As far as the eye can see, as far into the future as I can click on brewery event webpages, community events abound. This week, we have an entry into the “a new me!” category: Viking Brewing Co.

You can read more about the name change tomorrow, in advance of their 10 year anniversary party on Saturday, which you should definitely attend. A recent session on their lushly planted patio was much too short, but included a Mexican lager, a variation thereof, and the Pineapple IPA.

Moving on, ol’ Beerstone has an opinion. An announcement, which made the rounds a couple weeks ago via national beer news outlet BrewBound and then on Good Beer Hunting, was that Ninkasi Brewing has, once again, gotten frisky with some other businesses. Whereas last time they stood, briefly, under the umbrella of Legacy Breweries, Inc., this merger brings multiple beverage types into the fold of Great Frontier Holdings.

As long as there has been Ninkasi, there have been Ninkasi haters. Those who claimed, wrongly, that they’d sold out even before the Legacy thing (not quite a sellout); this that and the other about “how big” they are (43rd largest craft* brewery); “they only brew IPA” BS.

In town, no brewery has been through more visible changes than Ninkasi. Part of that is because of their connection with the community through marketing, their own employees’ loyalty, and their history of generosity to other breweries. When something happens, people know.

And when change happens, we get nervous. What if it goes wrong? Is it bad? It must be bad!

At this point, I’m used to it. Change, that is. While the business Ninkasi makes big internal moves, whether it be a merger, a series of layoffs, a new CEO, or quietly contract brewing and co-packing other brands, the Ninkasi we see on the ground, as they host Sasquatch Brew Fest, send yeast into space, and turn out damn good food at the Better Living Room and beer from their neato pilot program, that’s valuable.

This merger, as I see it, is an efficient business decision. The brewery has tank space available; the expansion across Blair Blvd. so many years ago was designed to produce 100,000+ barrels of production per year. At just over 60,000 barrels, there’s both empty space and job openings.

~~Momentary pause for some perspective on barrels. One barrel is 31 gallons; two full-size kegs; 248 pints. The average of-age American drinks 28.2 gallons of beer per year, about 225 pints. For scale, Czechs drink the most, at nearly 37 gallons per year.

Ninkasi produced 61,250 barrels in 2022, just ~.25% of craft beer in the country last year, ranking 43rd. Another Oregon brewery, Deschutes, ranked 11th, a sizeable margin.

*Craft includes breweries producing up to 6 million barrels per year, and basically stops at Yuengling, Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams), and Sierra Nevada in size.

Thus, Ninkasi’s production is closer in scale to a small brewpub, local, or even regional brewery than to national or multinational breweries. End pause~~

Why there’s empty space, I’m sure, has numerous answers, both satisfying and un-. Pandemic, market fluctuations, leadership changes, etc. For anybody who cares enough to be a critic (hi!), it’s important to widen your lens and realize that, through its 18 years, Ninkasi has always been about supporting the locals, and I wouldn’t anticipate that changing.

Ninkasi has done a pretty good job at keeping its brand intact; it’s beer. The hard seltzer, Pacific Sparkling, and canned cocktails in collaboration with Eugene-bred cocktail legend Jeffrey Morgenthaler, have their own thing going on.

Contract brewing (basically, when a brewery business rents another brewery’s facility for its production) has a stigma about it, though it’s remarkably common. For a brewery of its size, which is in the most awkward of size ranges (statewide to regional) for a brewery these days, some bolstering and diversification makes absolute sense, and helps to ensure that we will have Ninkasi for years to come. If you’ve tried the Maibock on tap now, you’ll know that’s a good thing.

On to the events!

June 15

The Bier Stein, 6-8pm – Thursday Tasting Series featuring Three Legged Crane

June 17

Viking Brewing Co. – 10 Year Party! Live music at the brewery (520 Commercial St.) w/ Bake Club & Sage Vagabond 6-9pm

June 20

Oakshire Brewing, 6-10pm – Beer Release: West Coast Waves pale ale

June 21

Oakshire Brewing – Oakshire Inspires: Northwest Dog Project
Northwest dog project rescues, re-homes, and enhances the lives of neglected, abused, and homeless dogs while advocating for responsible pet ownership. They welcome medically challenged dogs and provide a nurturing forever sanctuary to seniors who have been abandoned in their golden years. $1 per pint donated

June 22

The Bier Stein, 6-8pm – Thursday Tasting Series featuring BNF Kombucha & Hop Valley Brewing

June 24–25

Alesong Brewing & Blending (on Territorial), 1-8pm both days – 7th Anniversary Party and collab. IPA release with Cloudburst Brewing. Details here

June 26 – July 2

PublicHouse – Inaugural Bacon, Bourbon & Breakside Beer
PublicHouse is excited to announce our Inaugural Bacon, Bourbon & Breakside Beer event happening for 7 fun-filled days starting Monday, June 26.

Dustin, our beer buyer, has been planning this event since last year. The folks over at Breakside will be filling up our entire draft list with their award-winning beer including:

• West Coast, Best Coast IPA
• Breakside IPA
• Wanderlust IPA
• Rainbows & Unicorns Session IPA
• German-Style Pilsner
• What Rough Beast New England-Style IPA
• @Portland IPA
• True Gold West Coast Golden Ale
• Passionfruit American Sour Ale
• Life Barleywine
• Finders Keepers Imperial American Stout
• Uncanny Valley Soft IPA
• Breakside Belgian White
• Unbearable Lightness Summer Pilsner
• Mexican Lager
• Morning Dew Hazy IPA
• Evan is My Homie IPA
• Apothecary IPA
• Polychromatic IPA
• Low Places Texas-Style Bock
• Paisley’s German-Style Pilsner

Read more

June 29

The Bier Stein, 6-8pm – Thursday Tasting Series featuring Bale Breaker Brewing

June 30-July 1

ColdFire Brewing, 4-8pm – Annual Kölsch Release Party
Join us for the annual release of our Kolsch! Traditional stange glasses will be served – buy tickets at bar to redeem from table!