Rogue Ales reportedly ceases all operations
Is Rogue Ales a dead guy? According to reports, employees showed up to Rogue Ales Portland Public House on 11/14/25 to be told that the Newport, Oregon based brewery was ceasing all operations and closing all locations. The New School has reached out for confirmation but has not yet received a response.
The Lincoln City Chronicle reports today that Rogue owes $545, 0000 to the Port of Newport for their primary production and packaging facility and distillery operations in Newport, Oregon and an additional $30,000 in taxes to Lincoln County. The Chronicle also reports that last month the Port of Newport approved a plan to lease Rogue’s distillery building to West Coast Seafood.
In June 2025 Rogue Ales launched THC recreational seltzer drinks, part of a big move to capitalize into the younger generations embrace of low and no-alcohol beverages. The expansion into hemp derived products came in two flavors; Blackberry Cucumber and Pineapple Guava. Yesterday, 11/13/2025 president Donald Trump signed a THC cap that effectively bans most hemp products and that could have been a final nail in the coffin.
Signs were on the wall for Rogue’s retraction since atleast August 2025 when they struck an agreement to outsource their sales to U.S. Beverage LLC as the brands national sales partner for their full portfolio. Despite a downturn in the market, Rogue is still the 50th largest U.S. Craft Brewing Company according to the Brewers Association’s annual report.
Google listings show Rogue Ales in Portland and the flagship brewpub in Newport the Rogue Bayfront on the waterfront as temporarily closed, while other locations like the Rogue Pier 39 location in Astoria and the newish Rogue Salem Public House were still showing as open as of this afternoon. The New School placed calls in to all 6 locations of Rogue Ales and all calls either went unanswered or went to full voicemail boxes.
Rogue Ales & Spirits was founded in Ashland, Oregon in 1988 by University of Oregon alumni Jack Joyce and Bob Woodell. Rogue is an early pioneer of the microbrew movement and one of the oldest breweries in the State. Legendary brewmaster John C. Maier joined Rogue in 1989, helping establish them as an innovative brewing force to be reckoned with and earning them more than 2,000 awards since inception. Many of Maier and his team’s beers are iconic: Hazelnut Nectar brown ale, Shakespeare Stout, Brutal Bitter, Chocolate Stout, and probably none-so-farmous as Dead Guy Ale, an amber maibock-style that spawned a line of beers all it’s own. In 2003 Rogue expanded operations into a distillery and later into canned cocktails. Rogue was also one of the first craft breweries to export out of America and introduce the world to U.S. craft beer.
A request for confirmation or comment has been requested from Rogue VP of marketing and this article will be updated if anything new arises. Please reach out to us at newschoolbeer@gmail.com with any tips or sources.
