Rogue X-Ray Sierra

When I first started this blog about 15 months ago, I was really into the lighter beers. An amber was pushing it in terms of darkness. After some sage advice from one Tom Crow, I ventured into the deep end of the color pool and found the intense flavors of porters, stouts and more. When I was at Jubliation around my birthday in March, they were offering up the last 3 bottles of the Rogue XS 2008 Imperial Porter for only $3.99. Wha wha?! I think that I had speed rivaling the Flash when I grabbed that bottle and it was faithfully stored in the Beer Fridge until the proper time.

Appearance - Wispy mocha head, solid blackness, rich looking with low carbonation - 4.0/5.0

Smell - Strong toasted malt, alcohol and roasted coffee...delicious! 4.5/5.0

Taste - Rich earthy coffee flavor, little bit of an alcohol burn at the end, but it's tempered by the toasted malt flavor. Oaky, with a hint of dark cherry. 4.5/5.0

Feel - Really coats the mouth, carbonation more potent at first taste then mellows out quickly. Aftertaste is a lingering bitterness. 4.0/5.0

Drinkability - While a potent 8.6% ABV, it's not as strong as other imperial porters, which I think makes it easier to drink. High quality and highly drinkable. 5.0/5.0

Who needs Chipoltaway with a beer like this?

I've never actually been to Chipotle - I hear it's good, but can't say that I've gone out of my way to try it. I like Chipotle peppers and have had those a whole bunch. So, when I saw the Rogue Chipotle Ale at Sunflower Market the other day, I had to see whether the pepper makes or breaks the beer.

Appearance - A beautiful rich amber. A decent amount of head - looks pretty carbonated. 4.0/5.0

Smell - You can get a hint of the pepper, but that's all - just a hint. The malt dominates the nose. I really was hoping for a slightly more dominate chipotle smell, but didn't get it. - 2.5/5.0

Taste - Mostly malt, and kinda sweet. You can detect a slight pepper burn, but it's really mild. For a chile beer, I expect a stronger flavor than what I got. The Sierra Blanca Pancho Verde is on the other end of the spectrum, being an almost overly strong green chile taste. Some smoke as well. - 3.0/5.0

Feel - Coats the mouth well, with a bit of pepperly aftertaste. 4.0/5.0

Drinkability - Given the style, I'll pass on it. While I enjoyed it, it's not what I would have expected from a beer whose style is focused on the chile. 2.0/5.0

Cheers to you, Uncle Sam!

Another April 15th has finally come and I managed again to avoid kissing a bus to soothe the madness that is my life at this point. Every year I get a nice bomber of beer that I crack open once the final return is signed and extension check dropped off. This year, Quarters had just received a bunch of new Rogue beers, including the Rogue John John Ale, which is Dead Guy Ale that has been aging (gracefully) in Dead Guy Whiskey barrels.

Appearance - Lightly opaque amber; with a sturdy white, frothy head. 3.0/5.0

Smell - Hmmm...whiskey. Malt is subdued and slightly sweet. I would have preferred a strong aroma. 3.5/5.0

Taste - Gotta say it again...hmmm...whiskey. Oaky, with a tasty, toasty sweetiness near the middle of the taste. Finishes off as you would expect a sip of quality whiskey would, with a hint of vanilla and caramel. Flavors are balanced and not overly strong. - 4.0/5.0

Feel - Smooth, full aftertaste. Lacks the syrupy quality that I've seen in bourbon beers, but that's ok, this one works. - 4.0/5.0

Drinkability - This is an amazing harmony of a spirit and beer, would definitely get this one again. 4.0/5.0

Nothing tastes better after 13.2 miles than beer

Congrats to my lovely wife for finishing The Arizona (Half) Marathon today! She did some serious training, including a 12 mile run from Tramway & Montgomery to Saggio's by UNM (yikes!). I did my fair share of training, but mine involved testing the limts of my taste buds when it comes to good beer.

So, I did some arm curls with the Rogue Hazelnut Brown over at the Yard House at Scottsdale Fashion Square. I didn't notice this beer at first, with the initial beer being a Green Flash West Coast IPA. I really had trouble with the 2nd beer, but after combing through the beer list (which upon counting was 119 draft beers), I noticed I completely skipped over the Hazelnut Brown - shame on me, as it was a very tasty brew (like most of what I have out of the Rogue Brewery)

Appearance - An oddly semi-translucent brown with a fine tan head - 3.5/5.0
Smell - Very mild with nuttiness and malt. From what I understand, this is a fragrant beer, but that wasn't the case with the one I picked up. 2.5/5.0
Taste - A rich, bold flavor with some (obviously) hazelnut and chocolate. There's some smoky nutty malt as well. You can get some sweetness out of this, but just a hint. 4.5/5.0
Feel - Silky, with a little crispness at the end. Definitely lighter bodied than I expected. 3.5/5.0
Drinkability - Loved the beer, but would have loved to had more detectable aromas. 4.0/5.0

On the 5th day of Christmas, Santa Beer gave to me...

a lovely reminder of childhood and proper winter penmanship - the Rogue Yellow Snow IPA.

