10 barrel pearl construction

Garrett Wales, a partner in 10 Barrel Brewing Co. of Bend, supervises demolition Tuesday, April 29, at the site of the company's new brewery and restaurant in the Pearl District.

( Rebecca Koffman/Special to The Oregonian )

Anheuser-Busch, the U.S. arm of the world's largest brewer, is adding 10 Barrel Brewing Co. of Bend to its portfolio of craft breweries.



Update: 10 Barrel founders say little will change in Anheuser-Busch acquisition



Terms of the sale weren't disclosed, but the deal includes the company's brewpubs in Bend and Boise, Idaho, as well as a location in Portland's Pearl District that is expected to open in 2015.



10 Barrel founders Jeremy Cox, Chris Cox and Garrett Wales will continue to lead the brewery as a division of Anheuser-Busch, which is the U.S. arm of the Belgium-based conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev.



"We are excited to stay focused on brewing cool beers, get our beers in more hands, and make the most of the operational and distribution expertise of Anheuser-Busch," Jeremy Cox said.



The 8-year-old 10 Barrel expects to sell 40,000 barrels of beer in 2014. Its most popular beer is its Apocalypse IPA, which accounts for almost half of its sales.



Its products have earned critical acclaim. The brewery was one of four in the U.S. to win three medals at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival.



The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.



Anheuser-Busch has made earlier inroads into the Oregon craft beer scene.



It owns a significant stake in Craft Brew Alliance, the parent company of Widmer Brothers Brewery of Portland. Craft Brew also owns Kona Brewing Co. of Hawaii and Redhook Ale Brewery of Seattle. (By virtue of that stake, Craft Brew Alliance doesn't meet trade group Brewers Association definition of a craft brewer.)



Craft Brew also contracts with Anheuser-Busch for nationwide distribution.



10 Barrel's partners posted a video announcing the acquisition:





-- Elliot Njus