Rogue Imperial Youngers Special Bitter

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

Amber-Orange. Medium, peach head. Aroma: Caramel, grapefruit. Flavor: Grapefruit, caramel, pine. Bitter finish. So, defining a type of beer is sort of like defining what a planet is (I am an avid astronomer) and the more I learn, the less I know. If we were to call this an ESB, it would be near the top of the list. The term; "Strong Ale" only exists due to alcahol volume and one should question whether the term should exist at all as it covers so many styles. I feel this is an ESB.

Bottle, Mondiale 09. Malty aroma, some hops. Nice reddish orange with a good sized white head. Good taste - malty and bitter, but little alcohol. Nicely balanced and very tasty - a nicely amped up Youngers.

"Dark reddish copper body with a thick tan cap that reduced to a ¼”. Very typical west coast hop aroma but does have some more malty characteristics than your average Rogue ale. Flavour is wacky old grass clippings, pine, sour yogurt and a suck your face in bitterness, but has a sweet start. Nice strong ale very drinkable but way over hopped for the style, but the malts where bold and tasty."

big hop aroma, with a good malt base. The malt doesnt take away from the hops, but the hops are all over the place. This is more of a malt heavy ipa if you ask me.

Amber pour with a quarter-inch thick white head. Nose has a nice blend of sweet malt and citrusy hops. Flavor is a tad hop heavy up front with a nice malt sweetness behind. Light dry finish. Very good.

750mL swing-top black ceramic bottle. No date. Appearance: Poured into a 26oz imperial pint. 1.5 fingers of fluffy off-white head with lots of retention. Grips the glass leaving bands. Slightly hazy amber colored. Nose: Sweet English malts and some dusty hop/pine cone notes. Palate: Medium-bodied with lots of biscuit and dirty pine cone flavors. Old hops, dry as a bone on the palate, but not scathing. A little fruitiness hides underneath all that hop flavor and bitterness. Notes: Seems like a lot of bittering hops were used, and the flavor hops must be something without the citrus notes. This beer is dry and lovely. Exactly what I was hoping it would be. A little pricey, but a great brew.

Enjoyed on tap at The Stable. Very nice looking beer with a dark brown hue and a thick one finger head. Lacing does not quite describe the layer of foam that adheres to the glass. This beer grabs the back of the throat from the first sip. It is quite bold and bitter with a mouthful of hops, caramel, and sweet fruit. The hops offer nice complexity. It is a near cousin to an IIPA. Feel is delightfully thick and smooth. An all around quality effort.

Ceramic 75cl bottle:
Pours dark orange with a mid sized head. Aroma is cookies and soapy hops. Flavour is loads of bitter hops with some notes of orange peels. A bit thin and one dimensional.