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Home > Rogue Brewery Tour
Rogue Brewery Tour
The Rogue Ale Story
Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, and another friend, Rob Strasser, were
approached by Jeff Schultz, Bob's accountant, and an avid home brewer
about starting a brewery. After many beers discussing the idea,
construction of a small brewery began in June of 1988 in Ashland along a
very scenic little stream called Lithia Creek. The 10 bbl brew system
was set up in a basement with a 60 seat Pub above. The first brews were
Amber and Gold. The Brewery and Pub opened in October 1988.
While the Brew Pub was located in a very pretty and scenic location, had
a beautiful deck and enjoyed moderate success and the beer was great,
Ashland was not to be Rogue's only adventure. Ashland was basically land
locked, and frankly we were losing our butts in Ashland, trying to sell
our hand-crafted ales. Rogue needed room to grow and grow we did. So
Jack set off in search of greener pastures.
In early February of 1989, Jack wandered to Newport in search of the
perfect place for another Rogue Pub. Legend has it that a terrible and
unusual snow storm struck and Jack found himself stranded on the
Historic Bay Front, with no way up the hill. He was forced to walk the
streets until he met up with Mohave Neimi, founder of the famous Mo's
Clam Chowder. She took him to the original Mo's restaurant, gave him a
bowl of hot clam chowder and told him about her dream of living above a
Bar and how she might just have the perfect spot for the next Rogue Brew
Pub. The large building sported 3 full time apartments upstairs, a
sweater shop, an Art Gallery and 1,100 sq. ft. of empty store front and
an 800 sq. ft. garage that was currently being used to store antique
cars. Mo offered the vacant space and the garage to Jack at a very
generous price, under two stipulations: that a picture of Mo herself,
naked in a bath tub, be forever displayed at the Pub (it's still there
today just to the left of the Bar) and that Rogue "feed the fisherman",
meaning that we give back to the local community. This building was
known as the Front & Case Bldg.
In Feb of 1989, construction began on the Bay Front Brew Pub. Making
this a step up in the world by going from a basement in Ashland to a
garage in Newport. The front of the house also was being readied. The
back bar was originally from the old Elk Tavern.
In May of 1989, John Maier joins Rogue after a stint with Alaska
Brewing. John is a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co. in
El Segundo, CA from 1975 to 1986 and Seibel Institute graduate.
The Pub opened in May of 1989, with a small but enthusiastic customer
base, made up of curious locals who dropped by to see what was going on
and never left. Many joined in and helped with the construction and
other projects as needed. The names of many of these early customers
have been immortalized with brass plaques that grace the bar today. One
of the most notable of these future customers was Chuck Linquist. He was
retired, was a home brewer, and had an interest in microbrews. He was
also bored and wanted to do something useful. We consider him one of our
first employees. His handiwork is still visible at the Pub, the shelves
that line the bar area, the light sconces, as well as the memorabilia on
the shelf above Mo's picture, that Chuck brought back from Europe.
So begins the story of Rogue Ales, enjoy!
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