Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: American Strong Ale
Newport, Oregon USA

7/18/2009: Rogue Double Dead Guy is exactly what the name implies. Multiply the characteristics (deep, toasted maltiness, caramel, tea, floral and resin hops, earthy undertones) of the regular Rogue Dead Guy by a factor of two and you have this beer! In addition, it is darker (deep reddish-amber) and a bit thicker (medium-full body, sighly chewy). Overall this beer is good, but not great. It might be twice the intensity of the regular version, but it isn’t anywhere near twice as good and definitely isn’t worth the price then purchased in the big, overpriced ceramic bottle! My recommendation is to seek it out on tap somewhere and just have a sample to start followed by a pint if it meets your approval...

Draught sample(s) at the 14th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. Rating #469 for this beer.

Draught at Stockholm Beer Festival 2008. Amber color. Toffeish, fruity and orangey aroma. Malty, toffeish, caramelly and fruity flavor with apricot and watermelon. Very rich, soft and drinkable.

Clear honey coloured body with a fairly well lasting light tan head. Hops at first on the nose followed by sweet caramel. Bitterness just outshades the malt in the taste, dont seem to notice the alcohol too much or am I just drinking a few too many higher alcohol beers (and enjoying them).

750 mL bottle purchased at the Davis Food Co-Op. Holy fuck this bottle is ugly as sin. An annoying bright red painted/waxed bottle. Pretty faint aroma. A bit of caramel maltiness with some light yeast esters and a little metal is present. Some ethanol also makes it’s presence known. It also has a light nutty sweetnes, too. All in all, the aroma is pretty pedestrian. Mildly hazy amber body with a medium off-yellow head that persists pretty well. More legging than lacing. Start is sweet, a bit peppery, with some caramel malts. More roasted maltiness in the middle with a bit of an ethanol burn. Finishes kind of dry with a more ethanolic bitterness rather than a hop bitterness. Actually, the hop profile is very low in this beer despite its claim of 72 IBU, which makes the booze more apparent. Unmemorable, except for the hideous bottle and price.

20080922 750ml bottle from Spirits RB. Eleven bucks for this, but I couldn’t resist the red painted bottle. Similar in appearance to the regular dead guy, deep copper color with medium, lasting beige head and sticky lace. Aroma is a kick of Rogue, earthy, toffee, clean, light curacao, potpourri, some alcoholic heat. Body is not as full as I expected, and it suffers from a late punch of booze that competes with the malts, or at least distracts me from what might otherwise be a nice coating middle. The finish is indeed long and bitter, quite nice. Overall a bit on the bland side but the bitterness makes it interesting enough to work though the big bottle of a big beer.

On tap at HopCat, Grand Rapids. Translucent amber body, thin off-white head. Heavy, bready nose with spicy esters and alcohol. Heavy, dry body, with layered breads, yeast, and prickly alcohol. As the beer warmed, sweet berry-like notes developed. Bitter finish. The beer became more likable after half a pint.

(draft @ The Old Toad - Rochester, NY) Clear amber pour with a fluffy white head. Aroma is malty and fruity with a little bit of bitter hops underneath. Flavor is rather spicy at the beginning with a creamy and malty middle and a spicy and bitter finish.

2008. cool red wax bottle. dark copper color under a large creamy yellowish head. aroma is bready malts, gum , banana. flavors of graham cracker, dough, cinnamon, banana, and some floral bubblegum tasting hops. i didn’t really care for this one.