Rogue Monk Madness

I thought from the name that this would be a Belgian and its more of a soft stout. My bottle had no head and no lace, and a nose of caramel and Pacific American hops. Really hoppy for a stout or a Belgian ... so maybe it’s neither. As I’m trying to figure out what this, I think of caramel, sweet malts, a little sweet fruit, citrus again, a little chocolate which is why I thought of a stout, and then the NW American hops I won’t finish the bottle, but I will cook with this one. Probably steam some sausages before smoking them.

bomber - Pours amber with a two finger head and a good hop laden aroma. It has a solid hops flavor with bitterness in IPA territory and well balanced malt. It’s medium bodied. I’m a little puzzled by the name as it made me expect a Belgian character to the beer and I didn’t get that from it at all.

Aroma of floral hop and darkish roasted malt. Nice luminous amber color, but virtually no lasting head. Medium in body, moderate in carbonation. The flavor is dark roasted malt, almost toasted, balanced by some very nice floral hop. I am not really tasting it as bitter, but it seems to be. Interesting. Might be a touch of chocolate. The finish is fairly dry, there is some roasty malt, and what seems to be rather unbitter hop. I guess everything is really balanced? Good stuff.

Great for the price. I could get it for $2.39 a bomber. So I got a few cases. Nice malty palate and lovely caramel.

Bottle. Poured dark brown with a decent tan head. Aroma was malty with earthy tones. Good flavor but the hops in the finish lingered a little too long. Nice warming alcohol too. Good ASA but not amazing. I do appreciate American brewers trying something new though.

I love that the brewers at Rogue constantly push boundaries and don’t brew in fear of trying new things. I really respect that. This is a good American Strong. The blend of malt makes for a nice complex flavor on the front of the palate and is balanced out by the hop bitterness. As the beer warmed, the hop bite actually became a bit too pronounced for my preferences, but this is still a solid beer. Beautiful color on pour and a sweet malty aroma with a hint of hop spiciness.

Brownish with minimal head. Yeasty and brown sugar aroma. Sweet at the beginning but moves drier and hoppier as it goes down. Nice thick mouthfeel.

Bottle Dark maroon pour with nice big head and great lacing. Aroma of grassy floral hops and a some malt hiding. Flavor follows accordingly, but surprisingly not as strong as I expected. Good brew overall, but definitely not what I was expecting.