Rogue Monk Madness

Slightly hazy deep red-brown body, thick buff head. Caramely, toasty, sweet aroma with dark fruits and bitter hops. Rather bitter, surprisingly hoppy body, toasty, with light sweetness and cereals. The aggressive, unidimensional hops are out of place. Another instance of Rogue worrying too much about how many ingredients they can state they used.

Clear crimson with microscopic specks of unfiltered goodness. Large amount of dirty-white foam produces puffy lace after each gulp. Hop perfume and peppery esters dominate the nose. Plums, licorice, chocolate pudding, and caramelized raisins are also prevalent. That signature Rogue buttery, nutty yeast accentuates the massive load of bready and plummy malt. Brisk carbonation expands as it hits the palate. Spicy esters greet the palate as does a buttery and nutty (pistachio) yeast. Hops are coarsely leafy and oily from the get-go, but miss the mark in terms of depth and refinement. Bitterness quickly loses its tight clasp, and is soon mirrored by a dry edge of brash roastiness. Expressive but rather shallow hops eventually fatigue the palate by imparting an excessive amount of leafiness, acidity, and dirty earthiness. Juicy plums loom in the background, beneath the spicy esters, but the malt never seems to take foothold. Hop bitterness unfortunately loses much of its intensity at the finish, before disappearing into a soft and subtle blend of licorice, tobacco and tealeaves. Aroma shows some finesse and restraint by displaying a nice assortment of esters and malt nuances which harmonize with the hops. But the carbonation is also slightly overactive and the mouthfeel suffers. It’s a shame that the malt is never allowed to flourish, due to the overattenuation and hop-derived acidity. Ho hum.

Draft at Collins Pub. Pours a clear reddish amber with a white head. Aroma of fruit punch and orange juice. Medium body and fine carbonation. More fruit in the taste. Clean bitter finish. Interesting!

Chocolate, brown ale aroma. Bigtime fluffy head sits upon a brownish red pour. Doughy, caramel flavor, with tantric wisps of intense bitterness. Lots of apples, lemons and tangerines. Finishes with crisp bite. Uhh, I like this, alot. What are you folks trying?

Draft from DRE. Coppery ruby egded pour with aroma of hops, sme peaty, earthy notes, and some bready doughy malt. The taste is unbalanced, with some dry hops clashing with the peaty, earthy, doughy malt. Not horrible, but not one I’d revisit again.

Do not be fooled by the rating! This is an ok beer, and definatley worth a shot. I picked this up at Eugene City Brewery in a 22 oz bomber. The pour was alright, but kind of lacked a head of any kind and had no lace. The aroma was gnarly, I could tell from the smell that this was going to be a "strong" ale. It was very hoppy. Taste was alright, nothing memorable. I’ll pass next time, or will I? This was an interesting take on Strong Ale...and definatley looked past. I suppose it is for good reason, this ale is insipid and could use much improvement. For the $5.25 price tag I think I could have done much better. Never judge a brew by the label!

Sampled at the Richmond Beer Industry Gathering 2006. Darkred body with a small tan head. Dank floral hops aroma. Strong floral hops flavor with a very dry bitter finish.

Was I ready to love this beer.....? Yes! Did my blind date turn out to be an illiterate amputee...??? Yes! I don’t know what to say. The idea of an American Strong Ale that has the layers of Belgian malt and the hop profile of a Wests Coast Ale was an attractive one. What I got was carbonated hop tea. This beer reminded me of a fast food Pepsi that has been sitting in the car too long. You know, after the ice has melted and the soda is just this side of flat. No depth, no real complexity, and no balance to speak of. I hope I’m not rating a bad bottle.