Merritt Waldron, director of quality control at Rising Tide Brewing Co., stacks a case of MITA on a growing pallet in 2018. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Oxbow Brewing Co. recently announced plans to buy Rising Tide Brewing Co. by the end of the year.

The two breweries and their facilities will continue to operate independently after the sale, according to Oxbow founder and President Tim Adams, who announced the pending deal Wednesday on social media. Newcastle-based Oxbow has a blending and bottling location in Portland on Washington Avenue and a beer garden in Oxford, while Rising Tide is headquartered in East Bayside on Fox Street.

“The customers won’t see any real differences,” Adams said. “The one thing they will see is there’ll be a couple Rising Tide guest beers at Oxbow locations and a couple Oxbow beers at the Rising Tide location. But besides that, the locations and beers that people love from both brands are staying the same.”

Adams said he’s been friends with Rising Tide owners Heather and Nathan Sanborn since that brewery launched in 2010. Nathan Sanborn will stay on after the sale as head brewer for Rising Tide.

“I’m a big fan of what they’ve been doing since the beginning,” Adams said. “They have really high quality beers and an awesome team. We very much believe in their brand. And everybody agreed that Oxbow would be an ideal candidate to carry the torch into the future.”

Oxbow specializes in farmhouse ales and lagers, while Rising Tide produces traditional American and European beer styles. “It’s a very different brand from Oxbow, they make totally different beers, so it’s kind of a new artistic medium for us to work with,” Adams said. “We’re really psyched to have them in our family as a complementary portfolio.”

Adams said the acquisition will also help Rising Tide break into more retail markets and locations.

“We’re hoping to increase availability (of Rising Tide) out in the retail market for consumers,” he said. “We have a bigger distribution footprint than they do, so we’re looking forward to growing their brand using our resources.”

Last month, Gorham-based Lone Pine Brewing Co. announced it was merging with Massachusetts brewery Lord Hobo and, similarly, would continue operating separate breweries and tap rooms.