Rogue Ales

Rogue Ales
Industry Alcoholic beverage
Founded 1988
Founder Jack Joyce
Rob Strasser
Bob Woodell
Headquarters Newport, Oregon, U.S.
Area served
U.S. and international
Key people
Brett Joyce (president)
Products Beer
Spirits
Cider
Soda
Website rogue.com

Rogue Ales is a brewery founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon, United States. The following year the company opened their second brewpub in Newport, Oregon where they are now headquartered. They operate brewpubs in Oregon, Washington, and California. Rogue exports throughout the US and internationally. Rogue Ales have been described as "invariably fun and full flavored".[1][2]

The company has also expanded into distilling as well, with micro distilleries in Newport and Portland.

History and manifesto

Rogue Ales was founded in Ashland, Oregon in 1988 by three Nike, Inc. executives: Jack Joyce, Rob Strasser, and Bob Woodell.[3] The company relocated to Newport in 1989 and opened its flagship brew pub on the town's waterfront.[3]

Rogue came to be headquartered in Newport, an Oregon coastal fishing town after Jack Joyce, one of the company's founders, visited the area at the suggestion of a partner.[3] He met Mo Niemi, owner of Mo's restaurant chain. Mo was well known for being generous as well as for her clam chowder.[4] Niemi was interested in operating a brewpub on the Newport waterfont in a property her family owned. Although Joyce was initially skeptical about running a full-fledged brewery, Niemi convinced him to take on the venture. Niemi insisted that the company would give back to the local community, saying "...if you're lucky enough not to go broke, feed the fishermen."[5] Now deceased, Niemi's legacy lives on at Rogue: her image is featured on the Half-e-weizen bottle (originally Mo's Ale and now MoM Ale).

Joyce has described the company's goals as, "...keep making great product, keep trying to make our packaging great, keep trying to integrate ourselves in our communities, and keep creating unique thunder (in promotions)...". Rogue maintains a company manifesto that expands on their values.[6]

The company gives back to its community in a variety of ways, for example helping the City of Newport celebrate its 125th anniversary with the issue of a limited edition Newport Anniversary Ale, whose historical label pays tribute to the Yaquina Brewery, Newport's first. Rogue also donates ongoing proceeds of a specialty brew series to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (past beers have included Spiny Lumpsucker Ale, Wolf Eel Ale, Shark Tooth Ale and Sea Otter Amber). One (Whale Ale) was even crafted in honor of Keiko, the orca, the aquarium's most celebrated resident and star of the movie Free Willy before his release into open waters. In addition there are ongoing sponsored activities like the annual surfing event "The Gathering Longboard Classic" on Newport's South Beach.[7][8]

Controversy

Rogue has repeatedly come under fire for union-busting tactics at their Newport brewery, and are well-known throughout the region for paying their employees low wages.[9]

Rogue's Eugene Public House and Track Town Brewery was shut down in 2014 with a similar reputation. "The atmosphere combined with Rogue’s cheapskate management tactics to finally wear away the glossy veneer of rebellion that enchanted locals, tourists, and brewers alike." [10]

Oregon Brewing Company (parent corporation of Rogue Ales) filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in 2013 against Rogue 24, a molecular gastronomy restaurant in Washington DC which opened in 2011. Oregon Brewing Company is also asking the restaurant to transfer their domain name of www.rogue24.com. Chef/owner R.J. Cooper of Rogue24 stated "We never have sold any Rogue Brewery products nor spirits in the restaurant."[11]

Rogue also sued a local frame shop in 2011 claiming that they had lost a photograph of a naked woman in a bathtub the brewery wanted framed copies of. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.[12]

A sizable portion of the American craft beer community has been very vocal about problems with the Rogue Brewery's business culture. Complaints have surfaced regarding the company's hiring notices, and there was also an unverified story that surfaced on Reddit several years ago about from a disgruntled former employee. Brett Joyce addressed the issues recently in an interview in MarketWatch.[13][14][15]

Brewing philosophy

Rogue Ales Distillery & Public House in Portland

John C. Maier, current brewmaster, joined the company in 1989 after a chance encounter with Joyce at an airport.[5] Maier is a 1986 graduate of the Siebel Institute of Technology. He describes Rogue Ales' practice of crafting a wide range of ales (regular, seasonal and specialty) as being due to Rogue's philosophy "that variety is the spice of life". Rogue to date has produced more than 60 different ales using a non-pasteurized process with no preservatives, all natural ingredients (many from the Pacific Northwest which includes all of their malts and hops) and a special proprietary yeast known as "Pacman".[5][16][17]

Maier says that all of their beers are meant to go with food. To that end, the company has worked closely with celebrated chefs such as Iron Chef's Masaharu Morimoto,[18] brewing industry experts like Jack Eckhardt[19] and restaurateurs in crafting signature beers produced in small scale for restaurants.[20][21][22][23] There is an emphasis on beer and cheese pairings.

