Spokane-based No-Li Brewhouse LLC has filed a lawsuit against American Beverage Crafts LLC, which does business as Redhook Ale Brewery, alleging trademark infringement over Redhook's use of the words Big Juicy, which is the name of No-Li’s best-selling beer.

The complaint stems from Redhook’s newly released beer, called Big Juicy Ballard. Redhook was founded in 1981 in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard before being acquired in 2019 by Anheuser-Busch and then again in 2023 by New York-based global cannabis company Tilray Brands Inc.

In 2017, the U.S. Trademark Office issued No-Li a trademark registration certificate for the words “Big Juicy,” and then in 2023, the Trademark Office rendered the Big Juicy trademark registration incontestable, the lawsuit states.

“We made every good faith effort to get this resolved without lawyers,” No-Li owner John Bryant says. “We expect the packaging name to be changed, where ‘Big’ is separated from ‘Juicy.’ They need to pay these legal fees because they created the legal environment.”

He adds that Redhook needs to stop shipping its Big Juicy Ballard beer as well. It is now being sold in stores, Bryant says.

Bryant says he is prepared to move forward with the lawsuit in order to protect his brewery and its staff, as well as craft brewing in Spokane.

“This is our biggest-selling brand,” Bryant says. “This is literally jeopardizing 90 jobs.”

No-Li has asked for a jury trial, Bryant says.

On April 17, No-Li became aware that Redhook was planning to release its Big Juicy Ballard beer.

Bryant says he immediately attempted to communicate with the president of Redhook to notify him of the trademark registration, the lawsuit alleges, and No-Li’s attorney sent a notification letter to the general counsel of Tilray.

Those attempts went unanswered, the lawsuit states.

Tilray didn't respond immediately to the Journal’s request for comment.

Bryant says the Redhook beer will lead to customer confusion and could damage No-Li’s reputation.

No-Li has received a call from Redhook acknowledging that the complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington has been read, Bryant says.

No-Li is being represented in this matter by Mark Hendricksen, of Wells St. John PS, a Spokane-based law firm.