Olympia Beer Class Action Says Spring Water Claims are False

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UPDATE: On Sept. 30, 2020, Pabst must face false advertising claims surrounding its Olympia Beer products, a California federal judge ruled.

The marketing for Olympia beer is misleading consumers now that the product is no longer brewed using Washington spring water, says a California consumer.

Plaintiff Brendan Peacock says defendant Pabst Brewing Company LLC is duping consumers by continuing to use an old marketing theme to promote Olympia beer.

Pabst continues to market Olympia as if it were brewed with spring water, Peacock claims, when in fact it is now brewed using water supplied by an ordinary municipal water district.

According to Peacock, Olympia brand beer was first brewed in 1896 using spring water from an artesian source outside Tumwater, Wash., on property that was originally purchased by Capital Brewing Company founder Leopold F. Schmidt. Olympia became the company’s flagship beer, Peacock says, and in 1902 the company began using the phrase “It’s the Water” in its marketing of Olympia beer.

Beginning in the 1980s, the Olympia Brewing Company went through a series of changes of ownership that culminated in its purchase by defendant Pabst Brewing Company in 1999.

Since that acquisition by Pabst, “[t]he Olympia beer consumers purchase now is no longer brewed in Tumwater, nor does it use the artesian spring water from Tumwater, Washington,” according to the Olympia beer class action lawsuit.

Following closure of the Tumwater brewery in 2003, Olympia beer is now brewed in a “mega-brewery” in Irwindale, Calif., a city within the San Gabriel Valley. The valley is a heavily-urbanized area that is considered part of the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, Peacock says.

While it’s not certain where the water comes from that is used to brew Olympia beer today, Peacock suspects Pabst sources that water from the Valley County Water District, a public utility that parts of Irwindale is serviced with water from four groundwater wells.

“The San Gabriel Valley’s water supply has been contaminated by industrial solvents in the past; in 1985, several wells were shut down after state health officials declared the contamination a health risk,” Peacock claims. He notes that Irwindale is now home to two federal Superfund sites.

Yet Pabst continues to market Olympia beer with statements and graphics that depict clean, untouched water sources. An image of a 16-ounce can of Olympia beer shows a depiction of a stream running though forest land, accompanied by the traditional Olympia slogan “It’s the Water.” Peacock cites other advertising, labeling and social media posts that use a similar theme.

Peacock says representations like these “create[] the impression in the minds of consumers that the beer was brewed using artesian waters from Tumwater, Washington.” He says that he and the proposed Class Members relied on these representations when they chose to buy Olympia beer.

He was willing to pay a premium for Olympia only because he believed it was still made with spring water, he claims. Had he known otherwise, he says he never would have purchased Olympia beer.

Peacock seeks to represent a nationwide Class covering all persons in the U.S. who purchased Olympia beer.

He is asking the court to enjoin Pabst from continuing to market Olympia beer using the allegedly deceptive representations and to require Pabst to run a corrective advertising campaign. He seeks an award of restitution and disgorgement of related funds, damages including punitive damages, pre- and post- judgment interest, and any other relief the court sees fit to grant.

Peacock is represented by attorneys Elizabeth Lee Beck, Jared H. Beck and Beverly Virues of Beck & Lee Trial Lawyers, and by Cullin O’Brien of Cullen O’Brien Law PA.

The Olympia Beer False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Peacock v. Pabst Brewing Company LLC, Case No. 2:18-cv-00568-TLN-CKD, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.