Rogue Imperial Youngers Special Bitter

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

The aroma has caramel, pine hops, and cereal grain. The appearance is deep amber and hazy with a three finger head. The flavor is like the aroma with plenty of bitterness and alcohol but it’s not overpowering. The palate is smooth but thin. I like this one.

The liquid came from a super ultra select expensive ceramic bottle. The cost will certainly prevent any additional purchases of this brew and therefore the overall rating will suffer a bit. The pour was a hazy brownish orange color with decent tan head. The aroma is light with sweet malt and sweet hop notes. The flavor starts off both malty and pine hops. Malts seem to be caramelized and roasted malts with hints of biscuit. The hops are pine and grapefruit bitterness that persist throughout.

Hazy dark brown supped up Bitter with lots of cascade notes and a well balanced body. Hops linger at the end. Enjoyable.

Draught at Cole’s in Buffalo, NY. Pours a hazy orange-copper with a small diminishing off-white head. Mild aroma, a little sweet, with a good amount of hops, some grain and caramel malt. Flavour of caramel malt, lots of floral/herbal hops and toffee and a long bitter finish. Medium bodied. Very good, I really enjoyed it.

Draught. At Cole’s in Buffalo NY. Hazy deep amber with a small off-white head. Sweet and grainy aroma, very moderate alcohol, plenty of soft and fresh herbal hops. Taste - a classic herbal ESB - maybe a tad sugary, but I guess that’s how they got it "imperial" - the alcohol really is a little prominent for an ESB (see note above about imperial-ness). Somewhat sugary body, bitter finish - overall solid, interesting, I prefer a regular bitter on the whole.

Deep amber color with fairly substantial tan head. For some reason, seems a little watered down compared to what I would expect of an "Imperial" bitter. Reasonably balanced between malt and hops. Caramel malt flavor seems the most prominent to me, but definitely has some hoppiness toward the finish. It’s ok, but nothing special.

a beautiful color - like dusk setting in.. A light aroma, nothing special.. Although smooth, its not complex enough to be really enjoyable

Draught pint at Redbones on 2/14/07
Surprisingly poor head formation and retention considering that A) this is Redbones and the lines and glasses are so clean, even PBR laces and B) it’s Rogue, the definition of a perfect appearance. I’ve definitely given more 5’s for appearance to Rogue than any other brewers. Ok enough about that. The beer is an amber with light copper and beige tints. Bubbly, with a brief white head. High clarity.
Pretty astute that everyone is calling this an amped-up ESB. Hey, guys, it’s their "Imperial ESB", nice detective work. Somewhat mellow aroma for a beer of its strength, the malt really shines through. Crisp and fresh, with pure barley notes giving a refined cereal and hay/straw-like nose. Fruity hops contribute to a well-done presentation. Hops definitely show a fair amount of bitterness, but being of the appropriate, lower AA variety, it dosent bludgeon or outshine the malt. Light candied fruits and sticky caramel come on in the middle, sweetening things significantly, while a bit of acidity builds on the finish, quite unexpectedly. Not as delicate, nor as dry and esterized as an English Strong ale, not to mention the water isnt from Burton nor is it burtonized. ASA is the correct style here. No alcohol noted in the nose, no diacetyl in my sample.
Very easygoing opening to the beer, I sorta wondered for a second if they mislabeled the kegs and this was just YSB. But giving it some more sips, the sweetness intensifies, though remains tolerable and the hops add plenty of bitterness. The biggest difference from the base being the thicker, sticky mouthfeel. Dates, toffee, buttercream, apricots and marmalade. I like all of the yellow fruit and medium to pale malt suggestions. Soft and sweet, with a clean yeast profile and strong herbal/grassy dryness (though the malt still wins out). Light citrus suggestions, but no heavy bitterness. Alcohol was well concealed. I love Rogue. This makes me want to go drink an English Strong ale. Can’t wait to try the bottle of this I have coming.