Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Specialty Grain
Newport, Oregon USA

Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale 22oz bottle Recent bottling, lapped up 09/06 Medium pour in a tulip glass Poured amber, with touches of orange, with a 1 1/2 inch mostly lasting slightly off-white head with fair lacing. Smelt of light roasted cereal and light piney/orange hops, overall oddly reminiscent of soy sauce or ramen noodles. Taste was moderate bitter hops followed by moderate soy bitterness and light sweet fruit in an average length finish. Mouthfeel was light, watery, fizzy and slightly astringent. Overall, the unique taste of a roasted buckwheat beer in the hands of a capable brewer.

Nice hazy orange/light golden body with a good creamy head. Decent hoppy aroma with some erathy herbs. Some citurs flavour and a dark wheat flavour turns to a sweet tart finish.

(22 oz bottle) Spicier than I was expecting, this beer gives a nice little zing to the palate. The lightly sweet malts are bready but not doughy and hops is fairly light, but given the dust on my bottle, I’ve probably had this long enough that surely the signature Rogue hoppiness has faded a bit. I’m also getting a mildly sweet spiciness that is reminding me a bit of cinnamon, though it comes and goes depending on the sip (in other words, I might be imagining it). The nose is bready with only a hint of spiciness. The medium-full body provides a wonderful coating on the palate, and the gentle carbonation doesn’t upset that mouthfeel. Golden-amber in color and fairly cloudy from sediment. The off-white head is quite thin, providing no more than a filmy covering for the beer. Retention and lacing obviously have little to offer in the way of esthetics, so this beer is strictly relying on the pleasant, spicy flavor to pique my interest.

Morimoto Soba Ale. Dark gold, slightly hazy, with a smal white head. Sweet, nutty aroma. Unique toasty-nutty-biscuity flavor. Medium-bodied. Overall really good, and definitely unique.

Had a somewhat strong aroma.color amber.Head was good.light lacing.Tasted somewhat bland.Balanced,but more of a typical beer.This says Morimoto soba ale on label,but it is aligned with this beer.Not a whole lot of flavor.so i guess it would compliment almost any meal.Might taste better with a lime.slightly sour and bitter.slight yeasty.Better than the average beers.Probably won’y buy again.

My review is for Morimoto Soba Ale, which is listed under the Buckwheat title, even though the listed ingredients appear slightly different: Roasted Soba, Harrington, Metcalf, Munich & C-15 Malts; Crystal Hps, and Pacman Yeast. These all may be the same as what’s listed on the Buckwheat ale, mutatis mutandis, but why make any changes at all? Is it just a marketing ploy, or what? Rating: roasted lemon with toffee aftertaste; nice effervescence for a lager; has a dullness to the flavor I can’t pinpoint, but I think it’s associated with the so-called "roasted soba." All-in-all, it’s not my cup of tea but definitely drinkable. I could see it paired with miso soup. They have a similar aftertaste.

Bottle. Pours a dark gold with a thick fizzy head that quickly dissipates. The carbonation keeps bubbling away after the head goes dissapears. The aroma has a nice citrusy hop smell. The flavor is pretty mild. A little bit of hops, but it is quickly balanced out by the malts. A very even flavor, just a hint of nuttiness. Nothing seems to stand out in this one.

Very mellow brew. At first it seemed like the hops, citrus, and florals were going to come on strong, but it becomes rather tame. Some malty sweetness is present, but there werent any spices that stood out. My first dissapointment from Rogue.