Rogue Smoke Ale

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Smoked
Newport, Oregon USA

Brown with a thin head. Aroma is light smoke, malt, caramel, pork. Taste is smoked ham, light caramel, and malt.

650 ml. Orange-copper with a small disc of foam that manages a touch of frosty lacing. Peppery, smoked ham aroma is not overpowering. Smoke flavor is a bit overpowering at first, but then some finish hops and a bitter wheat flour taste become noticeable after a few sips. Light-medium body is nicely dry and tingly from the smoke and hops, but a little too fizzy and watery. This is an OK rauchbier, but the style is not inherently suitable for a session beer. The watery, fizzy body makes me think "session smoke" might be what the brewer was shooting for, but that’s an oxymoron IMHO. Needs more malt flavors.

On draft. Cloudy amber body. Thin almost no white head. Smokey cinnamon apple and pepper flavor. Slightly gingery but also slightly watered down.

Apparently my first induction into the world of smoked (rauche) beers was pretty much the crème-de-la-crème. This of course makes it hard to keep an unbiased opinion when tasting, reviewing, and rating other smoked beers. In general though, I am game for any rauche beer I can come across seeing as how rare and wonderful they taste. Of course, one must also like/enjoy/be okay with the idea of a beer which tastes as though it has been through a smoker. Today’s rauche beer is the Rogue Smoke Ale. As a brewery Rogue is a hit or miss for me so I shall see.
My Rogue Smoke Ale poured a dark amber brown into my glass where a pleasant addition of dregs on the bottom gave the brew a murky hue. For those who are not in the know, when it’s the right beer style, dregs are a beautiful thing. A decent head which slowly recedes into a cream-colored comforter. The nose is deep, thick, and almost claustrophobic. I feel as if I am standing in front of a smoker and steamer at the same time, breathing in the wet aromas. For a full smoky nose, I also detect hints of apples and pepper. So far my Rogue Smoke Ale is looking promising. Her body is surprisingly light considering the choke-hold the nose had over me. Maybe a bit too light as I feel an almost watery sensation in her overall mouthfeel. Faint smoke flavors mingle amidst hints of sweet apples and molasses. Her finish and aftertaste is mild and hints even less of the smoked character of this beer then the palate did. Not much change in flavor profiles or dominance as I round out my glass.
Overall, a good rauche beer, but not great. I would like to see more actual smoked flavor in the brew instead of just in the nose. For someone unsure of the beer style itself, this may be a good starter brew to bring them into the rauche beer fold where, once hooked, they will never leave.

22 oz bottle pours a brown color with a big tan head. Alot of smoke in the aroma. Reminds me of when you put a campfire out, the aroma you get. Slightly sweet. with a big smoke body. A bit too thin in the body. Not bad. Would be good with a roast or bbq.

Pours a cloudy hazy brown with slightly off white head. Smells of malt, and smoked wood. Tastes of malt and smoked meat. Very interesting. Not exactly thirst quenching, but still good. Would go good with red meat.

The aroma is strong with smoke, like a bbq. I had to work hard to pick up some sweet malty aromas. It was enticing, but it probably made me more hungry than thirsty. The appaearance is amber/gold, lots of bubbles from the carbonation, persistent white head. The flavor is smoky, sweet malts, caramel. Very enjoyable. The finish was smoky, like I was sitting right up on a campfire, but also had a slight bittering from the hops. Very good overall. A unique beverage.

Pours deep amber into a shaker. Off-white head with medium retention. Sweet malt and smoked ham aromas. Sweet upfront with a crisp smoke finish.