Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Brown Ale
Newport, Oregon USA

This is a very good specialty that’s great for dessert.

very rich and smooth nice choclate taste hazlenut flavour stays when drink is finnished

bottle brown with garnet highlights, dense tan head that would be at home atop any stout. typical of a rogue, the aroma is almost visibly radiating with it’s masterful melange of malts. just to hazard an offbeat impression, i’d suggest it has a resemblance in bouquet to hot fudge on coffee ice cream. once on the tongue that flavoring additive asserts itself, and while it does harmonize with the malt choir, it might be a shade too loud for people like me in the front row. as i’ve remarked about other skillfully orchestrated flavored beers, i’d love to taste this identical product without an ingredient which is probably more of a marketing device than a brewing refinement. that said, it works, it’s sweet and full bodied amid a creamy maple, desert beverage flavor. i concur that it warms charmingly, and the big bottle allows us that leisure. plenty of hop in the finish. could be the perfect beer to accompany a fine cigar. maestro maier makes my life better.

Beautiful cloudy brown color with a decent tan head that leaves a nice lacing in the glass. Chocolate and hazelnut aromas, chocolate and nutty flavors as well with a nice nutty sweetness, medium bodied with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel, finishes with a lingering sweetness.

On tap. This beer is one of the richest beers I have ever had. You know how if you eat regular chocolate then have some dark chocolate, you notice the profound difference in the richness of the two. Well, that’s how this beer compares to just about every other beer I’ve had. I was imagining a bowl of toffee ice cream in front of me when I had this, and it made me wonder why bars don’t serve ice cream. In this case it seems like it would be a perfect match. The aroma and taste are reminiscent of hazelnuts but also toffee, caramel, and Kahlua. The body was medium and just about where it should have been for all the sweetness. Just a little bit of hops to finish it off and dry it up. Can this brewery do no wrong? Every product of theirs I’ve tried has been wonderful. This is no exception.

Comment added yet again, 5/31: All that said, I’ve got to downgrade it back to 4.2. Love it, but isn’t exactly quite as rich as I’d really love it to be. Comment added 5/16/02: This stuff has grown on me. Love the stuff, and can hardly stop drinking it. It kicks butt. Makes me look forward with great anticipation putting it up against Boyne River Brown in a taste test. Only question: will I possibly be sober by the end?

Orignal 1/25/02 comments, giving the beer a 4.2 rating:

I haven’t been a big fan of brown ales, but I bought this on the strength of Rogue’s reputation (with me, most importantly) for making quality brews, and as usual, Rogue doesn’t disappoint. I do like this one better than Newcastle and Sam Smith’s. Pretty mild taste- and aroma-wise, and tastes just how I think a brown ale should taste. More richness comes out in the taste and aroma when it warms up, so for maximum effect and enjoyment, you should let this warm up from refrigerator temperature before you drink it. (Myself, I enjoyed it more and more as it got warmer, so it’s a good lesson for next time I have one.) Just a pleasant drink that goes down nice and smooth. And quite nice was the fact that Rogue put this in a brown bottle rather than the clear ones. No skunking much less any suspicious traces of it. Newcastle and Sam Smith should take a hint.

another ingenius brew from Rogue. Pours a deep ruby to brown shade. Aroma is malty, vanilla and a nice hazelnut touch. Full flavored, rich, creamy, roasted malt, nuts, honey, and a hazelnut flavors. Wonderful soft palate, low carbonation, outstanding!

Hazlenut, chocolate, toffe are all very evident. A solid beer with a nice malt accent and it is the lowest hopped Rogue I’ve had yet--that was good and at the same time a little disappointing. Nut brown character seems rather artificial; it bothers me that there is extract added.