Battle of the Beaver Tails reaches sweet conclusion

In the depths of a harsh Canadian winter, few things are more comforting than gorging ourselves on sweet, fried sweets. For many, a go-to seasonal comfort food is the Beaver Tail.

Recently, CBC columnist and food blogger Julie Van Rosendaal sought to provide Canadians, and international fried-dough lovers alike, the opportunity to bring the sweet winter treat into their own homes. She posted a recipe for “Homemade Beaver Tails” to her blog and with it a comforting cure for the “winter blahs.”

Here, the story took a distinctly un-Canadian turn. BeaverTails, a company started in Ottawa in 1978, asked that Julie change the name of her recipe that so closely resembled their trademarked namesake. Julie obliged, and promptly changed the name of her recipe to “Beaver Doughnuts.” BeaverTails were unsatisfied with the name change, and suggested that the use of the word “Beaver” was still an infringement.

And thus, the “Canadian Semiaquatic Posterior Doughnut” was born, and Twitter erupted in a sticky, sweet, viral explosion.

Just when we thought this whole situation went against our national identity, BeaverTails demonstrated their Canadian roots. In light of the social media backlash, the company issued a sincere apology for its actions via Twitter and pledged to give something back.

In just 24 hours, BeaverTails had received over 2,700 retweets, and committed to donating $3,000 to the Calgary Food Bank.

Julie Van Rosendaal praised BeaverTails for its actions, telling the Calgary Eyeopener “I thought they were genuine. They handled it really well.”

And so, the Battle of the Beaver Tail was resolved. An apology sincerely issued, and graciously accepted, brought a genuinely Canadian conclusion to our tail.

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