Rogue and Green Dragon

VIA E-MAIL FROM ROGUE, THEIR FAQs ABOUT THE PURCHASE:

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!
FAQ’S
11/19/2008

WHY DID YOU PURCHASE THE DRAGON?
· We love the place; part of what we do is preserve iconic institutions which have served the craft community. Just as we have with West Brothers in Eugene, the Portland brewery, Bogart’s, and Issy brewery and public house.
· In its short life, The Green Dragon has established itself as a national treasure for its support of craft brewers and distillers. The owners developed a well-earned legacy of community loyalty and support. It would be a crime against antiquities for the Dragon to be slain.

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? ROTATE TAPS NOT OWNERS – WE ARE THE 3RD IN 16 MONTHS.

WHO ARE YOU? A privately held company established in 1988 with the same ownership as today. We are Oregonians with our World HQ in Newport, Oregon.
We are artisianal varietal fermenter trying to do 4 things:
1. Create world class product – John Maier in charge since opened
2. Place the product in world class varietals packaging; 12 oz, 22 oz, 750, 5 gal cans, Black Beauty kegs, use painting and seriography.
3. Create unique thunder – do things differently than the “Beer Industry”
4. Integrate our sales in our communities by participating and giving.

FUNDAMENTALLY ROGUE IS A REVOLUTION THAT EXPRESSES ITSELF THROUGH HANDCRAFTED BEERS AND THE WAY THEY CONDUCT BUSINESS.
The key words
There are a few key words in this statement.
Revolution:
The spirit of the Rogue brand, even the name suggest doing things differently. There is a desire and a willingness to change the status quo. The reality is the Rogue brand is a revolution…started by entrepreneurs.
Expresses itself:
A revolutionist expresses themselves, their values and beliefs through their actions. They do so because they have a passion and a personal commitment to that passion and their beliefs. In the case of Rogue, it can be found in the products and in the people. The Rogue product is the way the brand and the people express themselves and their beliefs.
The way they conduct their business:
Being big or getting big does not necessarily mean you are successful. Rogue’s business will never get “big” as big is defined by the brewing industry. There are a limited number of consumers who can really appreciate the Rogue quality and craftsmanship. The product and the people of Rogue have high standards, standards by which they live. These standards and product must never be compromised for the sake of volume or broader appeal. These things alone will limit Rogues’ size, but that does not limit Rogues’ ability to be successful financially or to be a leader in the real beer industry. The great passion people have for the brand and the product will see to it that the product finds the consumer or that the consumer finds the product.

WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?
To become an industry leader with an entrepreneurial organization that creates truly unique and meaningful products and program.
The key words
There are a few key words in this statement.
Industry leader:
To be a leader does not mean you have to be the biggest or bureaucratic or compromised. The best leaders lead by example and by doing the right things at the right time. Often that may mean going against the grain. The only meaningful questions to ask at times like these are: is this right thing to do for the brand, the product and the consumer? In addition, an important part of being a believable industry leader is running an efficient, profitable business.
Entrepreneurial:
For Rogue this isn’t about being innocent and simply jumping into something because there was an idea or an opportunity to make a buck or two. Rather it is about the attitude of being small but very good, it is about doing your thing your way. It is about being David and not afraid to throw the stone. In the case of Rogue, it doesn’t matter so much if the thing hits the target or not. It is the attitude of being willing and able to throw the stone that’s exciting. This attitude will build the Rogue brand into an industry leader.

HOW BIG IS ROGUE? 60,000 BBL’s in size, sold in all 48 states and 17 countries – we do not care about being bigger. Just better. Smaller than Portland, Pyramid, Magic Hat, Bridgeport, and Full Sail. And obviously, Red Hook/Widmer.

WILL THERE BE CHANGES – YES! SOMEONE DEFINED STUPIDITY AS REPEATING THE SAME ACTION AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS. WE WILL MAKE ONLY THOSE CHANGES REQUIRED TO SURVIVE AND SERVE THE CRAFT COMMUNITY.

CAN YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC?
We will not change – rotation as a tap theory – Rogue will only have one or two as before. Brewers’ Nights will continue under the guidance of Jim Parker; games and shuffle board will stay for now.

WHAT WILL YOU CHANGE?
· Turn up the lights, turn music down as it was when the Dragon opened.
· Double the # of taps
· Finish construction as required by regulators: $50-75,000
· Add video poker and Lego table for kids
· Ban cell phones at we have for 18 years
· Staff will be in identifiable gear as well as name tags so you can tell them from the customers
· Deliver beer and food to your home or office.
· Sell to go – bottles, cans, growlers, and kegs.

WILL BEER PRICES GO UP? TBA – Prices need to be high enough for Dragon survival.

ISN’T RENT HERE LOWER THAN THE PEARL? Not for us it’s higher.

WILL HOPOES AND ROGUE NATION CARDS BE HONORED? Yes.

