Portland — Ninkasi Brewing Company is switching to two Northwest-based distributors, saying that the company’s mission just doesn’t align with relying on Anheuser-Busch InBev distributors.
“We are committed to being an independent and locally-owned craft brewery, and feel we will be better aligned long term with independent and locally-owned wholesalers,” said CEO and co-founder Nikos Ridge in a statement.
Starting Jan. 26, the Eugene-based brewery will use Bigfoot Beverage Distributors to move Ninkasi beers to the more southern parts of Oregon and by Feb. 9, the Odom Corporation will be carrying the beers to western Washington.
Ninkasi has been one of the faster growing craft breweries in Oregon since its founding in 2006. In the statement, the company makes sure to mention that the company is still independently-owned. Last year, Anheuser-Busch bought 10 Barrel, a similarly beloved Bend-based brewery, setting off angst from craft beer lovers that the Missouri beer giant will force a quantity over quality mentality on the smaller companies it acquires.
Anheuser-Busch is in the process of building out its small portfolio of regional craft brewers. It bought Goose Island Beer Co. of Chicago for $38.8 million in 2011, then Blue Point Brewing Co. of Long Island in February.
