OK Rogue..always an enigma wrapped up in a riddle as far as Oregon beer is concerned. When i first arrived up here in Oregon 1999..first place i went was Rogue in Newport..fucking awful customer service. Then i found out that's just a "Coastie" thing..they hate everyone and everything. Went in the mid 2000s often as i had money back then and stayed at hotels with wife ..OK if you sat at the bar at the Bayfront place..then about 2013 ..way down hill in customer service (hate) Over all that shit their core beers have been awesome if over priced. I still dry hump when i have a Shakespear Stout. Noticed in the last year they have brought the prices down on their six packs..and they are making some great new IPAs..you think they have seen the light?
Rogue Server: [suddenly devoid of surly, fuck-you attitude service] “Ma,am, I apologize, but I’m afraid we must ask that you and your accompanying guest move to the outdoor seating area where, uh, ‘furry friends’ are allowed. We’re happy to serve your party more of our delicious Shakespeare Stout, but please make sure that your partner stays both 1) on leash, and 2) away from the legs of our other patrons.”
I've always thought highly of John Maier as a brewer and love some of those old school recipes of his from back in the day. What made me turn away though were all the tales of horror regarding how they treat their employees. I don't know if things have improved or not but these days their beers are pretty scarce around here because they gambled on arbitrarily higher prices both just because they could and by locking some of their beers behind pricey ceramics (which was another reason I refused to buy their stuff). Additionally, they made flat out gimmicky stuff like the beard yeast beer and Voodoo Donut abomination. It's all a shame because like you I really enjoyed their dark beers and the XS stuff too. Would be fun to try those and Old Crusty too, which I haven't had in years. Too bad they mismanaged themselves right into irrelevance. Had they simply focused on making good beer who knows where they'd be now.
Yeah i wonder if it because of the treatment the staff take it out on the customers? I have tried some of their new beers and they are good and at similar prices to others now ( six pack). But you are right they wasted a decade on repeated beers in different receptacles and huge prices..maybe this impressed the Japanese market or something. I dunno but i know when i am at the coast which is often i never visit Rogue
I'm sure the employees being nasty is directly related to their treatment, and when I visit a brewery with great service I usually come away thinking it must be a fantastic place to work. You might be interested in this interview here that details the mindset of Rogue around 2010. I read it years ago and it definitely played a role in my opting not to buy their stuff. Would be cool to know if they cleaned up their act, which is possible because Brett Joyce isn't with the company as far as I know. https://www.newschoolbeer.com/2010/...th-brett-joyce-part-2-of-2.html?replytocom=68
Yeah even though folks hate McMenamins and i do know their staff are over worked..but McMenamins staff have always been very cool with me..maybe understaffed but good benefits
Another gem from Brett Joyce: “Understand that we began with our founders being a handful of ex-Nike and Adidas executives. So we didn't come into this thing with any experience at all in the beer business.... We always looked at the the brand first, the brand second, and the brand third--and the business fourth; the business as a secondary item." Company culture can change as leaders step down, but he makes it seem pretty foundational. With so many options, I need a reason to vote for your beer; this strikes me as a reason to vote against Rogue.
Ditto. Completely agree with everything you said in this post. It's a shame, as I was a huge fan of Rogue when I was first getting into craft. I loved their Ashland pub and thought their XS stuff was the cat's meow. I thought their XS scotch ale was amazing, and their I2PA was the first imperial IPA I fell in love with. I used to subscribe to their publications and I even have a Rogue Nation identification card (talk about drinking the cool-aide). Lot of water under the bridge since those days (back in the early and mid 90's). I can't remember the last time I bought a Rogue beer and you couldn't pay me to visit their Pearl District pub. Once Green Dragon became a Rogue fixture, I stopped going there as well. There are way too many outstanding options in the NW for me to think about giving them a second chance. Maybe I'll try their beer again the next time I'm in Newport. Unlike others, I've actually never had a bad time over at the brewery taproom.
I'll not speak to the quality of those beers, but those gimmicks are ahead of their time. We now have cookie batter and fruit puree that pass for beer :-)
I have a soft spot for Rogue. Dead Guy was a transition beer for me (moving from Busch light to craft; others include anchor steam, Alaskan amber, Mac and jack’s African amber, and arrogant bastard). Never had a bad experience at either Newport location. Love the Kobe burger paired with old crusty. Bought a lot of bombers (chocolate stout, Shakespeare stout, yellow snow...) before kids came along and I realized how expensive bombers are and they were spendier compared to others. This led to only having Rogue when in Newport. But lately, I have been buying a lot of Batsquatch (it’s the best year round sixer of hazy in my book). It was cool to watch a canning run of Batsquatch while I waited for Rogue to open the other day to grab some beer and a glass. Once again, maybe it was the “soft spot” but even grabbed a hat. I have enjoyed Straight out of Newport, 6 hop ipa, coastal haste, and most recently got to finally try outa line ipa (always old cans in the TC; beside Batsquatch that flies off the shelf In the TC, the other Rogue offerings are usually dated) Hopefully they got things figured out on how to treat employees.
I met Sebbie Buhler, the woman whose image used to be on the Chocolate Stout label, five years ago at Falling Rock Tap House's (Denver) fresh hop festival. I used to buy their Chocolate and Shakespeare Stouts, and Mocha Porter on occasion in the 90s when I lived in Tucson, but would usually stick with Grant's and then eventually Deschutes Black Butte and Obsidian for the price point. When I switched to IPAs, I never found a Rogue or Deschutes offering that made me want to seek it out again. I think I bought one ceramic vessel of a DIPA and that was it.
I cxan imagine the Church Ladies and various idiots going crazy that this is "luring innocent little children" to drink Dead Guy
Its weird my daughter is 18 and likes it..too old to understand the kids these days and their wild ways.
Somewhere, the Stone marketing team is seething that they failed to think of this first for Arrogant Bastard.
