Ohio meadery changes two mead names after trademark issue

Crafted Artisan Meadery announced this week that it's changing the names of two of its popular meads after a trademark issue with Vermont-based Long Trail Brewing Co., which recently moved into Ohio.

Pollinator, a dry-hopped blackberry mead, will now be called Pollen-Nation, and Chipotle Pollinator will become Chipotle Pollen-Nation. The new names are expected to hit the market in May.

Long Trail has a beer called Pollenator and didn't want Crafted Artisan, located in Suffield Township near Akron, to use the Pollinator name, meadery owner Kent Waldeck said.

"They were nice about it," he said. "They let us sell through our existing inventory."

Waldeck said he was proud of the name because the goal was to raise awareness of "Colony Collapse Disorder." A portion of proceeds from the original launch was donated to The Ohio State University Bee Lab for research on pollinators and Colony Collapse Disorder.

“We’re disappointed that we had to change the names, but both parties handled the situation amicably," Waldeck said. "We feel we are accomplishing, and will continue to accomplish, our mission regardless of the name. The mead is still fantastic and is the same recipe that pulled down back-to-back gold and bronze medals in 2014 and 2015 at the Mazer Cup International Mead Competition.”