Budweiser Is Trying to Block the 'Queen of Beer' from Being a Thing

Justin Bieber once raised the profound question, "What's a king bed without a queen?" Today, a shakeup in the American beer world has us asking, what's a King of Beers without a queen?

Budweiser, the "King of Beers," is apparently trying to take down a craft beer company attempting to use the slogan "Queen of Beer," the AP reports.

In December, Lancaster, California's She Beverage Co. (which prides itself on being "the first and only beer created with women in mind") applied to register "The Queen of Beer," with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On Wednesday, Anheuser-Busch, owner of Budweiser, filed a notice of opposition, saying "Queen of Beer" is too similar to "King of Beers." The company is apparently worried that consumers will get confused and think the female-oriented beers are produced by Anheuser-Busch. God forbid!!

As for what the "Queen of Beer" is like, co-owner Lupe Rose told the AP the beers are higher in alcohol than most female-targeted drinks, and that the IPA is smoother than most -- which is something women tend to prefer. The company offers a Dirty Blonde Cali Citrus Amber and a Brunette German Dopple Bock. Rose notes that "there weren't a lot of beers targeted to women."

In its opposition filing, Anheuser-Busch said, "The Queen of Beer mark is virtually identical to (Anheuser-Busch's) King of Beers marks with the exception of replacing the word 'king' with the connotatively similar word 'queen.'" Um, it's also singular, not plural. Very, very different.

Lupe intends to continue going after the trademark, telling the AP, "It's important for us to fight... We are creating our own lane." Challenging the patriarchy, one super-smooth IPA at a time.

Lucy Meilus is a staff writer for Thrillist. She doesn't drink Budweiser, but she'd definitely drink the Queen of Beer. Follow her on Twitter at @Lucymeilus and send news tips to news@thrillist.com.