Rogue Ten Thousand Brew Ale (10,000)

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Newport, Oregon USA

Pours a cloudy orange amber color with a thick frosty white head. Aroma of floral hops,pine resin and citrus(orange and grapefruit). Taste is floral hoppy with hints of pine, orange peel,grapefruit,light caramel malts and perfume. Leaves a perfumy/piney aftertaste

Bottle (750ml ceramic). Shared with LagerLoather, his bottle. Cloudy amber, decent beige pancake batter lasting head. Smells of green mild funky eastern european hops, mild alcohol, sweet cereal grain malt - pretty nice! Taste is a little alcohol-dominated, fairly generic bitterness (UK style, really), bitter longish linger - did I say boozy? Light body, solid carbonation and astringency, too much alcohol in the finish - nice, but way, waaaaaaaay overpriced (and hyped).

Super hazy amber/copper coloured body with a thinnish (1 centimetre) white soapy, large bubbled head. Aroma of super strong hops, alcohol, apricots, plenty of malt, raisins and a bit more malt. Full-bodied; Strong hoppiness up front with metal, blood, tangerines, bananas and a bunch of malt following soon afterwards. Aftertaste shows a lot of hops still, plenty of alcohol and a malt that lasts and lasts. Overall, a good beer - strong in hops and a bit too strong in other characteristics. Too much of an IIPA to be a ’special beer’, ESPECIALLY at the stupidly expensive price of $20 for the 75 cL bottle. I sampled my bottle purchased from Joe’s Place in Oklahoma City, OK on 22-May-2007, but I wouldn’t buy it again.

Second in my two part series: Hotel Room Ratings.

Boy this bottle sure is fancy. I even had high hopes when I bought this that it was NOT going to be an alias for another Rogue brew, and I have been rewarded. The bottle is quite fancy. Pours a hazy orange with a nice big dense on the edges, pillowy in the middle, head. The aroma is hoppy, citrus and herbs, some interesting malt aromas that do not exactly marry that well with the hops. The flavor is first and foremost about the hops. There is a good amount of malt, but it is a bit muddled. Earthy with some sweetness. Alcohol is evident, maybe a tad harsh in this respect. Overall a bit coarse but in the end still enjoyable and above average. For the price point and the occasion that it commemorates, I was hoping for more.

Thanks Jason for a sampling of this one! Glad I got to try it, but would warn everyone out there that you WILL be let down. Especially considering the price point that they chose for this one. Disclaimer: Price was NOT a determining factor in my rating. Decent copper pour with an average head and lacing. Some promise here with a decent hop profile by way of the typical house hop character associated with Rogue. Very light on the mouthfeel and overall body. Just not enough, "oomph" here to justifiy this as a strong ale. Some nuttiness from the Maris and a bit of caramelization, but again, just needs "more" of......well, everything. Glad I had the opportunity to sample this with some great RB folk, but can’t help wishing this had lived up to the hype.

Shared at DLD by someone. Aroma of maltiness and some hops with some earthy bitterness to it. Nothing all that special and definitely not worth the price tag.

I liked its rusty-orange hue and lofty, lasting head. Nose was bright and malty-hoppy. Texture was bold yet smooth. Bouquet of hops made me immediately sneeze after the first sip. Seemed more like 100 IBUs. Malts were surprisingly evident, with elements of cookie dough and light caramel. Hops were strong and zingy. Mostly grass but also grapefruit and pine and sour orange. Alcohol wasn’t harsh but it was warming. Overall, I rather enjoyed this beer.

Bottled. This beer smells nice. I detect spicy hops, citrus and maybe a touch of oak. It pours like cloudy grapefruit juice with a soapy looking head. There’s a reason the head looks soapy. This beer contains soap! No, my glass wasn’t soapy, this beer just tastes like it has soap in it. The hops don’t do anything to help. As a matter of fact the hop bitterness adds to the whole thing being a bit disappointing.