Rogue Ales & Spirits, Maker of Dead Guy Whiskey, Goes Out of Business

After 37 years of operation, Oregon-based craft brewery and distillery Rogue Ales & Spirits has gone out of business. On Friday morning, Rogue, which has faced significant financial challenges in the years following the pandemic, informed its landlord that it would be ceasing operations and shutting down all of its locations, including its brewery, distillery, and remaining pubs across the state. The majority of its staff has been laid off, with only three employees remaining to manage the transition.

Known for its flagship Dead Guy ale, Rogue emerged as one of Oregon’s leading craft breweries. It was founded in 1988 by a trio of Nike executives—Jack Joyce, Rob Strasser, and Bob Woodell—and Jeff Schultz, who was Woodell’s accountant and had a background in homebrewing. It started as a mid-sized brewpub in Ashland, with a brewing setup in the basement and about 60 seats on the main floor. In 1989, Rogue expanded with a sister location in the Port of Newport—after a flood forced the closure of the Ashland outpost, Rogue permanently moved its headquarters to Newport—and hired Alaska Brewing Co. alum John Maier as its first brewmaster, a position he held until his retirement in 2019. Over the years, it would open more pubs, with 11 locations across California, Washington, and Oregon by 2018.

In 2003, Rogue ventured into spirits production with the launch of Rogue Distillery. It also made cider, but its initial offerings included rum, gin, and vodka, and it quickly added whiskey to its lineup. Like many other brewers, Rogue gravitated toward single malt, with its flagship Dead Guy Whiskey debuting in 2006. The first few releases weren’t all that impressive, bottled young and often lacking balance, but over the years they showed some improvement. Its top-scorer was the 91-point Rolling Thunder Stouted, a single malt distilled from an unhopped version of Rogue’s Dead Guy ale and aged in barrels that previously held the brewery’s Rolling Thunder imperial stout. In 2014, the operation added its Rolling Thunder Barrel Works, an in-house cooperage that specialized in using local Oregon oak.

Rogue’s closure comes after years of financial challenges. The operation has really struggled in the years following the pandemic, with sales tumbling across its business. The poor performance made it difficult for Rogue to keep up with operating costs, with the Port of Newport owed over $545,000 in unpaid rent and an additional $30,000 in back taxes owed to Lincoln County, according to reporting from The Oregonian.

Rogue made several attempts to downsize over the years to help offset the falling sales. In 2020, it shut down two locations, including its Washington-based Issaquah Brewhouse and Pearl Public House in Oregon. More recently it made a last-ditch attempt to right the ship by pivoting away from its smaller spirits side—recently taking its distillery offline for an indefinite period while subletting part of the facility to a seafood company—in order to refocus on its main beer unit. But those efforts weren’t enough to keep the operation’s head above water.