Oregon Public Broadcasting

A brewing lawsuit has scared Bend's newest beer producer into a branding overhaul. The owners of the Wildfire Brewery received a cease-and-desist letter from an attorney representing a chain of restaurants in the Midwest. Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

After reading the letter, owners of the fast-growing, one-year-old Bend company quickly realized their coffers pale in comparison with the money the Chicago-based steakhouse could pay its lawyers.

Wildfire Brewery co-owner Garrett Wales says the decision to rename the business was a bitter one - but because Wildfire may open a restaurant/brewpub in the future, probably a legal necessity.

Wales says the stoutest job now is finding a new, unique name in the beer heavy state of Oregon.

Bend itself has four well-established beermakers, including the biggest name, Deschutes Brewery.

Garrett Wales: “Shoot, we're going on the Internet and just typing in beer, or going to the thesaurus. Googling Oregon geography and seeing if there's some landmarks that haven't already been trademarked. Butte, or mountain - the river's kinda tied up obviously. Seems like everything locally Deschutes has used already.”

Wales says the list of new names is down to about five finalists.