A promotional beer event scheduled to take place Saturday evening at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. was cancelled after one of the craft breweries previously listed as a participant in press materials declined to take part, citing regulatory issues.
The ‘Hop Cup’ event – reportedly organized by ‘Seattle-based’ distributors – was supposed to have pitted two Pacific Northwest craft breweries against one another in a race to see which brewery could sell the most beer during during a collegiate football game being held at the stadium.
Brewbound.com published a press release on September 21st which indicated that Eugene, Ore.-based Ninkasi Brewing and Spokane, Wash.-based No-Li Brewhouse would be taking part in the event but has since learned that Ninkasi Brewing was not involved and that the event never took place.
A company spokesperson for Ninkasi denied that the company was involved with the promotion, citing potential legal repercussions with the Washington State Liquor Control Board as its primary reason for not participating.
No-Li co-founder John Bryant said he did not organize the event but agreed to participate after being invited by at least one unnamed Seattle beer distributor. Bryant also said a press release his company produced was sent to various media outlets before he learned that Ninkasi would not be participating in the event.
“We saw it as an opportunity to build craft beer in Seattle,” said Bryant.
No-Li was recently featured in an Esquire magazine article that paired 32 craft breweries with NFL teams. The brewery was chosen to accompany the Seattle Seahawks and Bryant, recognizing a chance to put his beer on draught in the stadium where the Seahawks play, agreed to participate in the Hop Cup event. The beer will remain on tap at the stadium through October.