Multiple generations of military veterans gathered at the Rogue Salem Public House on Friday evening to enjoy the company, and a few glasses of specially brewed beer as part of a fundraiser benefitting local veterans. 

The event came to be through a unique collaboration between local veterans and players in Oregon’s robust craft beer community to raise money for Courtney Place Veterans Housing, an affordable downtown apartment building in Salem. 

Rogue Ales & Spirits opened its new public house in Salem earlier this year at 555 9th Street. N.W. 

The beer, a red rye IPA dubbed Semper Rye, was brewed using donated citra hops from Coleman Hops and other donated ingredients, and sold out within 90 minutes of being tapped, said Andrew Holbert, executive director of Courtney Place. 

Over at the bar on Friday, Casey Ott, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served during Desert Storm, was nursing a glass of Semper Rye. 

“Beer. I think Benjamin Franklin said it best. Because God loves us,” Ott said. “That’s why we love beer. It’s proof that God loves us.”

Ott said he drove to Salem for the event from Sheridan because he knew the organizers, but also because he couldn’t resist having a beer brewed in honor of veterans.

Semper Rye represents the 20th charity collaboration for Old Standby Brewing, a local not-for-profit brewery in Salem that collaborates with other breweries to raise money for specific causes. The project, which is called Brewlanthropy, has raised more than $30,000. The project has raised money through such collaborations since 2017. 

Holbert, a veteran of the Marine Corps who served in Iraq said proceeds from each pint sold on Friday went to support Courtney Place. Holbert didn’t immediately have final numbers on how much money the beer raised for Courtney Place. 

The nonprofit includes 34 apartments that come with support services. It also offers resources for veterans in the broader community to address food insecurity and transportation barriers, among other things, Holbert said. 

“We take them to the coast. We take them to baseball games, basketball games. Try to battle that social isolation. Integrating them into the community. Building a stronger community to support them and each other,” Holbert said. 

Bob Hover, 80, sat sipping his beer and said he wanted to come to the event to help bring awareness to some of the struggles faced by veterans like him. Hover, who splits his time between Dallas and Las Vegas, said starting recently his doctors in Salem have stopped accepting his insurance through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

As a result he has had to find other doctors in his network. forcing him to travel around the state and the region for his doctors appointments, he said. 

“That is what I am getting fed up with, because when I was here last year I didn’t have any problem getting to doctors,” Hover said. 

Ivy Hover of Coleman Hops, Hover’s daughter, said Coleman donated the citra hops that went into Semper Rye, giving the beer its citrusy undertones. 

She said she was motivated to participate in an event benefiting veterans because her father served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. 

“I’ve been helping him do a lot with his veterans benefits over the last couple of years and it just made me draw some awareness to what a struggle it is for veterans to get their full disability and get access to care,” Hover said.

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE – If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.