Rogue Celebrates Oregon's 150th Birthday with Commemorative Ale

After 150 years of statehood, Oregon deserves its own beer. And Oregon’s own Rogue Ales – which is celebrating its 21st birthday this year – is brewing it.

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 Ale will be available starting Feb. 14—Oregon’s birthday – on draft and in limited edition 22-ounce serigraphed bottles. Sesquicentennial Ale will debut at Oregon 150 celebrations in Salem and Portand. It will also be featured at the Oregon Brewers Guild open houses at Rogue’s Newport and Eugene breweries that weekend. Sesquicentennial Ale will be on sale until Dec. 31, 2009 at Rogue’s pubs in Newport (Bayfront Pub, Brewers on the Bay), Portland (Rogue Distillery and Public House, PDX Airport Pub and Green Dragon), Eugene City Brewery and Rogue Public House in Astoria.

Sesquicentennial Ale, dedicated to Oregon: The State of Beer, was designed by Rogue brewmaster John Maier to showcase Oregon-grown ingredients. The initial brew features 5 ingredients: Two-row and Munich malts - a portion of which were 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. Sesquicentennial Ale is brewed at Rogue’s Newport brewery. Even the bottles are from Oregon, manufactured at Owens-Illinois’ Portland plant and serigraphed at TriS in Tualatin.

“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.

In the fall, Rogue will brew another batch of Sesquicentennial Ale using malting barley from Rogue Farms’ barley ranch in Tygh Valley, making it the first all-Oregon ingredient artisan beer.

The Rogue Nation Treasury will print a commemorative Hopoe (the currency of the Rogue Nation) and the Rogue Nation Postal Service will issue a commemorative stamp to honor the state’s sesquicentennial.

Happy Birthday Oregon!