Time to share some memories:
I agree: sad. They were one of the first « cool » craft brewers blazing their own trail back in the 90’s. I had a great day drinking with their original head brewer back in ‘95. The next few years we’re going to see a sad procession of these closures across the world, not just craft brewers but traditional breweries, well loved breweries and quite large breweries. It’s all in a seemingly unstoppable downward trend. I’ve spoken to wine makers from France and Austria who are predicting similar catastrophic closures. It’s very sad.
And don’t forget weed
Yeah but weed and ozempic doesn’t explain Europe.
Sad. Im moving to your neck of the woods (sort of) in couple months. Gonna start renting in Medford while I look for a house in the Jacksonville area. Haven't been to Brookings yet and the climate there looks great but it's a bit spendy for me. Can't wait to get out there. Tough to see all the breweries closing
www.beervanablog.com
I'm one of those Millennials who doesn't really drink anymore (love Athletic Upside Dawn and I'll have a beer every once in a while at a favorite local brewery a la Space Cat or Nod Hill) but Rogue was one of my OGs when I was rating beers on RateBeer.com back in the early 00s.
www.pastemagazine.com
That list brings back memories. Yeah most are gone but some are still going strong (as far as I know!). Remember the early 1990s with beers like Rhino Chasers, Pete's Wicked Ale, New Amsterdam, Long Trail, etc.? Most popular craft beers back then were amber lagers or brown ales. All were readily available and at a lot of bars. It was the start of the craft beer revolution which eventually died off by the early 2000s but then the new revolution started shortly after that and we're where we are today. I've been saying for about 7-8 years that there are too many breweries and a lot of them make mediocre to bad beer and wouldn't last.They were always a good one back in the day. Enjoyed Dead Guy. But as @Chin Diesel suggested, these beers disappeared from stores years ago, replaced by fresh local beers. Most of the old craft beer guard are gone, only the biggest have survived. Saranac , Magic Hat, Anchor Steam, Red Hook all gone. I don't think Stone, Lagunitas or Sierra Nevada are doing all that well. Lots of smaller brewers shutting their doors too, some of them were good, some sucked and it's a competitive market.
I think many of the breweries on this list are gone or may be struggling.
The 25 Best American Breweries of the Decade (2000-2009)
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Funny you say that. I always wondered the same thing on my trips to Aruba the past two years. One bar that promotes they have micro brews were pretty much all, if not all, from Rogue. I was not complaining.That stinks. Rogue was one of the original national microbreweries. What am I going to drink in Aruba now? For some strange reason they had Rogue beers there the last 2 years I've gone. Not sure why but they don't really drink anything good down there so that was my go to. I guess I'll have to smuggle in more Tree House beers next time. I had about 10 cans stashed in our suitcases. Nobody said we couldn't.
Good article about their history:
Rogue Ales, 1988-2025 — Beervana
With the apparent permanent closure of Rogue Ales, it’s time to consider the legacy of this early craft brewery. It may surprise many drinkers who today think of Rogue as tame and boring to learn that it was once a radical experiment. And that’s how we should remember it.
Their chocolate stout and hazelnut nectar were some of the first "pastry" stouts I ever had. They should of kept up with the barrelling like Goose, Bruery and Prairie. Plus I assume Great Notion beat them out of that game.
Anyone remember Hammer & Nail out of Watertown? They had a vienna stout and brown ale that I thought were solid, at least for way back then.
Brookings is nice to visit but if you need anything more then an ER visit, the Medford area is an excellent place to move to. We are now with our son in Santa Clarita CA.
What I meant to say is that weed is mostly still illegal in most European countries, and weight loss drugs like ozempic are not on the radar, but drinking is WAY down here. It’s such a massive trend downward.
Ive been a « craft brewer » for 35 years in multiple countries (and New England) and many brewerIes (some of which I’ve owned, others that I’ve held various production roles, usually Head Brewer). Most brewers I speak to are hanging on by a thread, and yes this includes the best, biggest AND smallest, and most innovative and sh@t hot breweries in America, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia and the UK, 2025 has been a terrible year for everyone I’ve spoken to. My brewery is still here because we have no debt and I don’t require a lot of salary. But just last week taxes went up on beer here and our latest water bill was charging us 8 times what it was last year. Suppliers and our retail partners are also closing. Thank god I have all the free beer I want!
What's your brewery? (You don't have to out yourself if you don't want to).
So they got sued into bankruptcy. Wonder if the recipes will get bought at auction.
How did water go up 8x? That’s insane.
