Rogue Brutal Bitter

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

What a great beer! Pours a crystal clear bronze color with a great off-white head that stays around for quite some time. The aroma is very strong of PNW style hops and would lead one to believe this is a different beer than it is. The taste is decidedly bitter, but the hop flavor is nicely spicy owing, I suppose, to the Hallertauer type hops. Fruity english style malts round the beer out wonderfully. Body could be a bit heavier, and it may be a bit overcarbonated, but this isn't a major complaint. Very enjoyable beer!

Bottle: Heavy orange gold, quite hazy, large rocky white head, wonderful lacing... this beer looks superb.   Subtle hop nose, not as agressive as I thought it would be.   Definite malt aspect, probably moreso because of the subtle hop presense.   Fleeting bitterness immediately up front, fades quickly leaving only a soft hop sting on the sides of the tongue.   Fairly smooth for a Bitter/ESB.   Mildly malty, balances well with the bitterness.   Moderate body, but very smooth mouthfeel.   Extremely clean finish.   Again, lingering hop sting on the sides of the tongue well after the finish.   Very well balanced, crisp, and ultra clean.   I believe this one to be a bit underrated.

Hazy orange body, light lacing, moderate head. Aroma of piny hops; Initial flavor is citrus, nice rolling hop finish with lingering smooth sweet bitter; very palattable. Small amount of malts in-between bouts of hops.

Wow, this is a really interesting brew. The first bitter I’ve ever had that actually dries your tongue out, but without leaving an aftertaste, very good.

This is a good all-around brew. I’m a big IPA fan, and I am used to a variety of complex hops flavors. As there is only one kind of hop used in this ale, the hop complexity is limited. It smells great, but that may be because I am hyper-sensitive to hops right now (I brewed my first batch of beer yesterday, and now everything smells like hops, and my closet smells *dreamy*). Brutal Bitter is indeed a bit bitter (but I am quite used to double IPAs like Stone’s Ruination and Rogue XS I2PA), but it is perhaps a little bit more malt-centric than I like in a bitter brew. But those are just my personal tastes. This is a well-crafted, and if I may, daring, brew. To absolutely rely on Crystal hops is bold. I reccomend Brutal Bitter.

Pours copper/rust colour with a nice thick frothy head. Lemon & Lime to the nose with a hint of hop. Malt, citrus and weak grassy flavours with a nice long-lasting bitter finish.

Pours a thick-hazed copper/orange with some settling sediment and a creamy, 2-finger, off-white head that laces in sheets. Sweetbread aroma with lemon almost comes off as a cookie dough. Thick bodied with lingering lemon notes. Bitter tea flavor with a touch of honey and slight berry tartness. Brutal in the sense that the IBUs are stronger than an ESB normally suggests, but (and this will disappoint some folks) the hop content is by no means overwhelming. A very good beer with a misleading name.

<font size=-4>22 oz. bomber from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Chicago, IL 60638<font size=-1>

Had this on tap at Summits Wayside. Was pleasantly surpised at the strong hop aroma and taste. This ESB really went down well. Almost no head, but I think it had been sitting at the bar for a bit before the waiter brought it. I think I might some of these up to drink at home.