E-Malt.com News article: USA, NV: Lake Tahoe Brewing closing locations throughout Nevada amid legal troubles

In the last two months, Lake Tahoe Brewing Co.'s four locations in Carson City, Truckee, Fernley and Reno closed or never opened. What would've been the region's largest locally-owned beer franchise fizzled down to nothing after a series of legal troubles flattened the brand, Reno Gazette Journal reported on March 31.

Brewery owner, Michael Candelario, said he is wrapping up closure of the final Fourth Street location that he planned to open as a tap house and largest barrel-aging facility in the region. In Carson City, the brewery represented the third brewery to close in the same downtown location since Doppelgangers and High Sierra Brewing Co. shuttered in 2011 and 2014 respectively.

The troubles for Lake Tahoe Brewing started in February when Lake Tahoe Brewing was evicted from its downtown Carson City location.

Candelario alleges a broken brewery system prevented the brewery from making beer, causing the brewery to make less money. What started out as a temporary closure to address the malfunction ended with a permanent closure and subsequent closure of remaining brewpubs and tap houses.

In an interview on March 29, Candelario said his brewery fell into trouble because of an aggressive growth plan and not receiving reimbursements he expected for equipment upgrades.

"We made really bad decisions over-extending ourselves trying to open all the breweries," Candelario said.

In late February, Candelario was arrested on a felony charge of theft in connection with a civil law suit — he was released on bail the next day. A Canadian brewery alleged a $45,000 beer canning system they purchased from Candelario went undelivered, according to Washoe District Court documents. The court approved a default judgment for $80,700 in damages in March.

On March 16, Candelario was arrested again on a charge of battery when he allegedly struck High Sierra Brewing Co. brewmaster Tim Mason in the chest during an altercation at the last Lake Tahoe Brewing location on Fourth Street, according to police reports. He was released on bail the next day.

Mason did not comment on details of the incident. Candelario told the RGJ there was a yelling fight, but denied physical contact.

"We have no comment on Lake Tahoe Brewing Company," wrote Grant Lincoln, managing partner at High Sierra Brewing.

Candelario is involved in another pending civil lawsuit related to the brewery's lease agreement in Carson City.

Other problems could be on the horizon, too.

Rob Curtis, owner of the original Lake Tahoe Brewing Co. that had nothing to do with Candelario's business, is also considering legal action.

Curtis opened the original Lake Tahoe Brewing Co. in Tahoe City in 1993 and a second one in Crystal Bay in 1999. Curtis sold the building but took the federal trademark and business license with him to continue making beer elsewhere. He still owns the federal trademark, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Curtis said he discovered Candelario's Lake Tahoe Brewing in mid-2015 after it already opened. Curtis said he asked Candelario to license the name from him. Candelario would not pay the licensing fee since the trademark hadn't been used in several years.

U.S. trademark law sometimes considers a trademark abandoned if not used for three years with no future intentions to use it again. This sometimes allows others to claim it, according to the law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP.

“It’s troubling for us because the name has now lost some of its value," Curtis said. "It’s kind of a running joke at this point."

Curtis and his partners are trying to decide what to do next.

At this point, all litigation is pending response from Candelario's lawyers.


01 April, 2016