BrewDog may face legal challenge from Wolves FC over Lone Wolf branding

Scottish craft brewer BrewDog has been warned it could face legal action from football club Wolverhampton Wonders over the branding of its new spirits arm Lone Wolf

The football club is said to be "furious" after the brewer unveiled a black wolf's head design last week, arguing it is similar to the club's badge and is "confusing" fans.

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Wolves head of marketing Matt Grayson told Midlands newspaper the Express and Star: "This is a serious matter that has been independently raised by a large number of people. Some have even questioned whether Wolves has licensed its trademark to BrewDog. Therefore, it's causing confusion among our supporters and the general public and we'll be contacting BrewDog to seek more details and to bring our registered trademarks to their attention."

Read: Behind the scenes at BrewDog

BrewDog did not wish to provide a comment but co-founder James Watt has previously said the branding "fits our maverick brand personality perfectly".

"It manages to capture the craft essence of the brand, but presents it in a clean, stealthy, understated way, which will make Lone Wolf instantly recognisable," he said.

Self-styled punk brewer BrewDog has already faced a legal challenge from the estate of music legend Elvis Presley over its American IPA Elvis Juice.

The brewer says it is aiming to "disrupt" the spirits category with its new range of vodkas and gins, and claims it will be the only craft distillery in Scotland to make its own base spirits from grain under the same roof as distillation.

Co-founder Martin Dickie has said consumers are being "misled" by the recent boom in craft spirits, arguing many producers don't make their own spirit bases.