Monster Energy Backs Off Rock Art Brewery!

Hey, whadaya know...a win for the little guy! According to the Rock Art Brewery website as well as articles from the Burlington Free Press and local CBS affiliate WCAX, the Hansen Beverage Company (which produces Monster Energy) bowed to pressure from the Internet late last night. Detailed terms of the agreement have not been released, but Rock Art has agreed to stay out of the energy drink business.

In addition to ordinary citizens voicing their displeasure and calling for boycotts of Monster Energy and other Hansen products, U.S. Senator and all-around rabble rouser Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also got involved in the dispute, urging Hansen to leave his constituent's small brewery alone. As Sanders comically put it, "An energy drink is not a beer, and the word "monster" is not "Vermonster." Any person who would get confused by these two different products and names should probably slow down a bit, and lay off energy drinks." Sanders continued his scolding, saying, "Further, as you may know, Vermont is a small state in New England which is the home of the Rock Art Brewery. Not surprisingly, that is why this Vermont company uses the name 'Vermonster.' While the Rock Art Brewery is a small business in a small state, my understanding is that the Hansen Beverage Company is a major multinational corporation based in California. While Rock Art Brewery has seven employees, your company earns more than $1 billion a year off the 'Monster Energy Drink' product alone."

In this day and age of corporations run amok, it's nice to see that an amicable settlement was reached in this case!