Rogue Smoke Ale

Pours a clear amber-orange with a good two inches of light tan foam. The head falls down rapidly to just barely cover the surface of the beer. It leaves a little bit of lace behind - but only briefly. I have read about a bacony smokiness in rauchbier before, but this is the first time I’ve ever actually experienced it. It smells faintly of smoky bacon bits. The intitial taste is prominent smoke, but after a few sips, I can discern a thin maltiness and a pungeant hop character. No bacon in the taste - just the aroma. I’m glad. Very lightly carbonated, the smokiness and the hoppiness both linger in the aftertaste. I would have liked more malt and a thicker character. Still quite good, though I’d rather split a bomber than drink a whole one.

22oz bomber, no date. Pours a hazy orange caramel with a one finger fading creamy yellow beige head. Aromas of smoke--beef jerky comes to mind--and some bitter hops. I can’t really make out what type of hops at this point. Flavor is again dominated by smoke with a bit of nondescript fruitiness, moderate bitterness in the middle that quickly fades to nil. Moderate carbonation, light to medium bodied with some nice smoothness. Not the best smoked I’ve had, but nothing really wrong with it either.

Clear copper with a medium head. Not much retention, and spare lacing. Pronounced aroma of smoke. Also smell some caramel malts. Medium body. Some hops bitterness come into the finish. True to the style, but not overwhelming.

Pours a deep slightly cloudy amber color with a very thin head. It has a nice smoky aroma with a touch of hops. At first sip you can taste the smoke which finishes with a hoppy taste.

Pours a slightly hazed orangy to red amber with a healthy loose, though quickly disappearing beige head. The nose is all business. Smoke! Smoke like a good barbecue? Maybe not, but at least like good jerky or smoked fish. Better than liquid smoke. A little bit of apple. some roundish malt, and a bit of bitter hops. Creamy and full in the mouth, though perhaps a bit too fizzy for the style. The flavor is a huge let down from the nose. Malt moved in front of the smoke, as does that apple note and the spicy floral hops (though the hops aren’t huge here). Buttery finish (I’ve just become aware of this aspect in a beer, and now I’m finding it all of the time), though not butterscotch. The most is perhaps most apparent in the early aftertaste, weak, weaker than liquid smoke though. It’s pushed aside by the spicy hops in short order. This beer just strikes me as a weak attempt at the style. Next time Rogue shouldn’t pull the punches.

22 oz bottle, Stateline Liquors. Pours a clear orangish amber colored body under a smallish thin fizzy beige head that fell to a thin ring. Aroma is of crackery dry malt with a very light hint of smoke that comes across as ashy in nature. The flavor deliverers even less than the aroma on the smoke. Were it not for the name on the bottle, I wouldn’t have guessed that this was a Smoked. This started at cellar temperature, and as it neared room temp the smoke did come out a litle more, but not enough for me. Mouthfeel is quite thin and watery with alot of fizzy prickly carbonation. Overall, this was pretty damn weak for a Smoked. Quite disappointing for Rogue.

Copper hue with a thin off white head. Smokey citrussy nose. Citrus body with a back bone of roasted, toasted malt. Not as brutal as the other "rauch" beers I have tried. Quite pleasant. I could liken the taste to a watered down stout.

Strange... This beer left me craving some good ole’ BBQ. I didn’t much care for it at first, but after a few drinks I didn’t mind it. Nutty, smokey flavor with a light head that diminishes quickly