Part 3 - Zwickelmania & KLCC Festival in Eugene, OR - Ninkasi
by Bob
Ninkasi Brewing
On a mild but gray Saturday morning, we walked to our first venue, Ninkasi Brewing. The brewery is located in a small industrial complex in a low-key neighborhood northwest of downtown. They opened early, and when we arrived, a few minutes before 11:00, there were already a dozen or so people standing around the bar in the tasting room drinking beer. This tasting room is new and quite attractively decorated in a modern industrial style emphasizing polished metal and light wood. It has a tall ceiling and large windows on two sides. Besides the aforementioned bar, there are several tall tables and chairs around this large room. On one side there is also a window to order merchandise and beer to go.
We had a few free samples, before asking about a brewery tour. The staff behind the bar were unsure of the day's schedule as the owner, Jamie Floyd, had not yet arrived. As we waited we were offered free sliders cooked up in the tent out in front by folks from Oregon Natural Meats, a local company raising cattle fed a diet of spent grain from local micro-breweries including Ninkasi.
Soon we were offered a tour by one of the employees who had been tending bar. A small group of us first walked through a large construction site where a new 60 barrel brewery is to be located. Then we strolled through the current 30 barrel facility which we learned is running at full capacity 7 days a week. Their market which now includes Washington as well as Oregon is growing rapidly.
Although we did miss meeting Jamie, we did encounter an assistant brewer on the tour and all of us had a chance to ask detailed brewing questions. After the tour we returned to the tasting room for more beer while we waited for the shuttle to arrive. (It did arrive, but was more than 30 minutes late. Well, at least we were waiting in a Brewery!)
