Ravinia Brewing, a 10-year-old craft brewer that agreed to give up its moniker after a legal trademark battle with Ravinia Festival, is rebranding as Steep Ravine Brewing Co.
The name is changing, but many of the beers and one of its iconic logos — a bicycle-riding “tree guy” — will remain the same.
“This is a pivotal day in our evolution, and we’re moving forward under this new brand,” Kris Walker, co-founder of Ravinia Brewing, said Tuesday. “But there’s still going to be work to do for us to make this whole transition.”
The shift from Ravinia to Steep Ravine will roll out over several months, Walker said, with limited-edition gold cans bearing the new name available Tuesday at its Highland Park and Logan Square taprooms. Availability at the Chicago location also will be limited by plans to shut down the taproom within weeks.
Changing the store signs in Highland Park and working through the stock of existing Ravinia beer out in the field will take more time, he said.
“It is going to be a bit of a slow-roll evolution,” Walker said. “We still have beer on shelves at restaurants and other things that we still have to work through like the liquor licensing and stuff that needs to be changed before we’re going to be able to really formally make 100% of the transition.”
The original Highland Park taproom will undergo “modest updates,” but the Logan Square taproom — a source of contention with Ravinia Festival over the use of the north suburban name in Chicago — will be closing Dec. 14.
Steep Ravine will continue using the Chicago location to brew its beers, and the space will reopen down the road as a new concept, Walker said.
Meanwhile, the Ravinia Brewing name will eventually fade into Chicago’s ephemeral post-millennium craft brewing history, with good wishes from its former rival litigant.
“This announcement marks an exciting new chapter for Steep Ravine Brewing Company,” Jeff Haydon, CEO of Ravinia Festival, said in a news release. “We look forward to their continued success.”
Ravinia Festival is providing “some level of assistance” with the rebranding, Walker said, declining to provide more details.
The trademark battle began soon after Ravinia Brewing opened its north suburban brewpub six years ago in the Highland Park business district made famous by the outdoor concert venue. Ravinia Festival immediately challenged the brewery’s right to use the shared hometown name.
The two sides reached a 2018 agreement allowing Ravinia Brewing to use the name with certain limitations. But Ravinia Festival rescinded the agreement and filed a trademark infringement lawsuit last fall, alleging the craft brewer violated the terms.
In the October 2023 lawsuit, Ravinia Festival pointed to five registered trademarks, the oldest of which covers entertainment services dating back to 1936, although it wasn’t registered until 2002. Ravinia Brewing filed for its trademark in 2015.
In particular, Ravinia Festival cited the 2021 opening of the second Ravinia Brewing location, in Chicago, which offered live summer musical performances that it alleged “caused actual confusion in the marketplace.”
Ravinia Festival also challenged the growing size of the Ravinia logo on the craft brewer’s cans and the introduction of varieties that promoted musical themes, trading on an implied association with the outdoor venue, according to the lawsuit.
The Ravinia name refers to a 152-year-old community that was annexed into Highland Park in 1899, an incorporation predating by five years the earliest incarnation of the outdoor music festival. While other businesses, from Ravinia Plumbing to the Ravinia Barbershop, continue to share the name, the hometown brewery is moving on.
After one year of battling in Chicago federal court — and the court of public opinion — both sides reached a settlement in September, with Ravinia Brewing agreeing to rebrand. As part of the settlement, Ravinia Festival agreed to drop its lawsuit and provide undisclosed assistance to the craft brewer during the rebranding process.
The brewer will maintain its core portfolio of beers under the new banner, including its newly elevated flagship, Steep Ravine IPA.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
