Rogue Brutal Bitter

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

From a 22oz bottle.

Pours light orange with a fluffy off-white head; the aroma is doughy, slightly sour/grassy in nice hoppy way, with the yeast prominant on the nose.

Unfortunately, the flavor comes off as overly strong for the style; this one comes close to an IPA in the hop profile. The 100% crystal hops are a bit salty and a bit astringent; heavy carbonation and unconcealed alcohol heat (at only 6.2%!) add to the spicy profile and take this quite a far distance from a thirst quenching session ESB.

It’s a well made beer, and an interesting beer, but it doesn’t necessarily fulfill the role I’d say is classically assigned to a premium bitter. Leaving behind stylistic preconceptions and taking it as its own beast, I quite like it (even if it is too salty).

Monstrous pillow head with a thick and hazy orange/yellow body. Lot of sediment floating around too. Fresh citrus aroma thats has a funky smell. Tastes of breadish barley and relaxed hops with citrus: lime, orange, and the best damn grapefruit flavor i tasted in a beer yet.

Cloudy, with good head. Nice malt flavor--at least what I can taste. Can’t taste too much because of all the hops in this beer. This is really too much on the hop front. I had to soak my tongue in warm water after I drank this beer just so I could taste things again. I wish they could have laid off some of the hops so I could taste all of those interesting malts used.

Aroma of hops - grapefruit, hint of lemon. Scratchy on the palate, with a pleasant bitter coating leftover. Medium body. The taste follows the aroma - hops. Poured cloudy amber with nice foam head.

Bottle. Pours a hazy amber/golden with an off-white/yellowish head. Dry, pine hop aroma. Not too powerful. Slightly tart. Flavour is sweetish with bitter pine hops on a malty background. Sweetish finish with lingering bitter liquorice hops. Grassy notes and a slightly watery and metallic touch. Dry. A bit too much carbonation. Overall nice, but a bit too sweet. 07-05-09.

Robe orange voilée surmontée d’une mousse jaunâtre épaisse en dentelle qui s’estompe. Arômes de pain et de houblon. Saveurs de houblon floral et de levures.

Copper honey like hue; very cloudy, but looks quite appealing. Grapefruit/citrus, touch of pine aroma. Awesome malts in this medium bodied brew. Hops are intense through the bitter end. A substantial beer, highly recommended. The guys at Rogue fail to disappoint me. A very nice brew.

Bottle from Binny’s (Orland Park, IL). 12 oz. bottle poured into a conical pint glass. Pours a slightly hazy amber. Nice medium head that manages to stick around minimally after pour. Smells of hops, caramel malts, and some fruit action. Taste is a nice balanced hoppy attack that fades into a smoothness that tastes rather malty. Finish is rather bitter and sharp, but enjoyable in my book. Nice memorable aftertaste that I enjoy. A beer I have enjoyed many times before, but never rated. A top tier ESB.