Rogue Imperial Red

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

Clear deep red with medium beige head. Sweet aroma with toasted malt, caramel and hoppy notes. Flavour likewise with a hoppy finish.

From a Bierkraft growler (which I believe was cheaper than the ceramic 750 ml!). Deep ruby-brown pour with a frothy almond colored head. Sweet malty aroma with dark fruits--plum, cherry, and also some pineapple notes. Sweet and candy-like malt flavor with some toastiness from the booze. Jammy fruit (plum, raisin, cherry) that’s backed up somewhat by spicy and piney hops. Full bodied with fine carbonation. Pretty good strong ale, though personally I wanted the hops to have a more obnoxious presence.

On-tap at Breakwater. Pours cloudy, dark brown/red with a nice, offwhite head, some lace. Smells of dark over ripe red fruits, sweet malts and some hops. Tastes super malty, over ripe red furits, alcohol and oxidation. Full body, ok carbonation. Whenever I have a Rogue Imperial brew I get the impression that it’s been sitting arond in one of their ceramic bottles for years. They just taste old and sweet.

Bottle. light to moderate malt aromas of dark bread and roasted, moderate pine for the hops, light yeast note of leather, and notes of date and pepper. Head is small, slightly off-white, with good lacing and was mostly lasting. Color is hazy red/brown. Flavor starts lightly sweet and acidic, then the long finish is lightly sweet and acidic and moderately bitter. Palate is medium, slightly oily and has a lively carbonation. It finishes moderately astringent. An uncommon mix of both deep aromas and flavors with an easy drinking quality.

Pours hazy auburn tending brown with small cream/tan coloured head. Nose displays dark fruit, caramel and slight chocolate notes. Palate shows a heap of alcohol and hop driven spice, not alot else...Significant hop presence drives a long resiny finish. Unremarkable.

2000 rating ya... Aroma:mixe of pine hops and nutty caramel aroma... Appearance:ruby red,light head.. Flavor:pine hops bitterness,alcohol and nutty chocolate flavor....

Brown bottle, ceramic, 750 ml, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savoured on August 23 2008; eye: ruby, clear, slight effervescence, tan head that turns into a tiny ring, no lacing; nose: liqueur-like, hops, candied fruits, caramelized malt, alcohol, light spices; mouth: liqueur-like, resinous hops, candied fruits, caramelized malt, alcohol, finale in slightly resinous hops with a good presence of malt that comes in to balance things out and then the alcohol comes over, light astringency, rich, lightly sweet, mildly bitter, medium-full body, average carbonation; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille en céramique, 750 ml, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savourée le 23 août 2008; œil : rubis, claire, très légère effervescence, mousse fauve qui se transforme en un petit anneau, pas de dentelle; nez : liquoreuse, houblon, fruits confits, malt caramélisé, alcool, léger épices; bouche : liquoreuse, houblon résineux, fruits confits, malt caramel, alcool, finale en houblon légèrement résineux avec une bonne présence de caramel qui vient bien équilibrer le tout puis d’alcool qui se hisse par-dessus le tout, légère astringence, riche, légèrement sucrée, moyennement amère, corps moyen-corsé, carbonatation moyenne; en résumé : bien aimé

Sampled on Tap at 1702, Tucson AZ; August 2008
Arrives from the tap with a dark tan, deeply amber stained, one-finger thick head that sits on top of a hazy, red-toned, dark amber colored beer. The aroma has lots of caramelized flavors in it with a mix of concentrated citrus notes thrown into the mix. Sweetened grapefruit and candied orange peel aromas are backed by sugar-coated pine needles and a citrusy spruce note. As the beer warms up a full, toasty, biscuit-like character starts to become much more noticeable.

The taste is quite sweet, though it is heavily caramelized with an almost candy like, definitely toffee character. Viscous feeling, chewy and thick, this is definitely a sipping beer. There is lots of hop character here though the sticky malt character is big enough that the hop character is not the dominant note. Candied grapefruit flavors, lychee, spruce and a pine like edge that couples with a nicely bitter finish. The finish, while bitter, can’t quit offset the thick, chewy malt flavors that dominate this beer.

This hides the alcohol well, but has way too much sticky, crystal malt influenced, sweet malt flavors to it. Not bad, but can be a bit much at times.