Aldi’s social media accounts had a laugh at BrewDog taking its suggestion, and even mentioned it might have to save some aisle space for the newly branded beer.
Which appears to be happening. James Watt, one of BrewDog’s founders, wrote on Twitter on 27 August:
ALDI have just confirmed that our fake ALDI beer is now going to be sold in @AldiUK stores. Plus, for every case we sell both @BrewDog & @AldiUK are going to plant one extra tree in the new BrewDog Forest.
In August, Mr Watt said that BrewDog had bought over 2,000 acres of land in the Scottish Highlands, where they hope to plant more than two million trees as part of BrewDog’s sustainability schemes.
