Rogue Brewer

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Black IPA
Newport, Oregon USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Tap @ Pizza Port Carlsbad. Pours slightly cloudy brown with a short off-white head. Tons of resiny hops in the nose with tree sap, tobacco, nuts, and earthy coffee grounds. Bitter blast of pine, lime, brown sugar, and maple syrup up front. Around the middle, there is a funky yeasty taste followed by a rapid shift to chocolate, coffee, raisins, cola, and bitters. I didn’t like this when it started out, but the beer definitely grew on me. Its like nothing else I’ve ever had.

On tap at the brewery in Newport. Nice dark brown pour. Intense flavor, it has that typical Rogue sweetness, but it combines it with a very nice hoppiness. Top notch, one of the best I’ve had.

Sampled at Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore. Great example of what your mom always taught you: don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Looks like a porter, dark, oily, opaque black with a white, creamy head. Mild aroma that has some coffee, nuts and limes. Flavor is mild citrus, key limes, spice and some yeast. Soft and a bit chalky on the tongue with some lasting hop bitterness. I had been seeking this beer out for a while and although it looked like a winner, it disappointed me.

Draft @ Max’s. Pours a murky, dark brown color; light tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Loads of cola, dried dark fruits, and even a touch of tannic red fruits in the aroma; pleasant, intricate Belgian aroma. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: chewy, dense, sticky dried dark fruits, cola, and caramel upfront; pretty sweet and dense; relaxed carbonation. Lengthy finish: chocolate, dried dark fruits, and cola; a touch chalky and very dry end.

Tap at Blind Tiger. Deep brown-black beer. Aroma is lightly sweet and a bit chewy. Light toffee and plum underneath the classic Rogue hop aroma. The flavour shows hints of originality, but then a hop flavour that can only be described as "Roguey" comes to the fore. Bracing pine resinousness over sweet crystal malt. As it warms a kiss of cocoa and licorice come out, but they can’t compete with the hoppiness. I do like it, but I’d like to see these guys make a beer without hopping the crap out of it.

Tap @ Blind Tiger, 2006 version. Pours a dark brown with a wispy, barely there off-white head. Aroma is malt with citrus hops and more bitter hops thrown in as well. Taste is slight malt sweetness up front dissolving into 2 or 3 different levels of hop bitterness with a crisp, bitter aftertaste. Balanced for a hop monster, and very enjoyable.

Draft at Blind Tiger, 2006 version. Dark brown pour, no head. Aroma is citrus, syrupy malt, and some odd hops also. Flavor is the same, some strange hops, resiny, syrupy sweet malt, and citrus in the finish. Decent beer.

20061007 Sampled after Kennett. Familiar Rogue aroma plus strangely appealing pissy smells plus armpit. Nice and dry despite hefty, medium-full body. Hard to figure what style they were after but would have guessed an ESB.