(Newport, OR) – Rogue Independence Hop Ale will be the brewery’s first beer using its own homegrown hops at Rogue Farms, first reported through its wire service back in May. The beer will weigh in at 80 IBUs and feature Willamette and Centennial hops, harvested about ten days ago. Realbeer Therapy reported that it will be available at the Great American Beer Festival this year, though I would expect the beer to be bottled toward the late part of September. People should be able to get their hands on bottles before the fest (Oct. 9).

Realbeer also happened to be there on Harvest Day and reported on the event. The post links to a Flickr photo gallery of shots taken the day of the harvest.

Additionally, John Foyston of The Oregonian posted a couple weeks ago that some of the hops will also make into an “as-yet unnamed beer from Eugene City Brewery in Eugene” (another of Rogue’s brands). Folyston also gave us a sneak peak of what’s to come; four varieties have been planted for the ’09 harvest: Perle, Sterling, Horizon, and Centennial.