Owner of Antifascist Cidery Cider Riot Hopes to Sell to Someone Who Shares His “View on Human Rights”

Owner Abram Goldman-Armstrong says he hopes to attract a buyer that will keep the Cider Riot name and operation as-is.

Cider Riot (Emily Joan Greene)

Portland's Cider Riot is for sale as of Wednesday afternoon.

The cidery, which is at the center of one of the highest-profile criminal cases in the city after six far-right organizers were indicted for attacking antifascists there on May 1, is currently listed on Pro Brewer for $875,000. The Oregonian first reported the listing last night.

Owner Abram Goldman-Armstrong says he hopes to attract a buyer that will keep the Cider Riot name and operation as-is. He says that when the cidery expanded into a larger facility in 2016, it "generated a fair bit of debt" that it couldn't pay off.

"We've been trying to get by and trying to get by," Goldman-Armstrong says, "and we got to a point where investors felt it would be better to list the whole thing rather than try to bring on more investment."

He continues: "The ideal situation would be to keep things rolling and starting getting a paycheck. I haven't gotten a paycheck in three years."

Goldman-Armstrong's ciders this year won multiple awards at the world's biggest cider competition, the Bath & West International Cider Championships.

Goldman-Armstrong is also one of the most vocal antifascist business owners in the city.

Cider Riot last month released a cider called Tres Flechas (three arrows) in protest of a Major League Soccer ban on fans flying flags with an antifascist symbol the Iron Front—a circle encompassing three arrows. Goldman-Armstrong was one of a handful of Timbers fans issued a three-game ban for flying Iron Front flags in defiance during games at Providence Park.

Related: After Fan Bans, Timbers Army Posts Defiant Banners in Protest—But Keeps On Cheering

He hopes anybody interested in buying the Cider Riot brand will "share [his] view on human rights."

"Believing in human rights and being against fascism used to be mainstream," he says. "It's kind of bizarre for it to be portrayed as extreme. It's not extreme by any measuring stick."

He adds, "We're not going to sell to racist scumbags, and I don't think the other investors would feel comfortable selling to someone who doesn't believe in equal rights for all humans. Political views don't usually play a part in business, so we're not ruling out anyone unless they're really terrible."

Since Wednesday, Goldman-Armstrong says he's already received inquiries from four people interested in buying Cider Riot.

"Responses have been coming from all across the country," he says. "Looking at the way things are going in the local beer market, that's the best hope we have—not a local company, but someone from out of state."

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