McKenzie River Corporation is a beverage marketing firm based in San Francisco, CA. Founded in 1987 by Joseph Wessinger with the help of his father, Fred Wessinger, the McKenzie River Corporation has launched a number of successful beverage products to the US market.

History

Joseph Wessinger began the McKenzie River Corporation (named for the McKenzie River in central Oregon), previously known as McKenzie River Partners, to follow in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather, Henry Weinhard, the Pacific Northwest brewing pioneer. Wessinger is a part of a family tradition of brewing which began in 1856. In 1991, the corporation was sued by the Attorney General of New York over advertisements allegedly directed at underage minority children. The suit was settled out of court. It was also fined and temporarily shut down by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Products

Miller purchase

On August 14, 2006, Miller Brewing announced it had completed the purchase of Sparks and Steel Reserve brands from McKenzie River Corp. for $215 million. Miller had been producing both products prior to this purchase.

McKenzie Labs

In 2018, the company started the subsidiary Mckenzie Labs to develop Hive Extra Strength, all-natural, broad spectrum CBD. www.HiveCBD.com