20/20,000 Vision

Rogue Ales Brewmaster John Maier’s 20,000th Brew Gets Tapped

It all started in 1989 inside a tiny brewery on the Oregon coast guided by a mad genius known as John “More Hops” Maier. Today — 27 years later — the Rogue Brewmaster will tap his 20,000th batch of Rogue beer in the same location his first brew was crafted, at the original Rogue brewery in Newport now standing as Rogue’s Bayfront pub.

This one-of-a-kind brew does not fit any specific style, rather John dreamt up this complexity bomb of a beer which employs a unique “double mash” technique and is brewed using 20 varietals of hops, 20 different specialty malts and reaching 20º plato. The beer is finally ready after 20 days of bottle conditioning, though John says it can be cellared for another 20 years.

“I got as many people at Rogue as possible involved in the process of making it back in August,” said John Maier who invited co-workers to pour in malts and hops into the brew. “Today I am proud to share this beer with everyone at the same place I brewed my first batch of Rogue beer. Prost!”

20,000 Brews By the Sea will be tapped at all Rogue Meeting Halls Friday, November 18th at 5pm where it will also be available in limited edition 22 ounce bottles.

About John “More Hops” Maier
John graduated in 1986 from the Siebel Institute, was named National Homebrewer of the Year in 1988 for his Old Crustacean Barleywine recipe, received the Brewers’ Association inaugural Russell Scherer Award in 1997, and worked at Alaskan Brewery where he created their renowned Smoked Porter. When John isn’t brewing he’s likely to be listening to Jazz, riding one of his seven bicycles, walking his Curly Coated Retrievers, or traveling the world with his wife Stacey.