Newport, Ore., is a special place. The fishing burg’s natural beauty is nestled between the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific Ocean and Yaquina Bay, and the community’s wild spirit is best exemplified by its famous craft brewery — Rogue Ales and Spirits. Beneath the iconic and arched Yaquina Bay Bridge, Rogue World Headquarters is a busy modernized brewery and distillery where folks like Brewmaster John Maier create legendary ales, sodas and spirits.
Of course, Rogue didn’t start out in that impressive bay-side facility. The company has a long history and mythos that is partly being celebrated in the 30th anniversary video above. The first Rogue Ales pub was founded in Ashland, Ore., in 1988 by three Nike executives: Jack Joyce, Rob Strasser and Bob Woodell. The original 10-bbl brew system was set up in the basement, which Maier describes as “down in a hole” in the video above.
By 1989, Joyce found the perfect place for another Rogue pub and its eventual headquarters when he got stuck in a snowstorm in Newport. Visitors can still stay overnight at the original Newport Rogue brewpub, now called Rogue Ales Public House, which sits on Yaquina Bay next to the busy fisheries. I did, and it was awesome.
Learn more about those early years from the video above and from long-time Rogues like Maier, Brett Joyce, Rogue president and son of Jack, and Big Al Jorgensen, Rogue Nation president. The video is only part one, so we’ll keep you updated on the next chapter(s) as Rogue releases them.
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