Rogue Ales opened in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon. After one year at that location, Rogue relocated to and opened a brewpub in Newport, Oregon where the company is still headquartered today. Over the years, Rogue’s following steadily increased and its products became some of the most sought after craft beers in the country.
Rogue is well known for its unique and sometime boundary pushing beers including: Dead Guy Ale, Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout, Beard Beer (made from yeast found in Brew master John Maier’s beard), Yellow Snow IPA, Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout and Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale.
The Distillery
As the demand for craft spirits began to rise, Rogue moved the distilling operation from Portland to Newport, located along the Oregon Coast. “This gave us the opportunity to ocean age our spirits,” says Joyce. The distillery and now brand new cooperage, Rolling Thunder Barrel Works, are across the parking lot from Rogue Brewery. “We’re now the only craft distillery – and brewery – to make its own barrels.”
Why did Rogue decide to branch out to spirits after all their fame in beer?
“Through our experience in beer, it was the logical next step that craft spirits would be similar. This means variety, creativity, working in small batches and saying connected to our local communities.”
Distiller of the Year
In January, Rogue Ales & Spirits was named the Distiller of the Year at the World Beverage Competition in Geneva Switzerland. They did this by beating out over 20,000 other distilleries. Part of why Rogue was bestowed such an honor is because they have their hands in every aspect of the distilling process. Rogue grows their own rye, hops, barley and every other ingredient that goes into their beers and spirits and they even do their own malting, roasting and smoking. Rogue doesn’t need to rely on anyone else to make their award winning spirits and that has opened a lot of eyes in the world of distillation.
Much of Rogue’s success comes from the collaborations between the spirits and beer sides of Rogue. “There are so many ways our spirits and beers collaborate,” says Joyce. “Our brew master John Maier brews the wash for our whiskeys and Single Malt Vodka as an example.” The mash from their famous Dead Guy Ale is also used to make Dead Guy Whiskey.
Rogue is constantly experimenting with “beertails” (beer cocktails if you haven’t already figured it out) and has come up with some great recipes to show off both their beer and spirits. “We’re also making kegged cocktails to offer on tap alongside our beers at Rogue Meeting Halls as another way to deliver our spirits to consumers.”
Rogue Spirits
Rogue Spirits currently makes ten different spirits. They are:
Hazelnut Spice Rum: Like many of their spirits, Rogue’s Hazelnut Spice Rum is made with all-natural ingredients including toasted hazelnuts from a farm near Rogue Farm and 100% cane sugar. The real interesting thing about their spice rum is the fact that it is ocean aged so you can truly feel like a pirate while you drink it.
Dark Rum: Rogue’s Dark rum is made the same way as its Hazelnut Spice Rum except it doesn’t contain hazelnuts and it isn’t ocean aged. But, you can be assured that rum with hints of toffee and caramel won’t disappoint.
Oregon Single Malt Vodka: Rogue’s Vodka is made from malting barley that is grown at Rogue Farm. The vodka is made using the same single malt wort that Rogue Brew Master John Maier uses for his beer production.
Voodoo Bacon Maple Vodka: This wacky combination is made in collaboration with Rogue’s Voodoo Dougnut Bacon Maple Ale.
Spruce Gin: This is a unique gin. It’s made using over 100 pounds of cucumbers in each batch that is distilled. It also contains eleven other ingredients including Oregon Spruce.
Pink Spruce Gin: Rogue’s Pink spruce is aged for 4-6 months in Pinot Noir casks.
That’s not all, Rogue Spirits also makes: Chipotle Whiskey, Oregon Single Malt Whiskey, Oregon Rye Whiskey and Dead Guy Whiskey.
They recently opened up Rolling Thunder Barrel Works, the new bark-to-barrel cooperage. “We can now ocean age our spirits, beers and ciders in barrels we made ourselves, using Oregon White Oak,” says Joyce.
Rogue Farms
Rogue is also growing a lot of ingredients at Rogue Farms such as jalapenos, corn, rye, cucumbers and botanicals, but only Mother Nature knows for sure what’s on the horizon. “We have begun making bourbon from corn we grow on our farms, though it won’t be available for a couple of years.”
Joyce says that Oregon is a great place to make spirits for many reasons. “The diversity of climate and rich soil at our farms make it ideal for growing many ingredients – from barley to jalapenos.” White Oak trees grow along the coastal range so they have Oregon Oak to cooper their own barrels. “We can ocean age our spirits in the oxygen-thick air on the Oregon coast.” He adds, “It must be a 45th parallel thing.”
Rogue Farms is a source of inspiration. “Not only is beer agricultural, but so are spirits; and the terroir comes through in both.”
They grow over two dozen ingredients at Rogue Farms including malting barley, rye, hazelnuts, jalapeños, cucumbers and botanicals – and use many of these in their spirits. “These ingredients gives us inspiration for our next spirit,” says Joyce. “It’s always an adventure. It’s about dare, risk, dream. We love the fun and the creativity of farming so much we’re always wondering what else will grow in the rich Willamette Valley soil.”
