Aug. 5, 2011

Ninkasi, EWEB and the McKenzie River Trust celebrate the success of Conservation Ale

Ninkasi Brewing will present a check for more than $10,000 to the McKenzie River Trust on Saturday at the Whitaker Block Party – with the funds representing all profits from the sale of Conservation Ale.

Ninkasi, the Trust and the Eugene Water & Electric Board partnered to commemorate the utility’s century of service to the community while helping to support protection efforts for the McKenzie River with the May release of Conservation Ale.

EWEB first approached Ninkasi in early 2011 about the possibility of collaborating on a beer to celebrate the utility’s 100th year of operation. Ninkasi officials liked the idea and took it a step further – suggesting that proceeds go to help protect the source of the No. 1 ingredient in its award-winning brews: Water from the McKenzie River.

“This partnership has been great because it highlighted the importance of protecting Eugene’s sole source of water,” said Joe Harwood of EWEB. “What could be better than great beer that supports the McKenzie?”

Ninkasi Brewing notes on its website that water quality was one of the decisive reasons for locating their brewery in Eugene five years ago.

“Clean water is so important – not just for making beer, but for life in general,” said Ninkasi’s James Book. “It’s worth protecting, and if that can be contributed to with beer, all the better.”

Conservation Ale illustrated the cycle of good land stewardship, clean water and great local products: EWEB provides the water, Ninkasi produces the beer and the McKenzie River Trust protects the watershed. Conservation Ale was available at select retail stores and a handful of Eugene-area watering holes. About 95 percent of the beer was gone six weeks after the early May release.

All the proceeds will be donated to the McKenzie River Trust, a local land conservation group working to protect fish and wildlife habitat and clean drinking water in Western Oregon. MRT was founded in 1989 by private land owners who lived on the McKenzie River. The Trust has eight staff members and it has expanded conservation efforts to eight different watersheds in Western Oregon.

“Partnering with EWEB and Ninkasi Brewing has given our organization a unique opportunity to directly connect our work to the community we serve through Conservation Ale,” said Brandi Ferguson of MRT. “It also gave the community an opportunity to celebrate how fortunate we all are to live next to one of the cleanest rivers on the planet, the McKenzie River, our sole source of drinking water.“

Ninkasi will hand over a check for $10,115 to Joe Moll, executive director of the McKenzie River Trust, on stage at 5 p.m. at the Whiteaker Block Party Saturday, Aug. 6.

For More Information Contact:
EWEB: Joe Harwood, 541-685-7471 joe.harwood@eweb.org
Ninkasi: James Book, Marketing Director, 541-206-3858; james@ninkasibrewing.com
MRT: Brandi Ferguson, Development Manager, 541-345-2799; brandi@mckenzieriver.org