Aurelien Picard, owner of the Brasserie de l’Imprimerie brewery in the Brittany region, says he received notice in late March from lawyers for Ono to halt the use of the brand name or pay royalties for referencing her late husband, Beatles legend John Lennon.

“There were numbers like 100,000 euros (US$117,000), and between 150 and 1,000 euros per day in penalties if we didn’t do what they said,” Picard told AFP.

“Basically, they demanded we recall all our product and immediately stop using the brand.”

After some back-and-forth, the small brewery won permission to sell its remaining 5,000 bottles by July 1, then halt production of the brand.

But the media attention generated by the dispute turned out to be great publicity: the brewery nearly sold out of John Lemon in a matter of days.

“It was crazy. I have less than 1,000 left,” said Picard. “It was kind of funny, amidst our misfortune.”

The brewery, several of whose beers play on celebrity names, launched John Lemon five years ago, because it seemed “cool”, said Picard.

The company, located in the northwestern town of Bannalec, has two employees and sells between 50,000 and 80,000 bottles per year, mainly to liquor stores and restaurants within a 40km radius.

It is now looking for a new name for its flavourful blonde beer.

Picard thought of “Jaune Lemon” — the French word for “yellow” — but Ono’s lawyers were sour on the idea, he said.