Notable brews

Oregon ranks 2nd nationally in craft breweries per capita.[24]

Rogue has collaborated on brewing beers with the likes of Rogue Creamery, Portland State, Voodoo Doughnut, Marvel Comics,[25] and others. The brewery released Hot Sriracha Stout in 2013, made with the sauce of the same name.[26]

The company's offerings are popular with critics and craft beer aficionados and have been major award winners in worldwide competitions.[27][28][29][30][31][32]

Examples of award winning and notable Rogue Ales[33][34]

Beer Style[35] Awards
American Amber Amber Ale 2008 Great American Beer Festival Bronze
Beard Beer Ale made with yeast scraped from the brewmaster's beard[36]
Chocolate Stout Chocolate Stout 2009 Great American Beer Festival Silver, 2001 Great American Beer Festival Silver, 2000 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Dead Guy Ale[37] Maibock inspired Ale
Hazelnut Brown Nectar Nut Brown Ale 2012 Great American Beer Festival Gold, 2011 Great American Beer Festival Gold, 2010 Great American Beer Festival Bronze, 2008 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Mocha Porter Robust Porter 2009 Great American Beer Festival Silver, 2001 Great American Beer Festival Bronze, 2000 World Beer Cup Silver
Mogul Madness Winter Warmer 1994 Great American Beer Festival Bronze
Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale Black Ale 2008 World Beer Cup Bronze, 2006 World Beer Cup Silver
Morimoto Soba Ale Ale 2008 World Beer Cup Gold, 2004 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Old Crustacean Barley Wine 2004 Great American Beer Festival Bronze, 1993 Great American Beer Festival Gold, 1992 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Rauch Smoked Beer 1990 Great American Beer Festival Gold
The Right Hand of Doom Beer Smoked Ale[38]
Russian Imperial Stout Imperial Stout 2007 Great American Beer Festival Bronze, 2002 World Beer Cup Gold, 2000 World Beer Cup Gold
Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout 2010 Great American Beer Festival Bronze, 2006 World Beer Cup Gold, 2005 Great American Beer Festival Gold
Smoke Ale Smoked Ale 2011 Great American Beer Festival Gold, 2010 World Beer Cup Silver, 2002 World Beer Cup Gold, 2000 Great American Beer Festival Silver, 2000 World Beer Cup Bronze, 1998 World Beer Cup Gold, 1998 Great American Beer Festival Silver, 1997 Great American Beer Festival Gold, 1996 Great American Beer Festival Gold
St. Rogue Red[lower-roman 1] Red Ale 2008 Great American Beer Festival Gold
Welkommen Smoked Ale 1993 Great American Beer Festival Silver, 1992 Great American Beer Festival Silver, 1991 Great American Beer Festival Silver
  1. previously known as Dry Hopped Red

