University of Idaho warns beer maker to drop Vandal name

The University of Idaho has ordered a student who owns a beverage company to stop using the name “Vandal Beer.”

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports university officials sent the letter, citing trademark infringement, to Vandal Beer owner R. Austin Nielsen earlier this week. The school’s mascot is the Vandals.

Nielsen announced plans last week for his company to start producing the gold pale ale in Coeur d’Alene next month with plans to release it in north-central Idaho retail stores in August.

Nielsen said he pitched the Vandal Beer idea to the University of Idaho a while ago, but school officials told him he wasn’t allowed to use the Vandal name. He said he came up with the idea while he was a student in the university’s Idaho Entrepreneurs program.

Nielsen has said he will donate a portion of all Vandal Beer sales to University of Idaho scholarships. He declined to comment on the trademark infringement letter Tuesday, saying he wanted to wait until he talks to an attorney.