Beer Marketer's Insights - Rogue Officially Filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy; Revs Dropped Over 1/3 in 2 Yrs; Multiple Potential Buyers Have Looked at the Books

About a week after abruptly shuttering operations, Rogue Ales & Spirits and its related subsidiaries officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Nov 24 (yesterday) in Oregon District Court. Across entities, Rogue has ~$17 mil in liabilities vs just $5.6 mil in estimated assets. Yet $10 mil in liabilities is unliquidated and still being disputed by Rogue, listed as owed to "The Estate of Nancy Vickstrom" as part of a "Dram Shop Negligence Claim" filed against Rogue (and Vin & Brau, LLC + Beachcrest Brewing) in 2022. Editor's note: dram shop negligence claim is typically when a business is held liable for serving alcohol to a patron who then causes an injury due to their intoxication. So there's not as much of a discrepancy between ~$7 mil in non-disputed liabilities vs $5.6 mil in assets. Either way, Chapter 7 bankruptcy means this is a liquidation of all remaining assets and termination of operations. Rogue's biz suffered tuff double-digit declines each of the last 2 yrs, filings show. Main entity dubbed Oregon Brewing Company saw sales drop 42%, $10.8 mil since 2023 to $15 mil YTD thru Nov 24, 2025. Separately counted subsidiary "Rogue River Brewing Company" grew revs modestly each of the last couple yrs to ~$3.6 mil in revs YTD. And Yaquina Bay Beverage Co, or "Rogue Recreational Beverage" (representing its hemp bevs), was down slightly to $1.468 mil in 2025. Collectively, that puts Rogue revs down more than 1/3 since 2023 to ~$20.1 mil. While hits to bottom line were not shared in these filings, signs point to tuff losses in that department too.(Editor's note: co also had "Leroy Ventures LLC" and "Rogue Cannabis Company" as listed subsidiaries that were "non-operating.")Trademark Valued at $2 Mil; Banks, Landlords & Hop/Malt Vendors are Top Creditors Notably, value of trademarks and brands account for $2 mil of the $5.6 mil in estimated assets and the rest is a combo of cash, deposits, accounts receivable, inventory and equipment. Among top creditors listed, Northrim Bank is owed $2.3 mil and Columbia Bank is owed $100K, with both of their claims "secured by property." Aside from the disputed $10 mil claim, two of the largest unsecured claims include $594K owed to Port of Newport (where co rented its primary brewing facility), and $511K to Lincoln County Tax Collector, the entities cited by various local news outlets last week as Rogue operations shuttered.But the list of unsecured creditors is far longer than that, including some of the biggest debts to hop and malt suppliers: $865K to Hops Direct, LLC, $476K to John I Haas, $146K to Great Western Malting Co, $126K to S.S. Steiner, Inc., $82K to Yakima Chief. Filing lists over $620K in "holders" of unsecured loans with "Jeffry D. Schultz" as the listed "agent." Other top creditors include: $126K to Graphic Packaging Intl, $85K to CH Robinson Co, $80K to CanSource, $66K to US Bureau of ATF, $72K to Cambrian Water Operations, $47K to Brewery Branding Co, and $37.5K to G&D Chillers. Largest distrib creditor by far is Columbia Dist, $34K. And filing lists $361K owed to Rogue subsidiary Yaquina Bay Beverage Co.Tilray, Ninkasi, Ackley and East Fork Cultivators Cannabis Co Have Looked at the Books Meanwhile, an interesting list of competing brewers/potential buyers show up among people or entities that "the debtor issued a financial statement within 2 years before filing this case," docs detail. Count Tilray ("American Beverage Crafts, LLC"), Ninkasi Holding Company, Ackley Brands, Inc (the owner of Mac & Jack's and Silver City Brewing) and cannabis co East Fork Group Inc ("East Fork Cultivators") among those with a look at the books in the last 2 yrs. Suggests each of 'em at least considered what it would take to acquire Rogue. Of those, Ackley Brands is most aligned in PacNW distribution footprint. Tho Tilray is the biggest of the bunch, and already has leadership position in PacNW craft beer with 10 Barrel, Hop Valley, Widmer, Redhook and Square Mile Cider leading the charge. If the process for a potential bid on Rogue opens up further, should be interesting to see what other cos may show interest in piecing together what's left of the PacNW craft icon.

Rogue Officially Filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy; Revs Dropped Over 1/3 in 2 Yrs; Multiple Potential Buyers Have Looked at the Books

Publishing Info