References

  1. Gianotti, Peter (August 20, 2007). "A tale of 2 coasts". Newsday. Retrieved September 17, 2007.Half-e-Weizen "...traces of coriander and ginger in an invigorating wheat beer." St Rogue Red "Maltiness, roasted variety.. earthy"
  2. "The Law of Beer". Law School News. University of Oregon. November 10, 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 Brettman, Allan Brettman (2014-05-28). "Jack Joyce cut a path through Nike during tough times before Rogue Ales". The Oregonian. Oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  4. http://moschowder.com/home.cfm?dir_cat=13832 reprint The Oregonian
  5. 1 2 3 Bryson, Lew (2005). "Rogue is different". Beverage Business. New Beverage Publication, Inc. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  6. Moen, Alan (August 1, 1999). "Rogue Warrior: An Interview with Jack Joyce". Beer Notes. Retrieved September 19, 2007.^ a: "NB: But why Newport? There must be a story about that. JJ: My partner was the director of the Port of Portland. His counterpart in the Port of Newport had a prominent citizen, Mo Niemi - Mo's Clam Chowder-, and she wanted a bar downstairs and her kids were smarter than that. They didn't want to run it. So I came down to tell Mo we were brewers, not publicans...[Joyce was then snowed in for 4 days]...So I said, hell, we can make a brewery out of this...she was a very persuasive woman. BN: Mo really talked you into it, then?JJ: Well, yeah, and she made it fair...All we had to do was hang that godawful picture of her in her French bathtub - naked."
  7. "City of Newport and Rogue Ales Brewery announce commemorative bottle in celebration of Newport's 125th Anniversary". Newport News-Times. August 27, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2007. ^ e: "We really wanted to get involved with the 125th celebration for Newport and we felt that making a special label was our way of giving something back to Newport." Jack Joyce, CEO "The historic photo from the Oregon Coast History Center is a perfect fit for the Rogue, Newport and the 125th anniversary celebration."City of Newport City Manager Allen O'Neal
  8. Eberly, Laura (September 8, 2006). "The Gathering Longboard Classic returns". Newport News-Times. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  9. http://www.nwlaborpress.org/2011/0617/6-17-11IBT.html
  10. Brussat, Aaron. "Rogue's Eugene Public House and Track Town Brewery has CLOSED". The New School. The New School. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  11. Sidman, Jessica. "Brewer of Rogue Ales Sues Rogue 24 for Trademark Infringement". Young & Hungry. Washington City Paper. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  12. http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/poster_print_of_a_naked_chowde.html
  13. http://i.imgur.com/cfGFm5j.png. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "Weird TV Blogspot".
  15. Notte, Jason (July 24, 2015). "MarketWatch".
  16. Clarke, Jim (August 1, 2004). "An Interview with John C. Maier, Brewmaster at Rogue Ales (with Brewer, Spokescreature and President of Rogue Nation since 1993)". Star Brewers. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  17. "Rogue celebrates 10,000 brews". Newport News-Times. March 17, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  18. Chou, Hsiao-Ching (May 6, 2003). "Iron Chef hawks book, two beers and self". Seattle Post Intelligencer. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  19. Beertalk
  20. Murphy, Linda (May 4, 2006). "Chipotle beer heats up Cinco de Mayo". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 17, 2007.Chipotle Ale"...smoky, subtly peppery palate matching the heat and spice of chilie-based cuisine."
  21. Foyston, John (July 18, 2007). "Fred Eckhardt 's Beer-and-Cheese Tasting". The Beer Here blog. Oregonian. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  22. Fletcher, Janet (February 17, 2005). "Forget wine and cheese parties -- the true soul mate for fromage isn't made from grape juice.". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  23. Strong, Andrea (September 2, 2007). "STIR FRY IT UP". New York Post. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  24. Craft Brewing Industry Statistics
  25. Lauter, Carla Jean. "Hellboy Turns 21 and Rogue Ales Gets Him His First Beer". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  26. Galligan, Jim (16 December 2014). "Burning question: Was Sriracha Hot Stout Beer worth a taste?". NBC. Today.com. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  27. Prial, Frank (September 23, 2003). "Loving Stout for All the Right Reasons". New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2007. The favorite of Scholz, who liked its contrast of bitter and sweet. Dark, creamy and classic, Asimov said. Prial liked the complexity, and Hesser found it straightforward with flavors of molasses, bread and tobacco.
  28. "Ales By Design". Forbes FYI. April 7, 2005. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2007.^ b: "For almost 20 years, Rogue Ales has been brewing strange but wonderful things out on the Oregon coast-beers with such names as Dead Guy Ale and Brutal Bitter, often laced with surprising ingredients like chipotle, hazelnuts or roasted buckwheat."
    Imperial Stout "dark, chocolaty" I2PA (Imperial India Pale Ale) " complex 'sipping' beer"
  29. "Rogue Ales makes history at international beer competition". Newport News-Times. July 14, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  30. Kaspar, Rob (September 5, 2007). "Man hits his mark: 1,000 beers". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  31. "Rogue Dazzles International Judges". realbeer.com. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  32. Clarke, Jim (March 17, 2007). "The Rogue Nation of Ales". Star Brewers. starchefs.com. Retrieved September 17, 2007.Sea Otter Amber aka American Amber. Latest in the Oregon Coast Aquarium series.
  33. "Past Winners". World Beer Cup. Brewer's Association. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  34. "GABF Winners". Great American Beer Festival. Brewer's Association. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  35. Additional Beer Styles^ e: Beer styles are not hard and fast categories, examples given may fit one or more style.
  36. Ale from the brewmaster's sweaty beard
  37. It Turns Out That Death Is Not That Bad
  38. Drink the Right Hand of Doom with Hellboy Beer!

Coordinates: 44°37′13″N 124°03′08″W / 44.6202°N 124.05236°W / 44.6202; -124.05236

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