An American fan of the beer Foster’s is suing its North American brewer Millers because he believes the product was wrongly marketed as being brewed in Australia when it was brewed locally.
The beer fan, a Mr Leif Nelson, is reportedly a long term fan of the lager and was devastated to discover it wasn’t brewed Down Under.
Nelson has filed a class action against Miller claiming its slogan ““Foster’s, Australian for beer” was wrong and misleading.
The New York Post has reported that Nelson’s litigation included: “Consumers believe they are purchasing beer imported from Australia brewed with Australian ingredients, when, in fact, they are purchasing beer brewed in Fort Worth, Texas, with ingredients from the United States.” He also noted that the labelling on the beer featured a kangaroo and the Southern Cross and he was also reportedly unhappy paying imported beer prices for a beer that wasn’t.
Foster’s is brewed throughout the world under a number of different licenses and brewers.
A spokesperson for Millers defended the Aussie marketing and told the New York Daily that the company “employs an Australian brew master so that the beer tastes as true to its origin as possible”.
And Mr Nelson may stand a good chance of winning his case. A US brewer of Beck’s beer was successfully sued for marketing the beer as German when it was also brewed in the States. The lawsuit was settled for $US20 million with consumers allowed to make claims of up to $US50 from retail outlets were they bought their Beck’s.
