Pyramid Breweries has sold the Thomas Kemper line of sodas to a Portland, Ore., equity firm in order to focus on its beer brands.
Hart Brewing, founded in 1984 in Kalama, Wash., was one of America’s first craft brewers. The company first produced Pyramid beers and in 1992 acquired the Thomas Kemper Brewing Co., which made both beer and soda. Pyramid, which moved its headquarters to Seattle in 1995, later discontinued production of the Kemper beer brands.
A new Portland company, The Kemper Co., will take over marketing and distribution of the brand’s six soft drinks distinctive for their old-fashioned labels. Pyramid has agreed to continue brewing and bottling the sodas for five years for The Kemper Co.
Pyramid president Scott Barnum said the sale for $3.1 million not only provides extra cash to fuel Pyramid’s craft beer expansion into Texas and other southern states. He said its also allows the company to focus its sales and marketing staff on just beer.
