Ninkasi Brewing veterans launch Arable Brewing in Eugene
The founders of Eugene, Oregon startup Arable Brewing are veterans in more ways than one. The project, originally intended for Veneta, OR 15 miles outside of Eugene, is from two Ninkasi Brewing longtime brewers/engineers who are both Navy veterans. They recently launched an investment campaign in collaboration with New York, NY based Republic, and are now partnering with one-of-a-kind, place-based crowdfunding program for Oregon startups, called RAINcap (RAIN Capital Access Program). The project was one of our Most Anticipated Upcoming New Oregon Breweries of 2021, and is now getting back on track with a projected late 2022 launch.
Co-founder and CEO Cam Wells has extensive experience in brewing, process engineering and facilities management. He has been the Plant Electrician at Ninkasi Brewing for 6 years, before that serving in the U.S. Navy for four years as a flight control and landing gear mechanic.
Co-founder and brewmaster Chris Archer is currently the lead brewer at Ninkasi Brewing with 10 years of experience in the field moving up from cellar operations to recipe development, tracking and optimization. Archer also previously served in the Navy for 8 years.
Arable Brewing’s Chris Archer and Cam Wells
Arable Brewing co-founder and CFO is Amy Wells, she will manage marketing, sales and bookkeeping for the company and is also Cam’s wife. In the early 1990s Amy left her job at a Eugene area bank and went to work for her family's small food cart, Tres Hermanas. During those early years, they were the only food cart in Eugene. Tres gained a huge fan base and the family decided it was time to open a full service restaurant. They chose a location in downtown Eugene area and their fan base followed them indoors. For almost 10 years they enjoyed serving the local community their fresh and delicious food.
The Arable Brewing is very different than their previous work with Ninkasi, their goals are to open a small community oriented brewery and taproom with a lived-in natural feel, limiting the beers to their own locations and pop-up events. Arable has already been doing pop-up tastings at markets and fairs for the past 2 years from their home pilot brewery production. Brewer Chris Archer is interested in high gravity beers, IPAs, stouts, pale ales, porters, lagers, Belgians, and sours.
With the success of a crowdfunding campaign, Arable plans to open a brewery and tasting room at a location they have already scouted in Eugene, but are keeping on the down low before leases are signed. They expect to be able to seat 25–30 people at this location (with additional standing room), complemented by additional outdoor seating, which will be covered and heated for year-round use.
Lowell, Oregon
But the founders actually have their eyes on Lowell, Oregon for a permanent home, and had intended to open there to begin with before finding that the town does not yet have the infrastructure to support a brewery. Lowell is a historic and family-oriented town that was established in the 1800's. The town sits on the north shore of the Dexter Reservoir and the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, and is a popular recreation area for people from nearby Eugene and Springfield. There are no breweries in Lowell yet, but the city administrators have plans to add residential real estate, markets, restaurants, and retail locations. Once the infrastructure is available in Lowell, Arable plans to open a tasting room in downtown Lowell that they hope will become the cornerstone of what will soon become many other retail businesses with the same goal: to breathe new life into the town.
For now, Arable is focusing on a Eugene launch with the lofty goal to get into business this Fall 2022. The Eugene site is virtually move-in ready. Arable will need to make a few leasehold improvements to the space totaling $21,500. The company has submitted an LOI to the property landlord, and will have an executed lease for the property before the closing and disbursement of the start-up financing.
The brewery expects to produce and sell approximately 174 barrels (5,394 gallons) of beer in 2022, and scale to approximately 261 barrels in 2023, and 320 barrels in 2024. This will be mostly from on-premise sales of draft and specialty bottled and can beers.
To kick off the campaign, the woman- and veteran-owned Arable Brewing Company is hosting a pop-up and crowdfunding event on Friday, August 19, from 6-8 PM at The Better Living Room by Ninkasi Brewing. Individuals are invited to learn more about their investment offerings - and to sample a few of their beers, brewed especially for this event. Attendance will be limited to 100 people, and guests are asked to pre-register at: https://bit.ly/ArableKickoff
“Arable Brewing Company is excited to offer this unique opportunity to join and support our vision of a community-oriented brewery here in Eugene,” said co-founder and CEO Cam Wells. “It’s wonderful to be part of this new relationship between RAIN and Republic. Through their collaboration, and partnership, our fundraising campaign has a national audience.”
While the opportunities to invest in startup companies have for the most part only been available to high net-worth individuals, accredited investors, and investment funds, RAINcap allows individuals to help businesses in their own “backyard” start or grow by investing as little as $100. Those who invest in Oregon startups and small businesses join in celebrating their growth.
“Without equitable access to capital, many Oregon businesses never make it to market — or fail shortly after,” said RAIN CEO Caroline Cummings. “RAINcap will help bridge the capital gap for Oregon entrepreneurs, many of whom are underserved, under represented, and face numerous challenges to securing traditional loans or venture financing, especially women, BIPOC, and people who don’t have access to generational wealth.”
DISCLAIMER: The RAIN team will educate entrepreneurs and help them get their deal “fund-ready” according to Republic’s due diligence checklist, but RAIN will not solicit any deals. RAIN is educating these entrepreneurs on how to “rally their crowd,” but once that crowd is rallied, the entrepreneurs need to make the investment “ask,” not RAIN. RAIN will educate individuals on what crowdfunding is and how to use the platform, but will never solicit or make any recommendations on investments.
About RAIN
RAIN is a global 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Eugene, Oregon. RAIN partners with small and rural communities to help them build inclusive innovation economies that empower overlooked entrepreneurs by connecting them to free programs and resources that help them start and scale their ventures.
About Arable Brewing Company
Arable is the dream of Cam and Amy Wells and their good friend, Chris Archer. Cam and Chris have worked in the industry for a combined 16+ years. Arable is a small craft brewery located in Eugene, Oregon. Arable takes pride in brewing small batches that produce a number of seasonal and specialized beers. The team decided they are ready to go into business for themselves. And as a result, Arable Brewing Company was born and will be available for all in 2022!