Rogue Brutal Bitter

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

12 oz. into a pint glass. Pours a great hazy orange slash caramel-brown color with a healthy, slightly off-white head. It didn’t exhibit much visible carbonation and did exhibit nice lacing. Smell of rich caramel and citrus and pine hops with a malt finish; very nice and complex and full. It was thick and sticky on my palate, especially for a bitter. It left a fruity, hoppy caramel drag on my palate. The flavor was very good, but isn’t well represented by the name of the beer. It wasn’t very bitter or "brutal" but was more smooth, full and complex (kind of like a better balanced version of Anderson Valley’s Hop Ottin’ IPA; looked like it too). Flavors of caramel, citrus, fruit and apricot with subtle notes of lingering pine hops and sweet malt. Great balance. Overall: a great beer; better than expected; worth buying; my favorite Rogue to date.

Bottle. Pours golden amber with thick white head. Nice hoppy aroma. Nice hop foretaste followed by overly sweet finish. Decent body, perhaps overdone.

bomber shared with RyanMac13, beerguyryan. beerguyryans bottle. pours hazy orange with a mid sized off-white head. balanced aromas of sweet caramel malts and hops. flavours are spot on. very well balanced with nothing over-powering anything else. i could session this one.

335ml bottle (Gallows Bird, Espoo)
Rich orange, tiny head. Sweet malty and hoppy aroma - fruity and crisp. Slightly fizzy in the mouth. Very good malty body, sweetish, but really tasty hops. Well balanced. This is more like what an IPA should be like. Those wacky Americans have their definitions all skewed.

Bomber. Great beer. Looks like an IPA, hazy golden amber with big off-white head. Smell is of hops and biscuit malts. I’m glad it’s not as hoppy as I was expecting. This beer has a wonderful mouthfeel that is light and creamy. The finish is nice. It does not have a terribly bitter end like an IPA, but the hops are present........Don’t know why I’m comparing it to an IPA.?? Another great session ale IMO.

650ml Bottle: Pours pumpkin orange in colour, cloudy, with a very large white head that stayed a while and left terrific lacing on the glass. Aroma of brown sugar, black pepper, grapefruit, and pine needles. Flavour is heavy on those grapefruity citrus hops, yeast, ju-jubes (!), and brown sugar. Just on the brink of IPA but not as hoppy. Still, another great Rogue offering and a surprising find in the LCBO!

Bomber from the LCBO (bless you), served cool in a tulip glass.

App.: Hazy orange-amber, moderate off-white foam. Aroma: Caramel/toffee sweetness, a good dose of citrus/pine hops, tropical fruit and berry esters. Palate: Medium body, medium-full quasi-effervescence, slick. Flav.: Lots of big citrus/pine hops, rye bread crust, some of the tropical fruits, burnt sugar, a bit of dough/yeast; dry with a fairly nice bitter bite.

Lovely stuff. I hope the LCBO will stock more quality American craft brews.

Hazy orangey yellow with quite creamy pale head. Nice lacing. Nose is sweet tropical fruits, strawberries and flowery hops. Flavor well hopped with beautiful fruity tones and very balanced bitterness. Finishes bitter and flowery. Mouthfeel almost sorbet like, medium to full bodied and smooth as hell. A great IPA in my book.