WILL ROGUE FARMS HOPS AND BARLEY, FARM TOURS ORIGINATE AT DRAGON? Yes and so will OBF bus.

WHO IS MANAGER? Russ Menegat whose craft career started on Belmont at the original Dublin Pub – a pioneer in great beers. He has been with Rogue for 18 years in SF, Newport, Astoria and Portland. His love of ales, porters, stouts and lagers has been his only career. A lifetime Oregonian.

DO YOU DISTILL? Yes.
Where/What? White, Dark, Hazelnut Rums in PDX. Spruce and Pink Gin, Vintage Vodka, Dead Guy Whiskey in Newport. Equipment is not as fancy as Integrity but good enough to be award winning and available in 20 states and 5 countries.

WILL STAFF BE RETAINED? YES, IF THEY MEET OUR STANDARDS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CONDUCT.

WILL YOU BREW ROGUE HERE? No – Only in Newport; Issaquah brews “Frogs”; Eugene “Track Town.”

Will you have:
· Garage Sales – yes
· Hoppy Meals – yes
· Aloha Thursday – yes
· Dog Menu – yes
· Kids Menu – yes
· Lapiniere – yes
· Bathoom Tours –yes
· Outside seating – yes
· Patio – yes, hopefully with access from the inside
· Mug Club – yes
· wheel chair bar seating - yes
· Thanksgiving and Christmas service - We are at other locations. Staff decides.
· TV’s - TBA- we are not a sports bar. On only for major events. Sound on once a year.

WILL YOU CONTINUE MUSIC? Yes, for a while. Not part of original concept. Not if City wants handrails. Not if we need the space.

WILL YOU CHANGE THE MENU? Yes.
How? TBA – Hope to add items made with beer and retain smoker.

WE CANNOT GIVE YOU THE SECRET TO SUCCESS. WE CAN GIVE YOU THE SECRET TO FAILURE: TRY TO PLEASE EVERYONE.

Whither Green Dragon?

There has been a TON of traffic in the beer-o-sphere about the Rogue takeover of The Green Dragon. Angelo did break the story correctly - kudos Angelo - with some minor arguments in points-of-fact between he and the Rogue folks. But lament what is to become of the GD if you will, but the economic reality is that the GD is not financially viable as it currently stands. With the worsening economy, this situation will only get worse. The Green Dragon, without an outside investor, is going to die.

So an open question: why are we not hailing Rogue as a savior of a beloved pub rather than a destroyer? Rogue has the resources and brand to turn this into a viable enterprise. I lament any loss of independent pubs, but we must be honest with ourselves and admit that there are substantial economies when a brewery runs such a place versus an independent businessperson. The economic realities for pubs right now are not good - and I, for one, have been expecting closures for some time now (and I don't think this will be the last).

Perhaps it is true that many of us feel that Rogue needs to get a little bit better at running its pubs, but as an economist I have to concede that the market has spoken and it loves what Rogue does.

Rogue is also one of the least corporate of the breweries (you ever notice how much advertising Rogue does relative to the rest? - basically none) and I suspect that the reason they may not have as many independent taps at the GD after the takeover as it does now has more to do with the incredible array of beers they themselves offer than any anti-competitive motive.

So lament the passing of the independent Green Dragon, but don't turn Rogue into a villain. Rogue is perhaps THE most Oregonian of breweries: willfully independent in spirit and business, unafraid of risk and creative to a fault. Only a CEO out of his or her mind would approve the number and variety of brews Rogue produces. I love some of them, detest a few and find others mediocre, but I love the brewery and what it represents.

Omens?

Over at the Brewpublic blog comes this shocker: The Green Dragon is going to be taken over by Rogue. Are we seeing the first evidence of the economic downturn hitting the Portland pub scene? Are we seeing the effects of the hops shortage (did the GD ever start brewing its own)? Or are we seeing evidence that the pub scene in Portland is over-saturated? Hmmm...I am not sure if this is an omen of the rough times ahead or just a one-off. Thoughts?

Brewpublic seems to really hate Rogue [update: Angelo of Brewpublic objects to this characterization and I agree, he really hates the idea of loosing the Green Dragon and the potential of its staff loosing their jobs, but hating Rogue is not accurate - my apologies], and while I agree that my experience in their pubs has been one of extraordinarily expensive food and indifferent service, I remain a big fan of the company and (much of) the beer. I don't like this though - I lament any decline in independent tap rooms in Portland. In my neighborhood the Oaks Bottom Public House was bought by the Lompoc folks to the great detriment of the pub. Fortunately there is still the Muddy Rudder. And Portland still has Bailey's Taproom (please serve food!), Henry's, Concordia, Belmont Station and others.

Ah well, at least you don't have to walk far from the Green Dragon to Roots, where they have finished a remodel and now serve lunch! Hey, that reminds me, I'm gettin' a little peckish myself...