Norfolk brewer Redwell in name battle with Red Bull

A small brewery in Norfolk is facing a battle over its name after the energy drink giant Red Bull said it was "confusingly similar" to its own.

Redwell Brewery in Norwich has received a letter from Red Bull, which has its headquarters in Austria.

Hansjorg Jeserznik, Red Bull's brand enforcement manager in Europe, has asked the owners of Redwell to withdraw their trademark application over their name.

In his letter, Mr Jesernik says: "The term B-U-L-L and the term W-E-L-L share the same ending and just differ in two letters. The ending (L-L) is identical and therefore the terms RED BULL and "Redwell" are confusingly similar from a visual as well as from a phonetical point of view."

He goes on to say that consumers would be confused by the similarity of the two brands.

Redwell Brewing is run by directors Patrick Fisher, Benjamin Thompson, Michael Baxter and Amy Hancock.

The brewery was started in October last year and was named Redwell after Redwell Street in Norwich.

Mr Thompson told the Norwich Evening News: "A lot of hard work has gone into developing our brand. The design on our bottles and other merchandise was created by third year graphic designers at Norwich University of the Arts.

"It would be catastrophic for us now to have to go back to the drawing board to find another name.”