Rogue Brewer

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: American Strong Ale
Newport, Oregon USA

750ml bottle; RBAle 2008. Comes with a dog tag. A hazy dark mahogany color with multifinger beige/tan head. Sort of rocky. Aroma is hop. Resin hop. Head is starting to lace. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. Flavor is resin hop. I know there is some malt down below, and it seems very roasted, but the hop is all over this one. That fits the 106.9 IBU. Finish is robust, and the malt is a little more present. This is a really super ale.

Cask at Barcade. For some reason they’d labeled it as Rogue Brewer Doppelbock, I think they got confused where it said "doppel". It wasn’t a doppelbock at all, and, reading the ratings, this is definitely what I had.

Cask pours with tons of head, creamy as hell, like its straight out of a nitro tap. Rather soft mouthfeel, with lots of green hops in both aroma and flavor. Bitter but not fruity, the hops seem more like a mix of German and American varieties. A nice, chocolately roast underlies the hops, though I don’t get much from the yeast or spices. A nice beer.

2008 vintage - 1 pt. 10 fl. oz. bottle. Pours a dark brown with a slightly tan head. Aroma: Very hoppy with some herbal notes. Flavor: Hoppy, with a hint of raisins and herbs. This is very rich, so I wouldn’t drink it every day, but it is none the less enjoyable.

Tap @ Pizza Port Carlsbad. Pours slightly cloudy brown with a short off-white head. Tons of resiny hops in the nose with tree sap, tobacco, nuts, and earthy coffee grounds. Bitter blast of pine, lime, brown sugar, and maple syrup up front. Around the middle, there is a funky yeasty taste followed by a rapid shift to chocolate, coffee, raisins, cola, and bitters. I didn’t like this when it started out, but the beer definitely grew on me. Its like nothing else I’ve ever had.

On tap at the brewery in Newport. Nice dark brown pour. Intense flavor, it has that typical Rogue sweetness, but it combines it with a very nice hoppiness. Top notch, one of the best I’ve had.

Sampled at Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore. Great example of what your mom always taught you: don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Looks like a porter, dark, oily, opaque black with a white, creamy head. Mild aroma that has some coffee, nuts and limes. Flavor is mild citrus, key limes, spice and some yeast. Soft and a bit chalky on the tongue with some lasting hop bitterness. I had been seeking this beer out for a while and although it looked like a winner, it disappointed me.

Draft @ Max’s. Pours a murky, dark brown color; light tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Loads of cola, dried dark fruits, and even a touch of tannic red fruits in the aroma; pleasant, intricate Belgian aroma. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: chewy, dense, sticky dried dark fruits, cola, and caramel upfront; pretty sweet and dense; relaxed carbonation. Lengthy finish: chocolate, dried dark fruits, and cola; a touch chalky and very dry end.

Tap at Blind Tiger. Deep brown-black beer. Aroma is lightly sweet and a bit chewy. Light toffee and plum underneath the classic Rogue hop aroma. The flavour shows hints of originality, but then a hop flavour that can only be described as "Roguey" comes to the fore. Bracing pine resinousness over sweet crystal malt. As it warms a kiss of cocoa and licorice come out, but they can’t compete with the hoppiness. I do like it, but I’d like to see these guys make a beer without hopping the crap out of it.