Thirty years , 22,768 brews and 2,021 awards.
Those are just a few stats Rogue Ales can attribute to the one and only Brewmaster Rogue Ales & Spirits has ever had: John “More Hops” Maier. But it doesn’t measure the impact John has had on all of us as Rogues. That can’t be counted in numbers or expressed in words.
Maier retired on Friday, July 26. The brewery is throwing him a party at Rogue Eastside Pub & Pilot Brewery on Saturday, July 27, to raise their glasses to him, tell stories about him and wish him a wonderful, well-deserved summer off. And then some.
“I just wanna do some gardening, hang out with the family, ride my bike all over the place. I haven’t had a summer off since 1973; it’d be kinda nice to enjoy a summer off,” he said.
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that John deserves this. In his thirty-plus year career as a brewer, he’s earned accolades, invented beer styles, made headlines and worked his butt off. He created one of the most iconic brews in craft beer with Dead Guy Ale. But he didn’t stop there.
John defined what it meant to be Rogue for brewers. At a time when beers were pretty bland, John earned his nickname “More Hops” by adding as many hops to a brew as he could for more flavor. Sure, it sounds pretty standard these days but not so much back in the early days of craft beer. When he brewed Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale no one had even thought about brewing a beer that tasted like a pastry. Then he found a wild yeast in his beard (which he’s had since the 1970s) and crafted Beard Beer. He lead the pack with pepper beers like Chipotle Ale and Sriracha Stout. And continued to make incredible standards, like Chocolate Stout, American Amber Ale, Brutal IPA and Hazelnut Brown Nectar, day in and day out.
John often shied away from the spotlight that he naturally attracted for his work. Even so, he would happily pose for photos at brew fests and sign bottles that his fans brought to him. We’re so honored to have worked alongside this legend. But we’re also humbled that we got to know the man — the guy that everyone agrees is kind, generous, humble and hardworking.
You can tag @rogueales and #30yearsrogue — and they will share the heartfelt toast posts to their Instagram Story or Retweet them on Twitter.
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