Melbourne’s Kaiju! Beer and New Zealand’s Behemoth Brewing have reached an agreement to share the Behemoth trademark in Australia.

The word Behemoth was trademarked in 2014 by South East Brewing Company, which trades as Kaiju! Beer in Australia, preventing Behemoth Brewing from trading under its New Zealand name when it launched the brand here in 2016. Instead it traded as Chur Brewing in Australia.

Following a recent relaunch on this side of the Tasman, the two companies have reached an agreement to share the Behemoth trademark, with Chur to relaunch as Behemoth Brewing Company in Australia at this weekend’s GABS Festival in Melbourne.

Under the agreement, Kaiju! will continue to make its Where Strides the Behemoth Double India Black Ale.

The disagreement over the trademark has caused some tensions in the past, though Behemoth Brewing’s Andrew Childs said in a statement that he wants to acknowledge that Kaiju! has always acted with dignity and respect throughout the process.

“Behemoth acknowledges they have said some things about Kaiju they regret and apologize for,” he said in the statement.

“We very much look forward to playing nicely in the beer sandpit together for a long time to come.

“Both KAIJU! and Behemoth look forward to welcoming customers to their GABS stands for a beer over the weekend.

“They are pleased to be able to coexist in the Australian market and look forward to a bright future for great-tasting beer.”

Speaking to Brews News Kaiju’s Callum Reeves acknowledged that circumstances had created some tensions between the two breweries.

“It’s great to finally be able to work together in the same market,” he said. “It’s a great outcome for both businesses and also for consumers.”

He said the two companies were ‘unfortunately victims of circumstance’ due to Kaiju!’s need to protect its trademark relating to one of its beers.

“There has been some tension in the past, but it’s a lot nicer now that we can co-exist.”

“Behemoth Brewing has big plans for Australia and that would be very difficult if they had to trade under two different names.”

Behemoth Brewing announced its intention to relaunch in Australia, signing a distribution deal with Kaddy in March. However, Kaddy’s recent move into Voluntary Administration has impacted its plans.

Childs said that while his company had managed to get its stock back from Kaddy’s possession in Melbourne warehouse he was still working to obtain stock in Sydney.