Way to grow: Brewer creates jobs - and lots of beer
EUGENE, Ore. -- Four years ago Ninkasi was a three-man operation, brewing out of the back of a Springfield restaurant.
"I would use the owner's pickup truck to deliver beer out of the back of it and write invoices on the back of bar napkins," Ninkasi Account Manager Troy Potter said.
That seems like a long time ago. With a brand new tasting room and 45 employees, Ninkasi now spans more than a city block in the heart of the Whiteaker neighborhood - and the brewery keeps getting bigger.
Ninkasi is in the process of a $4 million dollar expansion that will triple their brewing ability, making the local brewer one of the fastest growing craft breweries in the West.
"I really haven't had time to think, to be honest with you," Potter said. "It is just going so fast that I'm concentrating on making good beer and getting it out there."
It's good news for people like Brian and Erika Bledsoe.
"I love the beer," Brian Bledsoe said. "It's amazing."
The couple said they started drinking the beer after finding 22-ounce bottles of the "Total Domination" at the grocery store.
They aren't the only ones.
According to Ninkasi, their IPA is the 10th best selling 22-ounce bottled beer in the entire country.
To put that into perspective, they compete against beers sold in all 50 states. Right now, Ninkasi beers are only available in five.
The Bledsoes are moving to Texas soon. After a visit to Ninkasi to stock up on beer, it looks like they won't have any room left in their moving trucks.
"Our plan is to basically fill up the rest of the space with local Northwest microbrews, a lot of it being Ninkasi," Bledsoe said.
If the rapid growth and expansion are signs of things to come, it's probably safe to say Ninkasi might soon be on store shelves from the Beaver State to the Lone Star State.
The expansion construction is expected to be done in June. It will include a 200-square foot outside sitting area.
