Day #341 – Rogue Santas Private Reserve

Ah yes, another Christmas beer! This one even has a picture of Santa on it which makes it all the more cooler. Let’s get into it.

Rogue Santas Private Reserve

Rogue Ales of course is one of the better breweries that I have reviewed beer from. They are located in Newport, Oregon and I can safely say that they distribute WAY more to our area than I have been able to review. Such is the way of things when you have only a single beer to choose in a day and a whole wall of options to select from. Maybe if I opt for a 2nd year of this crazy project then we’ll see what happens. We’ll see. Anyways this is their seasonal winter release (obviously) and it is classified as an Amber Ale. This is a hopped up version of one of their original brews, the Saint Red with double the hops. After hearing that I have a bit of an idea of what to expect.

I am absolutely shocked to find out I do not have a Rogue glass. Not one! Well, into my santa Franziskaner it goes and it looks quite nice in it as well.

This beer pours a clear amber orange color with a foamy off-white head. Lots of carbonation bubbles emanate from the base of the glass.

Hops can definitely be detected on the nose, with a bit of caramel sweetness and malt undertones. The hops are not terribly aggressive but rather earthy, leafy and soft. Maybe I’m imagining it but there might be a bit of holiday spice in this. Might be.

The flavor is a bit drier than I was anticipated and it leaves an odd aftertaste on the palate after the finish. The hops provide quite a bitterness that appears in the middle of the flavor and goes through the finish. No spice to speak of however.

Well I can say it smells better than it tastes, and it’s worth a try but I wouldn’t order another.

Cheers!

Day #279 – Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

Tonight was quite the eventful night for me. I went out to an outdoors concert in near southside Fort Worth, which was free, and then walked to a nearby brewpub that literally JUST opened on Saturday. They are so new in fact that they have yet to start brewing or even cooking their own food! It’s more like a soft opening I suppose. It’s called Zio Carlo and I could see myself making this a regular stop every week. They were a bit busy this night and I kind of felt neglected by the staff for a bit but whatever. They’re still learning.

Anyways they had a few things on tap so I will review a beer that I tried here tonight. I’ll save the Samuel Adams for tomorrow night. 🙂

Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

This is a brown ale from Rogue that started as a winter seasonal but I believe turned into a year round production. 6%.

Clear dark ruby pour mixed with heavy brown hues with a small amount of head.

Smells of homebrew sludge, light hops and brown malts. Sweet tea aromas also with a leafy quality. I’d say there is quite a bit of winter spice mixed in with this as well.

Taste is dry leaves with a teabag type characteristic. Slightly Medicinal with a large essence of vanilla? Odd but I’ll go with it. Nuts on the finish. Not sure how I feel about this one. It’s not bad but certainly has a unique quality to it.

As far as the venue, I’ll reserve my judgement for when they are running at max capacity. They were out of several beers, had no popcorn to offer and the pretzels were stale. The lady behind the bar (who I suspect was a part-owner) paid me absolutely no attention when I wanted a beer. I asked to meet the owner and he never came over. Judging on this night only it bombs, but I will come back when they actually have something to offer and will review for real.

Cheers!

Day #212 – Chatoe Rogue Single Malt Ale

At a tasting tonight and I came across something that I know is available here. It’s from a very reputable company so hopefully it’s good.

Chatoe Rogue Single Malt Ale

Rogue started their Chatoe series a few years ago and they label it as “GYO”. This stands for Grow Your Own, in which they grow their own ingredients on site and use only that in brewing. This one is made using only one strain of everything, malt, hops, water and yeast. All from on site.

Pours a hazy orange color with a huge fizzy white head. This beer opened as a gusher, and it gushed and gushed.

Aroma is a bit bland. Malts and grains with some grassy notes. Not too much more to it than that.

Flavor is dry, some grains and a whole lot of boring. Not too impressed here. Oh well.

Cheers!

Day #118 – Rogue Dead Guy Ale

So very nice that my faith in the Mavericks last night was validated! They move on to the 2nd round and I move on to Day 118. I also thought it would be appropriate to feature YET ANOTHER beer from Oregon….just to rub some salt on it. 🙂

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Rogue Ales are based out of Newport, OR, so not quite Portland but still within the same state. This beer is classified as a Heller Bock or a Maibock. This beer was originally created in celebration of All Souls Day, November 1st. Apparently it was so popular they decided to put it into regular rotation. Now it’s one of their top sellers!

This beer pours clear copper orange color with a foamy white head. Very carbonated.

The aroma is woody sweet with a dry bitter maltyness. There is also some sort of spice that I can’t exactly place. It’s like a mix of fruity notes and woody, earthy spices.

The flavor is spicy with hops and bitterness, with sweet flavors of fruit and sugar. The malty flavors come in afterwards that finish with a tea-like flavor. Interesting…to say the least. I would drink this again if it were offered me, but it is honestly not my favorite style.

Cheers!