Moose is off the menu at Stack Brewing

A Sudbury craft brewery is changing the names of two of its beers after a large competitor said they infringed on their trademark.

Stack Brewing owner Shawn Mailloux said representatives from Moosehead Breweries Limited recently contacted him, and said two of his beers - Angry Moose and Friendly Moose - infringed on their trademark for the word 'moose' to describe a beer in Canada.

"We're not challenging them at all," Mailloux said. "We'll take the path of least resistance and change the names."

Mailloux said the call from Moosehead, which is based in Saint John, New Brunswick, shows his small brewery is being noticed, and gaining ground in the competitive beer market.

Stack Brewing launched in the summer of 2013, and has expanded steadily since then.

In May 2014 the company received $250,000 worth of new brewing equipment that allowed it to expand its output by 500 per cent.

On Nov. 21 Stack announced an agreement with the LCBO to stock its beers at stores across Greater Sudbury.

While the names of Stack's two moose beers will change, their content will not.

Angry, as it is called until a new name is chosen, is an imperial Indian pale ale with a copper colour, while Friendly has a more golden colour and a lower alcohol content than its darker cousin.

Stack plans to unveil the new names for the beers at the Fromagerie Elgin on Thursday, Dec. 18.