BREWERY OWNER APPEALS REJECTION OF 'WEED' BOTTLE CAP

If you live in a city named Weed and you produce a legal product, you
might assume that it would be legitimate to promote that product with
a slogan such as "Try Legal Weed."

But that's not the federal government's take on it.

Vaune Dillmann, owner and president of Mount Shasta Brewing Co. in
Weed, was recently informed by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau that he can't use that slogan on his bottle caps.

No stranger to fighting for what he believes are his business rights,
Dillmann has appealed that decision, and now he's gaining allies for his cause.

"Try Legal Weed: A friend in Weed is a friend indeed" has been the
slogan on Dillmann's beer bottle caps for nearly four years.

But on Feb. 11, 2008 he was notified by the Advertising, Labeling and
Formulation Division of the ATTTB that it was rejecting his
application for a Certificate of Label Label Approval (COLA) because
"The text 'Try Legal Weed' is considered a drug reference which the
TTB does not allow."

Dillmann filed a formal complaint and challenge claiming "a total
infringement of my rights under the First Amendment."

He explained in his appeal, among many other things, that Weed is the
town's legal name, derived in 1902 from founder Abner Weed, who
served two terms in the California State Senate.

One of Mount Shasta Brewing Co.'s beer bottle labels which is not in
dispute features an image of Abner Weed with the Weed arch that
Dillmann helped create in the background.

"Beer is an alcoholic beverage," Dillmann wrote to the ATTTB. "It is
a drug, yes, but it is a ... LEGAL drug! We are promoting a LEGAL,
NOT an ILLEGAL BEER PRODUCT! Beer has been accepted by our society,
both before and then after prohibition."

Dillmann gave many more reason why he feels the logo "Try Legal Weed"
is legitimate, and he questioned why Budweiser can use the slogan
"This Bud's for you," when bud, like weed, is a slang term used to
refer to marijuana.

Dillmann cc'd his complaint to US Senators Diane Feinstein and
Barbara Boxer, US Representative Wally Herger, CA Assemblyman Doug
LaMalfa, and Siskiyou County District 3 Supervisor Michael Kobseff.

Kobseff, in an April 14 letter he sent to administrator John J.
Manfreda of the ATTTB's Advertising, Labeling and Formulating
Division, urges a reconsideration of the decision to reject the label.

Noting that a California Visitor's Bureau survey identified Weed,
California "as the most recognized name on Interstate Highway 5,"
Kobseff states, "Surely, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
is not in the business of suppressing the ingenuity of a small
business owner, the community of Weed, and creating an obstacle that
will cost Mr. Dillmann further frustration and revenue to defend the
existing Incorporated City of Weed and use the logo "Try Legal Weed."

Kobseff praised Dillmann for being "an entrepreneur that transformed
a previous milk plant to the existing Brewery that has provided jobs,
recognition, and stimulus for economic development."

Congressman Herger also inquired about the ATTTB's decision and
received a response from Manfreda that cited a 1994 statement by
ATTTB's predecessor agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms, "that references to drugs would not receive label approval."

Manfreda told Herger, "such reference would mislead consumers about
the characteristics of the alcohol beverage."

Weed city manager Earl Wilson said he thinks Dillmann's slogan is
"eye-catching" and wonders if the brewery owner is "getting the run-around."

"I would hope they have bigger issues to deal with," Wilson said of
the government's involvement in the brewery slogan.

Dillmann said Boxer and LaMalfa have also expressed their support for
this particular phase of what has been a long strange 15-year plight
for Mt. Shasta Brewing Co.

Most recently, an administrative hearing was conducted in Weed by the
California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to hear an appeal
of Dillmann's application for a restaurant license.

Dillmann said this week that LaMalfa's office helped him finally find
out that ABC in Sacramento led the decision in his favor sit on a
desk for a month, but he has been told that the license should by
activated by May 19.

"I filed for it a year ago this month," Dillmann said.

A previous owner of the restaurant at the Black Butte Saloon in
downtown Weed for many years, Dillmann said he plans to begin with a
limited menu at the Brewery, serving mostly sandwiches, hot dogs and
other food that includes beer as an ingredient.

Prior to the issue with the ABC, Dillmann estimates he had to
overcome 20 different complaints regarding his brewery, including a
seven year issue involving gasoline contamination at the site, which
ended - with the help of nearly $1 million in grant funds - when the
state issued a "clean bill of health" letter.

Along the way he's also received commendations for his efforts from
the City of Weed and College of the Siskiyous.

Recently, Mt. Shasta Brewing Co. was the subject of feature articles
in Northwest Brewing News, a bimonthly publication for brewers, and
Edible Shasta-Butte, a publication that celebrates local foods.

The brewery's Shastafarian Porter also took first place in its
category at the 2007 California Brewers Festival.