I can think of a couple of times that I tried this as a kid, but FAR more attempts in recent memory (what that says about me, I'll leave that to your judgment). When I picked up this bomber, Tina just looked at it and said one word: "Gross." I can't tell if that's from the fact it was an IPA - a beer style that Tina can't stand; or the mental image from the name. Either way, I didn't have the same reservations and cracked this puppy (heh heh, get it? Puppy? Like the dog on the bottle? Whatever...) open.

The coloring of the beer was really fascinating - after I poured it all into a tall cold glass, the beer got progressively darker as it neared the top of the class. Perhaps this is to be a reflection of different types of "ink" used for said yellow snow. Whatever it was, it was nice to look at and the beer had a great frothy head, which I really appreciated. Grapefruit, potent (but not overwhelming) hops dominate the nose of this IPA. There are some other floral aromas, but they are much more subtle. The beer tasted deliciously smooth - the hops are prominent, but well blended as not to cause your toenails to curl. Expect some citrus and hints of sourness, as well. The body was lighter than I would expected. I would pick this one up again and I just saw growlers of this at Kelly's the other day, so go pick one up and share with the whole fam damnly.

Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - darkens as it goes up the glass - light golden to darker gold, just like if I wanted to write my name in the snow, frothy head
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - grapefruit, potent hops, but not overpoweringly so, lightly floral
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - really deliciously smooth hop, some citrus, mid sour - really tasty
Feel - 4.5/5.0- smooth, mild sour aftertaste
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - mmm mmm good - definitely would have again, very well blended

Some dead guys are hanging out and Halloween was totally last month...

I have no legitimate reason for not trying this sucker sooner than I did. I've seen it all over the place and is the beer I had normally associated with Rogue Brewing (having until recently had not ever tasted ANY of their brews). In the spirit of the season, you could actually find Glow in the Dark growlers of this sucker at Jubliation and Kelly's.

Anyway, the Rogue Dead Guy Ale is a German Maibock - a beer known for a lighter coloring than a normal Bock, but with more of a pronounced hop flavor to it. Sounds tasty. The beer is a nice golden nectar color, with a bit of filtered cloudiness. The head is light and retains itself pretty well. As described in the beer style, you've got that citrus, tart hop aroma. The taste isn't overly bitter or sour. The beer has a nice medium body with flavors of citrus and sourness that hits the middle of your tongue nicely. Given it's "kinda a Bock", you still have malt, caramel and hints of sweetness built into the brew as well. This was a really smooth beer with an enjoyable aftertaste that fills your mouth. Would pick up this beer again - it's got some good hop profiles and would be, I think, ideal for someone that is getting introduced to beers with strong hop profiles, such as an IPA. It's a stronger beer too, about 6.5% ABV, which was enjoyable.

Appearance - 4.0/5.0 - nice cloudy (but filtered), golden nectar color, nice head - lighter and decent retention
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - tart, citrus hop aroma
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - not that sour/bitter, nice medium body, hint of citrus, sourness hits middle of tongue; smooth
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - really smooth, some aftertaste but enjoyable
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - would definitely drink again - very good pale ale - more "approachable" than an ipa

Rogue: Patron Saint of Beers

Upon my last trip to ol' Papago Brewing, I ended up purchasing a number of red/IPA hybrid beers completely on accident. I could potentially get into a debate on the ethics of playing God with two such wonderful types of beers, but I'm going to just embrace the tastiness that I would expect would happen with the blending of these two styles.

The Rogue Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red Ale is an interesting blend of a hoppy pale ale with a red ale. The dark red, lightly cloudy beer has a nice foamy head and a lightly floral hop smell mixed with the malt. The hops definitely take front stage, but you can get the smell of both. The taste had some bitterness, but not as pronounced as what you'd expect in an IPA or other pale ale. The floral sourness hits ya later into each sip, but it's very enjoyable and good for a mixed audience (i.e. a group that doesn't want a full-blown IPA, but wants a bit more than a mid-range beer). The beer was pretty smooth and had a subdued, but flavorful aftertaste. I really enjoyed the blend of hops and the style of the red. A great compromise to having an IPA or a red.

Appearance - 4.0/5.0 - dark red, cloudy, nice foamy head
Smell - 4.5/5.0 - lightly floral hop mixed with malty, hops more pronounced
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - medium bitterness but nice - less hoppy than ipa but like it, enjoy the sourness, hit of floral
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - smooth, aftertaste is subdued but flavorful,
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - really enjoy the blend of hops and red ale, good for when you want the hop flavor without the ipa

Trabeck, you Rogue...

