Budweiser trademarks '215,' plans challenge to local brews

Philadelphians are buying more craft beer than ever, but the region's brewmasters are bracing for the biggest name in beer to move into town.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, maker of Budweiser products and the world's largest brewer, trademarked the name "215" this spring, along with the area codes for 14 other U.S. cities.

The filing is the first public step toward creating a new beer by the same name.

"We're being attacked," said Bill Covaleski, brewmaster and president of Victory Brewing Co., a craft brewery in Downingtown. "Philadelphia's craft brewers are going to be forced to defend our status, but I'd rather be in this position than be the attacker."

Anheuser-Busch declined comment on the filing, but Covaleski said he expected to see a regionalized "215" beer on tap in six to eight months.

Local brewers aren't stunned by the beer giant's latest move.

Anheuser-Busch acquired Goose Island Beer Co. in March, along with its "312 Urban Wheat" beer, named after its hometown Chicago area code.

In the meantime, craft sales in Philadelphia are doing better than ever, creating a tempting market in an otherwise saturated industry.

U.S. beer sales declined in the last year, but Victory's sales rose by nearly 40 percent, Covaleski said.

Yards Brewing Co., a craft brewery based in Northern Liberties, saw sales spike by about 30 percent this last year, operations director Steve Mashington said.

"This is an attempt to capture the shift of the beer-drinking population," Mashington said. "People are preferring regional choices over large, multinational brands. We're gaining so much popularity and they're losing market share."

For decades, area breweries have resisted the attempts of larger brands to buy them out, Mashington said.

A national company hasn't bought a Philadelphia brewery since the '80s, when a Wisconsin brewer bought the Christian Schmidt Brewing Co.

"I just don't think anybody who owns or runs breweries in the Philly area has any desire to sell out," Mashington said. "They take too much pride in what they do. Part of why people get into craft brewing is they don't like being told they have to make beer that'll appease every single person on the block."

In addition to unique tastes, some people prefer craft brews because of their community presence, through both charity and by creating jobs, Mashington said.

"It's kind of an insult to the Philly population. Do they really think that the consumers here are so dumb that they won't realize it's a Bud product?"

"It'll probably end in failure," Mashington said. "But we'll see."