What. A. Year. 2020 was one for the books. From a global pandemic to racial unrest to forest fires in our backyard, this year tested all of us. We faced some crazy challenges and are stronger as a company because of them. Despite all the obstacles this year brought, we accomplished some pretty rad sh*t over the past 12 months.
1. Over $10K Raised at Australian Art Auction – We kicked off the year by hosting a fundraiser with local Portland artist Mike Bennett to raise money for the Australian bushfires. Thanks to the support of the amazing Portland community, we raised $12,944 for the Australian Wildlife Bushfire Appeal. Little did we know that this would be our only event of the year – luckily it was a good one!
2. Newport Daze Joins Core Lineup – In February, we launched a new beer called Newport Daze that became an instant hit. This sensational day-sipper honors our home on the Oregon Coast and is a welcome addition to our core lineup.
**3. Distillery Turned Hand Sanitizer Production Facility **– To help combat the massive hand sanitizer shortage due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we started making ‘Helping Hand Hand Sanitizer’ at our distillery in Newport, Oregon. We donated hundreds of cases of this hand sanitizer to first responders and sold it on our website.
4. Hundreds Adventured with Batsquatch – Over the summer, we challenged fans to adventure with Batsquatch and that they did! Over 382 fans shared pictures of their #BatsquatchAdventures and we surpassed our goal by 91%.
5. Recreational CBD Seltzer Waters Launched as Non-Alc Alternative – We continued to innovate and push boundaries this year and launched a brand new product – Rogue Recreational CBD Seltzer Water.
Our newest product is a naturally flavored, gluten-free seltzer water chock full of extra goodies including 30 milligrams of nano-emulsified CBD, L-Theanine and Apple Cider Vinegar while coming in at only 20 calories.
6. Over 1,000 Artists Painted the Can Dead – This Fall, we celebrated our flagship Dead Guy Ale’s 30th birthday by challenging fans to create their own original Dead Guy can art. 1,128 artists answered our call and we exceeded our goal by 450%.
7. Canned Cocktails Continue to Grow – In November, we added a new Ginger Lemon Whiskey Mule to our line of sparkling craft cocktails. Our canned cocktail sales increased 212% over 2019 and we sold a total of 555,816 cans of cocktails in 2020. We’re excited to release more canned cocktail flavors in 2021.
8. One-of-a-Kind Whiskeys were Distilled – We’ve been distilling craft spirits since 2003 and are constantly innovating at our distillery on the Oregon coast. This year, we created a few one-of-kind whiskeys that we are extremely proud of. We released a single malt whiskey with Iron Chef Morimoto and launched the Single Barrel Project whiskey series, which is a limited series of one-off single barrels of Rogue whiskey that have been finished in unique ways.
9. Top Honors were Awarded – We’ve won over 2,000 medals to date and this year we added a few more to our ranks. We were awarded a bronze medal for Pumpkin Patch Ale at the prestigious Great American Beer Fest, Honey Kolsch was deemed the best honey beer by the National Honey Board and our marketing team won four Craft Beer Marketing Awards for our unique designs.
10. Over $35K Was Donated to Charity – We continued to ‘Feed the Fisherman’ and gave over $35,000 to charities in 2020. We raised money for the Australian bushfires, distilled hand sanitizer for first responders, brewed a beer for the Black is Beautiful collab and Echo Mt. Fire Relief Fund, and helped build and renovate skateparks through our Dreamland beer and merchandise sales.