After having a few Rogue beers in San Francisco and in the Burque, I had gained a real appreciation for this brewery. Now, in ABQ, these six packs ain't cheap (I think this one was $8.99/six pack), but they are tasty.

The beer was pretty dark - perhaps not as pitch black as the Chocolate Stout, but still pretty opaque. The head (as see in el picturo) has some color to it, which was nice. Unfortunately, the head disappeared pretty quick and that gave me a bit of sad face. The smell was great - you can really get the roasted malt and oat aroma, with a hint of coffee in there. I enjoyed the various flavors this beer had, which included malt, coffee and a bit of sharp alcohol. The flavor took a bit to kick in...so don't expect a real burst of flavor immediately. When the taste comes though, it's really smooth and subdued - no punch in the face here. I really enjoyed the flavor profile of the beer - I would definitely get it again and would rank it above the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, as the coffee seems to blend better with the beer than the vanilla does.

Appearance - 4.0/5.0 - Nice and dark with a great ebony head, which unfortunately disappeared a bit quickly.
Scent -4.5/5.0 - A wonderful blend of coffee, roasted oats and malt.
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - A smooth flavor with a blend of different tastes. The flavor takes a bit to kick in, but not overwhelming when it does.
Feel -4.5/5.0 - Smooth with a good lingering flavor, but no bite.
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - Would definitely drink again, put it above a number of other porters/stouts I've had.

Rogue Chocolate Stout - A Real Treat

When Tina and I were in San Francisco, she had the Chocolate Stout at the Rogue Public House. She loved it and I got a sip and wanted some more. We were putzing around the West Side of ABQ the other day and we swung into the new(er) Quarters over there. They have an awesome liquor store and unbeknownest to me (and knownest to the Quarters people), they have a great selection of bombers and six-packs inside the cooler. To their credit, there is a little sign on the door saying "LOOK INSIDE! MORE BOMBERS IN HERE!" Love being able to read.

The Rogue Chocolate Stout is probably one of the best beers I've ever had. From first glance, the beer has a dark, rich color and the head is a frothy, creamy light chocolate brown (see the picture). The head sticks around for a while too, so you don't have to worry about blinking and it's gone. The cocoa, coffee and malt smell is really appetizing and nothing overpowers any of the scents. The best part is the taste, which has a rich dark chocolate (not really sweet) and truffle flavor. The strongest taste hits in the middle of the tongue, but it's smooth and robust at the same time. The entire beer is extremely well balanced and versitile, as a number of different types of beer drinkers would enjoy this beer. The Chocolate Stout has 69 IBUs, which surprised me as the beer wasn't all that bitter.

Oh and this beer was only $4.99 for the bomber. I ended up seeing it at Whole Paycheck Market for $5.99 and Kelly's Liquors for $6.99 (yikes!). So, if you want this beer, check it out at Quarters and save yourself a few bucks.

Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - Rich, dark color with a tasty, frothy, creamy chocolate tan head.
Smell - 5.0/5.0 - Scents of cocoa, coffee, malt - rich aroma, with a little hint of alcohol
Taste - 5.0/5.0 - Wow! Rich, roasted chocolate, truffle flavor; Smooth but robust flavor; Aftertaste a little bitter, almost dark chocolate tasting, everything extremely well blended
Feel - 5.0/5.0 - smooth, hangs out with a nice mellow aftertaste
Drinkability 5.0/5.0 - Would drink this anytime and a number of different types of beer drinkers would enjoy it too.

To Be or Not to Be, that is the Brewski

Apparently, Burt Reynolds is paying Shakespeare at a liquor store near you. We had about 30 minutes to kill before heading to the Oakland Airport, so ended up swinging into the Rogue Ale Public Room in San Francisco for a quick brew. They had a great selection on draft (probably 40% Rogue ales, 59% other microbrews, 1% the King of Beers). I ended up going with the Shakespeare Stout, as it sounded very dramatic.

I love nitrous beers - they have this amazing waterfall effect as the head settles. Just fun to watch and take in as the beer works its mojo. The beer's head was a nice creamy tan color and featured some light coffee/mocha scents. The beer itself was really smooth. The coffee and chocolate taste was light (just like the smell), but flavorful. No aftertaste on this one - just a great stout. WAY better than a Guiness, I'd get this one again. Too bad there isn't a Rogue place here in ABQ...curses.


Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - love the waterfall effect of the nitrous, tan creamy head - very full
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - silky smooth - coffee and light chocolate taste
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - no aftertaste, extremely smooth in mouth
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - very light with coffee/mocha accents
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - way better than a Guiness - very tasty, smooth - I will be repeating this beer.

I didn't get to have much of the Chocolate Stout that Tina had gotten, but damn, what a good beer. I will be on the look out for it and a review will be posted when I get my hands on it.