There are three Rogue locations in Oregon, two in Newport and one in Portland. I was down doing some crabbing in Newport and had a few hours to kill. What better way to spend time than sucking down beer at a brewery while unsuspecting crabs climb into a cage for dinner? We chucked the crab pots over the side of the dock and walked the couple hundred yards to the conveniently located Rogue Brewery.
At the Newport Rogue location, you start your experience with a self-guided walking tour of their brewery. Like an appetizer, this whets your beeretite. Swing through the cozy gift shop before heading upstairs. At the top of the stairs, you’re confronted with two choices: go right into the light, sunny restaurant area or left into the dark wood, no-kids-allowed bar. I chose the dark side.
With bar seating facing a beautiful view of the harbor, Rogue is in a premier spot for scenery. But we were only there for beer-gazing. Rogue does what every great brewery should do (ahem Henry’s in Portland) and offers beer tastings. The knowledgeable and friendly bartender guided us through the choices posted on a marker board (bring your glasses) according to my (mostly darks, not bitter) and my pal’s (pales and ambers) preferences. He also recommended a couple of his favorites and mentioned the most “arse-kickin” brew, which I took to be a direct challenge.
In bars with typical beer selections, I often order a Blue Moon, so I put down one Rogue hef. choice: Mom’s Half-a-weizen. It was a light beer with a delicious fruity flavor. Not your typical cloudy hef, it was clear and it had almost no aftertaste. The level of fruitiness in the flavor had me thinking of pear and other fruity ales, but it wasn’t quite that sweet. Definitely a beer choice for those who don’t like beer.
A self-proclaimed anti-bitterist, I was apprehensive about Brutal Bitter. It ended up not being too bad. Some bitters have an acid-reflux burn to them, but this one was fairly mild. It had a lemon taste of which I wasn’t a huge fan. Pledge anyone?
Is it permissible to just put a sad face next to Sigs North Western? Well it’s my blog, so I’m going to. :-(
The pick of the day was the Chocolate Stout, so we’d already had our free sampler of that. To take it up a notch, the bartender recommended Snickers: a combination of Chocolate Stout and Hazelnut Brown. Hello liquid candy bar! This is a great choice for those lazy folks like me who think eating and drinking should be a combined activity. Also a definite pick for coffee-lovers. Sweet (not too sweet, but close), creamy, and thick, this combo left me drooling.
A little bartender humor for you: our man behind the bar told us of a few other combination beers that people put together for the fun of naming them. The best (or worst, depending on your sense of humor) was a mix of Dead Guy and Mogul that is aptly named Sunny Bono. See, drunks have great senses of humor...
The Hazelnut Brown by itself was also a nice dark brew, buttery, a bit sweet and not at all bitter. As the Oregon State Nut, I felt it was only appropriate to order it and sing the Oregon State Song to the entire bar. My friend talked me out of it, which was for the best because I was only bluffing about knowing the song.
The final beer I tried was best left for last, because if I’d tried it first I’d probably have run in fear. Old Crustacean Barley Wine. I nearly spit this beer out after my first chug. I’m pretty sure they actually brew this very dark beer in the bottom of the ocean in a crustacean – it has bite! With an alcohol content of over 12%, it’s their most intoxicating beer, although I don’t mean that in a good way. This is like the extreme sport of beers; you drink it for the experience. My Papa has always said that beer puts hair on a person’s chest. I think Old Crustacean is beer that’ll put it on your chest and then singe it off by the time you’ve swallowed. Arse-kickin indeed.
Food. Oh yeah, that. We sampled a few appetizers, the best of which was the chicken strips. It’s about time a restaurant makes their own ranch, and Rogue knows how to make great ranch. The menu has a lot of choices, which was nice for a brewery. The apps are nicely priced, but the entrees aren’t cheap. I opted to mainly spend my money on liquid.
Overall, this is a great place to go. I will definitely be going back. Great beer selection, everything I could want in a bartender, cool brewery atmosphere complete with crotchety old fisherman at the bar and funny signs to read, and good food.
Fun fact: Rogue bars are dog friendly and even have water dishes for their four-legged customers. My dog only drinks Tequila though, so they’ll have to make amends for him. Belly up, Fido.
Rating: 
/5
Contact: http://rogue.com
And for those info junkies, the Oregon State Song:
Oregon, My Oregon
Words by J.A. Buchanan
Music by Henry B. Murtagh
Land of the Empire Builders, Land of the Golden West;
Conquered and held by free men, Fairest and the best.
On-ward and upward ever, Forward and on, and on;
Hail to thee, Land of the Heroes, My Oregon.
Land of the rose and sunshine, Land of the summer's breeze;
Laden with health and vigor, Fresh from the western seas.
Blest by the blood of martyrs, Land of the setting sun;
Hail to thee, Land of Promise, My Oregon.
