Rogue Imperial India Pale Ale (I²PA)

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Newport, Oregon USA

Expensive Bottle. Aroma is bready and a little grapefruit. In the mouth it is sweet and and not overly bitter, due to the high alcohol - perhaps a bit more hoppy than say brutal bitter but not terribly. Nice citric tang on the back end. For the price of the ceramic I would say it isn’t worth it, but if you can get it on tap give it a go. A good beer. If I could get it in regular bottles I would drink it more often.

One of my favorite IPA’s. Also love Dogfish 90 Minute and Rogue Double Bastard. Rogue has great body, great balance, clean finish. Nice aroma.

On the nose I find pears, bubblegum, sour apple and a distinct alcohol. Lovely. Nice tangy bitterness in the flavours, but not too strong. Lasts forever. Lots of fruit in between.

Citrus aroma with grapefruit. Also smell a hint of cascde hops. Hazy golden appearance with almost no head. Very citrusy hop flavor as well. Alcohol hidden well. Good carbonation, medium body. Would I drop $ 18 on a 750mL again? No. Is it a good beer? Definitely.

Serving date: 2009-03-02. Served in snifter. 750 ml ceramic bottle with swing top. Golden color with brown hues. Small white and uneven head that settles at a medium pace. Chunks of sticky lacings. The smell is very rich and powerful. Lots of hop aromas, both fruity (grapefruits) and resiny. Pine needles. Notes of mint. Sweet malts as well. The taste is also full of hops. Plenty of tropical fruit esters (grapefruit, orange, mango, kiwi). Earthy hop notes of grass and pine. Slightly perfumy. Some tobacco. A firm malt backbone balance everything out very well and provides some sweetness. The finish is very long and bitter, bot not overly so, and has a good balance between perfumy hops and sweet malts. A bit to much carbonation initially, but it gets calmer after a while and all in all the beer is very smooth and creamy. Medium body. The loss of carbonation goes to far however, and this does not serve the beer well. A very good beer, and considering that it’s a DIPA it’s incredibly well balanced. However, the extremely rapid loss or carbonation and the fact that I got huge black floaties (I’m a bit worried that they are a result of the ceramic bottle) in my last pour from the bottle, decreases the overall grade. Too bad, because it’s a really good beer. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

On tap at Rattle n Hum. Big and beautiflul. Pours a hazy orange with a fine white head. Nose is super hops. I could almost satiate my apetite for hops with the aroma alone, but I decided to taste it anyway. Good choice. Flavor is a deep, complex array of different types of hops. Body is medium. Finish is lip-smacking and smooth. Excellent.

I finally broke down and purchased the ceramic bottle. Body is hazy orange with a thin head with some lacing. Familiar pacman yeast with some grapefruit hops. ABV is not noticed. A little thin in the mouthfeel compared to many in this style. Slight let down for the price.