FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (INDEPENDENCE, OR) – Bees have been making honey for millions of years and humans have been making mead from honey for at least 9,000 years. In January Rogue joined in these ancient traditions by becoming keepers of 19 colonies of honeybees at the Rogue Farms Hopyard in Independence, Oregon.

Josh Cronin, certified beekeeper and newly appointed Deputy Under Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Bees of the Rogue Nation, set to work feeding pollen cakes, sugar water and honey reserves to the Rogue Farms Honeybees to ensure their survival through the winter. He then built hive stands to elevate the bees off the ground to discourage local skunks and possum from unauthorized honey sampling. It takes the nectar of 2 million flowers to produce one pound of honey and the hive must fly 55,000 miles to accomplish this feat, so Josh is making sure the bees are healthy and unharmed when spring arrives.

When the warmer weather arrives the bees will spend their days feasting on the ample supply of blossoms on and around the Farm, creating a unique honey with the distinct flavor of the Wigrich Appellation of the Willamette Valley. The first honey harvest is expected in late July and if the weather and blossoms cooperate a second harvest may take place in September. The nectar of blackberry, strawberry, cherry, apple, hazelnut, wildflower and other crop blossoms will all contribute to the character and flavor of the raw honey which will provide the base for our Chatoe Rogue Mead.

Since 2009, Rogue has been farming seven varieties of hops, two pumpkin varieties, two varieties of barley, and rye. We plant, tend, harvest, kiln, bale, smash, roast, and brew the ingredients ourselves to create our Chatoe Rogue line of ales and lagers. The farm is also home to chickens, turkeys, our pot-belly pigs Voo and Doo and canine farm hands Sully and Atticus.

We keep, feed and smoke the bees; uncap, extract and filter the honey; and brew and bottle the mead ourselves. Chatoe Rogue Mead will be available for purchase in November.

For updates, follow the bees at http://www.rogue.com/almanac/chatoe.php

*Having trouble viewing this email? Click here for a PDF version.

On this date in 1935 Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, N.J. released Krueger Beer in cans, the first beer to be produced in cans.

Celebrate the evolution of this innovative idea with the Yellow Snow IPA 5 Liter Can!

Now available for purchase on rogue.com

PORTLAND, OR (October 14, 2011) – Rogue Spirits brought home two Gold Medals at the Ministry of Rum 2011 International Tasting Competition. Rogue’s Hazelnut Spice Rum earned gold in the Flavored Rum category and Rogue’s Dark Rum took the top award in the Dark Rum category. Other medal winners hailed from 13 countries including; the Dominican Republic, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

All of Rogue’s Spirits are created by hand to reflect the flavors of Rogue’s terroir. Rogue rum is made from 100% Hawaiian Cane Sugar. Hazelnut Spice Rum is infused with Hazelnuts from Kirk Family Farms next to Rogue’s hop farm in Independence, OR. Hazelnuts are also used in Rogue’s award wining ale Hazelnut Brown Nectar.

Rogue distills, smiths, ages and hand bottles all of their spirits at their distilleries in Portland and Newport, OR. Both of Rogue’s rums are made at the Portland Distillery and Pub at NW 14th and Flanders.

In celebration of their craft Rogue Spirits will host the 7th Annual Great American Distiller’s Festival which brings together fifty craft distillers and hundreds of bartenders. The festival will take place October 22, and 23, 2011 at Portland’s Left Bank Annex at 101 NE Wielder.

For more information contact Rogue Spirits President Beth Gilden at 503-241-3800 or bgilden@rogue.com.

Rogue Ales was honored with two Gold medals for Hazelnut Brown Nectar and Smoke Ale at the Great American Beer Festival, held in Denver, Colorado.

3,930 beers vied for gold at GABF this year before a blind tasting panel of 167 judges. Rogue took home two of four Gold medals awarded to Oregon craft brewers. Since 1990, it has won a total 27 medals at GABF competitions.

Both winning beers are brewed with ingredients grown on Rogue Farms in Oregon. Hazelnut Brown Nectar is made with Dare™ malting barley from the Rogue Farms Micro Barley Farm near Tygh Valley, and with GYO Certified Independent and Revolution aroma hops grown on Rogue’s Micro Hopyard in Independence. Smoke Ale is brewed with GYO Certified Revolution hops.

Rogue also distills rum with toasted Oregon hazelnuts grown by Kirk Family Filberts at the Rogue Distillery on NW Flanders in Portland’s Pearl District.

Rogue is committed to saving the terroir of Oregon hops and barley by growing our own, one acre at a time.

Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale is now available for purchase by the bottle. This ale contains a baker’s dozen ingredients, including bacon and maple as in one of Voodoo’s signature doughnuts. You can now get it by the bottle, for $13 at one of the following locations:

Rogue Hall
1717 SW Park Ave.
Portland, OR 97201

Rogue Distillery & Public House
1339 NW Flanders St
Portland, OR 97209

The Green Dragon
928 SE 9th Ave
Portland, OR 97214

Brewer’s on the Bay
2320 OSU Drive
Newport, OR 97365

Rogue Ales Public House
748 SW Bay Blvd.
Newport, OR 97365

Rogue Ales Public House
100 39th St. (Pier 39)
Astoria, OR 97103

Issaquah Brewhouse
35 W. Sunset Way
Issaquah, WA 98027

Rogue Ales Public House
North Beach
673 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

Bacon Maple Ale is also available for purchase by mail order on the rogue.com store.

Download the Rogue Nation Department of Agriculture’s August 2011 Crop Report by clicking on the image.

In a collaboration of crafts, Rogue Creamery and Rogue Ales & Spirits debuted the first in a series of 2009 Bintage Hop Cheddar and TouVelle cheeses this past weekend to a crowd of 5000 in Washington D.C. at SAVOR, America’s premier beer and food tasting festival.

G.Y.O. HOP CHEESE.

Rogue Farms Independent Cheddar, the first in the series, is hand-mixed with GYO Certified Independent Hops from the Rogue Micro Hopyard in Oregon’s Wigrich Appellation. Each cheese in the series is made with one, or a combination, of the 7 varieties of GYO Certified Aroma Hops grown on the Micro Hopyard. Whole hop leaves are de-stemmed by hand, steeped in hot water, mixed into the cheese curds and then pressed into 40 pound blocks. The next cheeses in the series, Freedom & Liberty Cheddars, will debut mid-June.

Rogue Creamery is an artisan cheese maker with people dedicated to service, sustainability and the art and tradition of making the world’s finest handmade cheese. They’ve received more than 70 awards for taste and quality.

THE PERFECT COMPLEMENT.

The two Rogues also debuted Rogue Creamery 75th Anniversary Ale. Made using ten ingredients, including Independent hops, it’s a perfectly simple pairing for Rogue Farms Independent Cheddar. The Rogue obsession with cheddar doesn’t stop there. The two Rogues have collaborated in the past to create Morimoto Soba Ale Cheddar and Chocolate Stout Cheddar, both recipients of multiple awards. They are available at the Rogue Creamery cheese shop, Rogue Ales Public Houses and at select gourmet retailers nationwide.

OUR TERROIR.

Rogue Ale’s brewery at Newport, Oregon is located between two world famous cheese appellations, Tillamook and Bandon. The terroir of Oregon’s coast has been producing beers and cheddar cheeses for more than three centuries. The Growers, Farmers, Maltsters, Roasters, Millers, Mashers, Hoppers, Brewers, Fermenters, Distillers, Smithers, Coopers, Ocean-Agers and Smokers of the Rogue Department of Agriculture remain dedicated to saving the terroir of Oregon hops & barley one acre at a time by growing their own.