In’finiti Fermentation & Distillation, the brewery/distillery/restaurant that is Portland’s only combination of beer and liquor production is not closing. They’re not leaving behind their creative cocktails and diverse lineup of house-brewed beers. They won’t be getting rid of the tasty bites coming out of the kitchen.

They’re just leaving behind their name.

On Wednesday, a story broke about potential change-ups at In’finiti, and owners Eric & Julie Michaud decided to set the story straight by releasing a statement on Thursday.

In the statement, the couple describes that since opening, several other businesses have opened with a similar name, and that it became apparent that the name conflict(s) couldn’t be resolved without expensive legal action:

“At first we speculated that the companies in question may not have been aware of our existence here in little ol’ Portland, but after multiple phone calls it became clear that they knew of us first hand. Regardless, they went ahead with the same name (imitation is the highest form of flattery?), so we employed lawyers and tried to come up with a way to preserve our name and logo. Our options were not altogether ideal. Due to a lack of trademark we either had to spend mass amounts of time and money suing a nearby company, simply ignore our growing ambiguity, or come up with a new name.”

After weighing the options, they decided to go the name and identity change route, and will be re-launching as Liquid Riot Bottling Company.

A sketch of brewery/distillery’s new branding was also released yesterday, which iincludes the silhouettes of a mob carrying flaming bottles, pitchforks, and a mash paddle (used to stir the unfermented beer during the brewing process).

“And yes, there is a story to that name. Search for the Portland Rum Riot and the Chicago Beer Riot to give you an idea of the riots that people have started in the name of alcoholic liquids.”

While they declined to name the conflicting businesses specifically in the statement, a Google search yields several breweries with the word “Infinity” in their title, including one in Vermont that also utilized the infinity symbol as their logo/branding.

Some changes beyond the name

There will be a few other changes to the identity of the new Liquid Riot Brewing Company. The interior of In’finiti’s former dining area, specifically the raised section of the restaurant, has been redesigned to act more as a tasting room.

“Instead of a “restaurant” which typically has a focus on food, we now have a “tasting room” where one can focus on the taste of our cocktails made from our house-made spirits and the taste of our beer brewed on premise.”

The statement also included the reassurance that “…our products are not changing, just the name, a little bit of the layout, and the idea of what the space provides.”

According to the newly-created Facebook page for Liquid Riot Bottling Company, they will be open at 3pm starting today.