Two Floridians are seeking class certification of a lawsuit filed last year against Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Veza Sur Brewing that alleges that the world’s largest beer manufacturer is deceiving customers by positioning the Miami-based offshoot as a craft brewery.
“This case is about a beer Goliath masquerading as David to sell products to a passionate consumer base by misrepresenting the ownership and authenticity of the product,” plaintiffs Byron Jackson and Mario Mena Jr. claimed in a July 15 motion filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida Fort Lauderdale Division.
Jackson and Mena’s claims against A-B fall under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, fraudulent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, breach of express warranty, breach of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, negligent misrepresentation and misleading advertising.
“Although the Veza Sur beer is produced by a subsidiary of the largest beer conglomerate in the world, it presents a façade of authenticity, with focus-grouped naming, packaging, and design calculated to present it is a local craft beer,” the motion reads. “Its advertising is replete with the descriptors ‘craft,’ ‘local,’ and ‘Miami.’”
The plaintiffs have proposed two classes for the lawsuit: a brewery purchaser class for consumers who have purchased Veza Sur products at the brewery, and a retail purchaser class for consumers who have purchased Veza Sur products at any Florida retailer. Purchases in both classes may have been made as far back as August 14, 2016.
A-B launched the Latin-themed Veza Sur brand in April 2017 as part of its then-High End portfolio (now called The Brewers Collective) of acquired craft and import brands. Veza Sur, though, was something different: a “Latin-American inspired craft beer brand” created from the ground up by A-B with a brewpub in the Wynwood district.
The new brand was the brainchild of Max-Antonio Burger, who was tapped as Veza Sur’s general manager, 10 Barrel Brewing co-founder Chris Cox and Bogota Beer Company founder Berny Silberwasser. All are affiliated with A-B.
A-B isn’t the first large brewer with connections to a Wynwood craft brewery. In 2018, Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), which A-B then owned a minority stake in, wholly acquired Wynwood Brewing from father and son co-founders Luis and “Pops” Brignoni. A-B completed its acquisition of CBA last year.
Boston Beer opened Concrete Beach Brewery in the neighborhood in 2014, but shuttered it last year and transformed the space into a Dogfish Head outpost. And Heineken USA has “a significant investment” in Cerveceria La Tropical, a Cuban-born brand that dates to 1888 and was resurrected with a brewery and taproom in Wynwood that opened last year, according to the company’s website.
A-B’s legal team filed and were granted an unopposed motion for a seven-day extension for their response to the plaintiff’s class certification motion, which gives them until August 2 to respond.
“We continue to believe the lawsuit is without merit,” an A-B spokesperson told Brewbound. “Anheuser-Busch is extremely proud of our craft partners, the beer they brew, and the support they provide their local communities.”\
The plaintiffs’ legal team declined to comment.