Rogue Smoke Ale

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Smoked
Newport, Oregon USA

Pours a deep amber color with a beigh head. Aroma is smokey, malty, and slightly hoppy. Smoke flavors start with hops and end with malt in the finish.

Amber and hazy colour, with a light but short lived head. Smoky from the aroma, to the malty palate, through to the bitter finish. Nice beer.

There’s a reason why it’s called "smoke ale". It tastes like liquid smoke mixed in beer. Which is surprisingly good.

This smoke ale has a beautiful orange, or perhaps more like red amber color and the head is good. The aroma is smoky, and so is the flavour, but it also has notes of caramel and fruit. Right after the smoke, there is an unpleasant sweetish note and the bitterness is very modest. I don’t find this one very smoky, so either I have become more tolerant to smoke or perhaps this isn’t all that smoky? So all in all it’s nice - but not nearly as smoky as I thought it would be. 1841

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.