Rogue Ales & Spirits Is Indefinitely Closing Its Independence Farms Tasting Room

The company will focus on continuing its relationship with Coleman Agriculture to grow and supply hops to the brewery.

Hop bines at Rogue Farms. Photo by Andi Prewitt.

One of Oregon's few working hop farms with an onsite pub is closing indefinitely.

Rogue Farms Tasting Room made the announcement, signed by Rogue Ales & Spirits president Dharma Tamm, on its Facebook page this morning. Tamm cited the financial difficulties associated with the pandemic as the primary reason the company would not reopen its Independence, Ore., property to the public.

"While we will miss hosting everyone on the lawn," the statement reads, "mounting challenges from the pandemic and rising costs have made it apparent that our best option is to close the tasting room and Revolution Garden and focus on continuing our relationship with Coleman Agriculture to grow and supply hops to the brewery.

The farm began operating under Rogue in 2008, and soon the tasting room—formerly known as Rogue Farms Chatoe—began serving customers, some from far-flung countries specifically seeking out the plot of land about 65 miles south of Portland. The most popular time to visit was always during the hop harvest—August to September—when you could wander through the 18-foot-tall bines with a pint in your hand.

But the farm also grows a whole slew of other crops, including corn, cucumbers, jalapeños, rye and wheat. Sweet pumpkins and honey produced by the resident bees would end up as ingredients in some of Rogue's beers.

The rural tasting room isn't the first property the business has let go during the past year. Last September, Rogue shuttered its 20-year-old public house in the Pearl District. And about six months before that, its outpost in Issaquah, Wash., closed just before lockdown.

Rogue Eastside Pub & Pilot Brewery on Southeast 9th Avenue in Portland remains open, as does Newport's flagship production brewery and Bayfront Public House and the Astoria Pier 39 location. However, Rogue Hall, nestled in the heart of Portland State University, which is still teaching students online, is temporarily closed.

Related: Rogue Ales Is Closing Its Pearl District Pub After 20 Years

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