For Immediate Release

Rogue Celebrates Oregon's 150th with Historic Bottles

[click here to download PDF News Release]

INDEPENDENCE, OR, June 15, 2009 – Rogue Ales will release Independence Sesquicentennial Ale to further celebrate the state’s history and birthday. The bottle pays tribute to the Wigrich Ranch, the largest hop yard in Oregon in the early 1900’s. Rogue currently grows hops on former Wigrich Ranch fields. The historic picture of the Wigrich hop dryers was provided by the Independence Heritage Museum (see PDF). The Independence bottle is part of a series that features photographs of historic places and buildings from around Oregon.

Sesquicentennial Series: The Eugene Sesquicentennial Ale features a historic picture of the original Eugene City Brewery. The brewery was established in 1863 and was one of the first breweries in the Eugene area. Portland Sesquicentennial Ale depicts the historic Portland Theatre, built in 1928, an icon for the city’s arts and culture community. The Newport Sesquicentennial Ale will pay tribute to the original Bayfront Brewery, erected in 1882. Astoria’s Sesquicentennial Ale will feature the Pier 39 cannery in Astoria, current home of the Rogue Ales Public House. This historic pier and cannery made Bumble Bee Tuna a household name. And since Rogue is celebrating its 21st year, it didn’t seem right not to include the town where Rogue was founded, Ashland Oregon. The Ashland Sesquicentennial Ale bottle depicts the current home of the Ashland Springs Hotel. Built in 1928, for years it was the tallest building between Portland and San Francisco.

The Sesquicentennial Series was designed to be an ALL OREGON ale by Rogue Brewmaster John Maier to showcase Oregon-grown ingredients. The brew features 5 ingredients: Two-row and Munich malts grown in Oregon’s Klamath Basin, Willamette hops from Rogue Farms’ hop yard in Independence, Rogue’s proprietary PacMan yeast from Hood River and free range coastal water. The Sesquicentennial Ales are brewed at Rogue’s Newport brewery. Even the bottles are from Oregon, manufactured at Owens-Illinois’ Portland plant and serigraphed at TriS in Tualatin.

Oregon 150, the non-profit organization responsible for planning the State’s sesquicentennial celebration, selected Rogue to brew a special commemorative ale for the State’s 150th birthday. Sesquicentennial Series will be available on draft and in limited edition 22-ounce serigraphed bottles. These ales will be available at select retailers around the State.

"With Rogue’s deep roots in the Oregon brewing community, their years of award-winning beers, history of charitable giving and new foray into growing their own malting barley and hops, they were the natural choice to brew Oregon’s sesquicentennial beer," said Melisa McDonald, Executive Director of Oregon 150.

Celebrating its second century, Rogue ales is an Artisan Varietal Brewery founded in Oregon in 1988, as one of America’s first 50 microbreweries. Rogue has 630+ awards for taste and quality and is available nationally and in 23 countries.

Visit www.rogue.com.

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