The Backlash Was Real. It Just Had the Wrong Brewery.
What do you do when you start getting negative reviews meant for another business? That's what happened to a small brewery on Vancouver Island this fall, and it's a risk most Canadian owners never plan for.
I'm Mike Davey, founder of Pivot Reputation Management. I help business owners protect what people find when they search for them online. This story stood out to me because the business that got hurt did nothing wrong.
It started with one-star Google reviews. Then boycott threats, angry private messages, and wholesale customers asking to cancel orders. All because its name sounded a lot like the business people were actually upset with.
What happened
On Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a photo of a Sooke Brewing Company co-owner wearing a "Show Me the Evidence" T-shirt circulated online and drew widespread criticism. CTV News reports the brewery apologized, said the shirt's message did not reflect its values, later announced the co-owner had been terminated, and cancelled its upcoming events.
In the same town sits a separate business: Sooke Oceanside Brewery. No affiliation with Sooke Brewing Company.
According to owner and founder Ryan Orr, that didn't stop the backlash from landing on his door. He told CTV News his brewery received one-star Google reviews, boycott threats, private messages and calls to cancel wholesale orders after the controversy erupted.
Several wholesale customers contacted him wanting to cut ties. He spent much of the following day contacting those accounts to explain that his brewery had nothing to do with it.
It didn't stop there. A liquor store that carries his beer had staff dealing with angry customers who appeared to think they were selling the other brewery's product. Orr said one call to his taproom was particularly hostile.
"It's very emotional as well to see my business getting tied into something that we had absolutely nothing to do with," he told CTV News.
Here's the part that stuck with me. Orr said the two names had caused confusion before. His brewery had been open about a year when the other one opened, and he raised concerns at the time.
He just never expected the confusion to show up like this.
Sooke Oceanside Brewery posted a clarification on social media saying it had no affiliation. Sooke Brewing Company also posted asking people to make sure they had the right business before posting criticism. And Orr said his brewery also received support from people who understood the difference.
Still, a small business took the hit for something it didn't do.
Why this matters to you
When I read this story, I recognized the pattern right away.
People don't research before they react. They see a name, they search it, and they hit the first result that looks close enough. Then they leave a review, send a message or share a post. All in a couple of minutes.
Whatever comes up first is what they believe. Fair or not.
You don't need a similar name for this to happen to you. Think about the other ways customers can mix you up:
A business with a similar name in the same town
A franchise location run by someone else
The previous business at your address
A person in the news who shares your name
Most owners never think about this until the one-star reviews are already piling up. By then you're explaining instead of preventing.
And notice who else got hurt here. The liquor store. The wholesale buyers who weren't sure what to believe. When the wrong business gets blamed, your partners get pulled into it too.
What to do about it
Search your own name like a stranger would. Type your business name into Google and the map search. Then type the names people get wrong. Note every business that could be mistaken for you.
Make your profile impossible to confuse. On your Google Business Profile (the listing that shows up in Google search and Maps), make sure your full name, address, photos and description are clear and current. Add your location or a short "not affiliated with" line on your website if confusion is common.
Write your clarification before you need it. Draft a short, calm statement now: who you are, who you aren't, and how to reach you. If something blows up, you post it in minutes, not hours.
Call your key accounts yourself. Orr spent a day on the phone with wholesale customers. That's the right move. Your biggest customers and partners should hear it from you, not from a comment thread.
Flag the reviews that aren't about you. Report reviews that clearly come from the mix-up through your Business Profile, and reply once, briefly and politely, to the ones that stay up. Then let it go.
Keep a record. Screenshot the reviews, messages and posts with dates. If you need to ask a platform to remove something, or get advice later, you'll have it.
Key takeaways
You can take the hit for a business you've never met.
The first few minutes of search results decide what people believe.
A clear profile and a ready statement turn a crisis into a correction.
Source: CTV News, ‘We had nothing to do with this’: B.C. brewery with similar name caught in T-shirt backlash, Oct. 2, 2026. Read the article
About the author
Mike Davey is the founder of Pivot Reputation Management. He helps Canadian business owners protect what people find when they search for them online. See what shows up for your business at needpivot.com.
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