Special ‘Trade Mark IPA’ To Launch In September

National law firm Irwin Mitchell has teamed up in a unique collaboration with Hope Valley-based micro-brewery, Intrepid Brewing Company, to produce a special edition ale called ‘Trade Mark IPA’.

The limited edition beer will be an Indian Pale Ale (IPA) made by Intrepid and a team of willing volunteers from Irwin Mitchell at a brew-day in August. It will be launched in September to mark the first anniversary of Intrepid’s beers debuting in pubs, and to celebrate the resolution of a trade mark dispute between Intrepid and a large national brewer.

The partnership was the brainchild of Intrepid’s part owner and head brewer, Ben McIntyre, and Leeds-based Irwin Mitchell partner, Alex Newman, who specialises in the protection and exploitation of intellectual property rights (IPR) and worked with Ben on the trade mark issue. Together they decided to produce a special edition ale to mark a successful first year for Intrepid, and they can also now use it to toast a successful resolution of the dispute.

The name of the beer was chosen to help bring the value of strong IPR to the attention of the growing micro-brewery industry, whilst the decision to produce an IPA was made following a beer theory and tasting session involving some of Irwin Mitchell’s other business clients and contacts.

Expert Opinion

“Most of my working hours are spent advising on IPR, and I’m no stranger to IPA. Combining the two to celebrate Intrepid’s anniversary and draw attention to the value of IPR seemed like a perfect use of my time.”

“We wanted to work with Intrepid to help develop a high quality beer with character and body, and to get input from a number of our clients on what it should look and taste like. We have been busy finalising the ingredients with Intrepid, as well as the design of the branding, and can’t wait to go into production.”

Alex Newman - Partner

Ben McIntyre from Intrepid said: “Irwin Mitchell has been advising Intrepid on branding issues as we recognise the importance of building and maintaining brand capital and distinctiveness in what is a very competitive market.
 
“We are delighted to partner with them as part of our anniversary celebrations; it’s a great opportunity to raise our profile and get our beer recognised amongst their business clients.”

Ben added: “It has been fantastic to work with Irwin Mitchell and its clients to decide which type of beer to produce. We wanted to produce a beer with wide appeal, and IPAs are very popular at the moment. We have selected a mix of ingredients which we think will prove popular but also help Trade Mark IPA stand out from the crowd as a truly unique beer.”

An initial thirty two casks of Trade Mark IPA, equivalent to 2,304 pints will be produced over the coming months, with further batches to follow, and it will be available to all the pubs Intrepid supplies.

Once the beer is produced and bottled, Irwin Mitchell will be hosting launch events later in the year. It will also be making the beer available at other events with all proceeds going towards local charities the law firm supports.