Rogue Brutal Bitter

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Newport, Oregon USA

bottle. hazy light orange with fluffy white head that lasts. not much in the aroma department, some light acidic scent but i can’t place it. good balance between malt and gritty bitter hop. mildly fruity notes and there is a slight american hop element in there, but the earthy bitter is dominant. finishes dry. good stuff.

Clear amber with huge off hite head. Failry sweet aroma with fruity and mild hoppy notes. Flavor likewise with a mild bitter end.

Pours a cloudy amber/orange with a small off white head that completely dissapates. What a nice change of pace for aroma. The European malts and crystal hops make a nice mix. The ESB flavor is there, but the american hops meld nicely with grapefruit and pine.

Pours a dark hazy orange. Off-white head quickly subsides. Decent lacing. Nose was a very slight citrus/pine. Taste is pine and grapefruit. Nice mouthfeel but a little thin. Finish definitely lets you know you’re drinking a bitter ale.

I have had ths a number of times but forgot to rate it...here goes! Pours an cloudy amberish color. head is hoppy and some malt too. Hops hit you pretty hard, but this isn’t the most amazing IPA by any stretch. I wish the body were fuller and richer. Still pretty good though.

Poured from bomber. Appears a murky dark apricot. Nice light fruit aroma with some malt. Palate is full bodied, fairly thick, and lingers long. Initial flavor is strong of bitter hops and citrus, but following this there are really delicious sweeter flavors (some butterscotch and milk chocolate?) that balance and complexify this brew. I won’t lie, I really enjoyed Brutal Bitter. This beer is far more interesting to drink than any of Rogue’s ambers, yet the flavors really don’t try to do too much. This beer does ESBs right.

Bomber: I had high expectations for this one since I like ESBs and trying a lot of them. I’ve also had many of the other Rogue brews. I prefer the Anderson Valley ESB over this one, as for American ESBs go. It’s a nice beer, but just didn’t have a strong British malt backbone for me. Sorry, I’ll stick with Fullers.

Bottle, Pours cloudy golden amber. Small white head that hangs around. Aroma is bright and sweet. Fruity. Hops just explode in your mouth, there is a sweet flavor, but a nice bitter finish. Make no mistake, this is a great beer!