Rogue Smoke Ale

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Smoked
Newport, Oregon USA

Bottled. Hazy amber with a rich white foam. Aroma of smoked wood, juniper, ham, crackers and flowers. Smokey flavour of tar and ham with touches of caramel and crackers. Clean medium body. Smoked wood in the finish.

Pours a hazy amber color with a thick offwhite head. Subtle aroma and flavor of smoked malt and toffee. Light to medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Not bad but as a smoked beer it doesn’t compare to the divine Schlenkerla.

Cloudy dark gold with a very small white head. Smells like a campfire. Taste is burnt orange, smoked salmon with some hops and a mildly bitter finish. Less malty and more hoppy/bitter than typical smoked, not surprising considering the brewery. Don’t get me wrong it is very smoked but also hoppy too. Those expecting a typical malted hop-less smoked will think that this beer is a hopeless rogue when it is actually a hop-full Rogue (did I confuse everyone?).

Smoke, malt and hops in the aroma. Hazy orange/copper colour, small vanilla head. Starts with a stiff smokey flavour, followed by a malty backbone, leading to a taste of caramel as it warms, hoppy finish. Dry and bitter. Another interesting beer from these Rogues.

Cloudy copper to orange in color with a medium off white head. Full on smoke aroma. Nice moderate smoke flavor back up by a little sweet malt. There also seems to be some hop bitterness hidden behind the main flavor, smoke. The aftertaste is smoke, some malt and bitterness which is pretty much the same as the taste.

Pours a darker amber color with a nice off-white head. Aroma is malty and smoked. Taste starts sweet then the amazingly strong smoke flavor jumps at you over the smoothness of this brew, ok, but very strong smokey’ness.

Coincidentally, this is the second smoked beer I've had tonight - the other being a Mac's Malt Mac. This compares well, though the Rogue Smoke Ale isn't quite a rauchy as I'd hoped. It's definitely not in Schlenkerla territory. This beer has hints of smoked bacon and charred mesquite. Definitely a quality effort, though I'm not sure the mainstream beerdrinking public will take to it. The alcohol just might be noticeable. Good.

Hazy orange-brown, decent off-white head. Aroma is mostly hardwood smokiness with an underlying sweetness. The palate starts with a fairly intense smoke character, but the underlying caramel malt adds nice structure. The finish is surprisingly hoppy, quite fruity and very bitter. This worked for me-- I really liked it.