Rogue Chipotle Ale

I’m glad I was able to get a bottle of this beer. I just brewed a chipotle stout, and I wanted to see how the flavor came through in this beer. This beer features 2-row, Rogue Dare and Risk malts with Rogue Revolution and Rebel hops, and of course chipotle peppers. It’s basically an amber ale base.

Stats:
Chili Beer. 5.5% ABV. 35 IBUs. Oregon.

Dark amber color with a bit of a head when poured, but relaxes back down to nearly nothing.

There’s really only a hint of chipotle on the nose, with mostly malt coming through.

Mouthfeel is medium with a medium carbonation. It’s easy to mistake some of the chipotle heat for spritzy carbonation.

The first thing that hits the palate is the slighty grainy malt profile, but the chipotle smokey-ness comes in right after, filling the mid-palate. The flavor is hardly overwhelming, and then transitions to a grainy backend with just a tiny bit of heat. Long apricot and grain finish.

I’m pretty disappointed with this one. I absolutely love that chipotle flavor, but it falls short. I suppose it’s a good thing that it’s not over-the-top, but it just leaves you with a very forgettable beer. 85 points.

Rogue Yellow Snow IPA

Here’s an IPA that I’ve never had before. This Rogue IPA features 2-row, Cara Foam, and Melanoiden malts with Amarillo and Perle hops.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 6.2% ABV. 70 IBUs. Oregon.

Fairly yellow in color with a nice head and fantastic lacing.

Quite piney and citrusy on the nose. Reminds me of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but with a dose of pine added to it, but otherwise quite citrusy.

Mouthfeel is pretty decent. Fairly medium body with a low-medium carbonation.

Citrus hits the palate first, but the pine follows just after. Brings a little bit of butter and vanilla on the mid-palate and then finishes on a fairly high bitter note with that dose of pine again.

Pretty solid beer here and now probably one of my favorite Rogue’s. 89 points.

Chatoe Rogue First Growth OREgasmic Ale

So far I’ve been really impressed with the Chatoe Rogue beers. They use their own malts and hops to make these beers which is a pretty rare thing in the beer world. This one is a pale with Micro Barley Farm First Growth Dare and Risk malts and Willamette, Sterling, and First Growth Micro Hopyard Revolution hops.

Stats:
American Pale Ale. 6.0% ABV. 40 IBUs. Oregon.

Dark orange in color and very hazy with a nice head.

First sniff reminds me of every other Rogue beer with a slight yeast and hop aroma with a little bit of diacetyl. But on closer inspection it’s got a really nice citrus component and brings a lovely red fruit thing, especially cranberries.

Very nice mouthfeel, medium to full bodied with a perfect amount of carbonation.

Citrus and pine tend to dominate the palate, in fact, it’s a little bit too much. That cranberry thing does come through a bit, which I like. Diacetyl isn’t as present, because I think the hops cover a lot up. Considerable hop bitterness on the finish. Now I’m getting an incredible mint flavor on the finish, which I find fascinating.

If you don’t like hops, forget it. This is a bit off-balanced with the hops dominating the malt characteristics. It does have some nice flavors, but this is far from a mind-blowing beer. I will recommend. 86 points.

Rogue Double Chocolate Stout

This not so cheap beer from Rogue is part of their double series, including Double Dead Guy and Double Mocha Porter. This beer features C120, Chocolate, and Risk malts with Cascade and Revolution hops, rolled oats, honey, natural chocolate flavoring, and as usual, Pacman yeast. This beer did win a gold at the latest World Beer Championships, so let’s see how it is.

Stats:
Imperial Stout. 8.7 % ABV. 50 IBUs. Oregon.

Pours like black tar. One of the darkest stouts I’ve ever seen. It has a tan head that does not go away at all.

The nose smells like a bowl of Hersheys dark chocolate syrup. That is all.

Fairly thick bodied, but has enough carbonation to make it drinkable.

The palate is dark, rich, thick chocolate. It gets quite bitter though, but with a highly roasted coffee flavor, and a slight dirt taste. The length is immense, but it’s a really bitter coffee, chocolate flavor, and it’s actually not that great. It’s slightly sweet, which works for this beer. There is also a tad bit of alcohol that comes through which concerns me.

Well, I do like this beer, but you shouldn’t spend over $13 on it like I did. It’s a little overbearing and I think the chocolate hides some issues underneath. 89 points.

Chatoe Rogue First Growth Dirtoir

This is actually a black lager from Rogue’s Chatoe line. The Chatoe series is essentially an estate beer, meaning that most, if not all, of the ingredients come from them. This beer features Melanoidin, Carafe Special II, Black, Chocolate, Rogue’s Risk malts with Rogue’s Independent and Revolution hops.

Stats:
Schwarzbier. 15º Plato (6.0% ABV). 35 IBUs. Oregon.

This is black, no light is coming through here at all. It’s got a pretty dark tan colored head.

The nose comes across like a nice stout. A ton of roasted malts on here, giving a lot of coffee and chocolate. I’m also getting this really earthy, dirt component. A hint of tobacco and vanilla. And a slight woody scent. Nice nose.

This is medium bodied, but fairly high carbonation giving it a rather light and easy drinking mouthfeel.

A bit subdued at first, but the chocolate really coats the palate. Nice roasted coffee flavors with a shot of vanilla, a squeeze of orange, a hand-full of dirt. Maybe a few oak chips fell into the batch with a Starbucks mocha. Low bitterness and a nice finish of mocha.

This is the best Rogue beer I’ve had. This is essentially a light stout, but easy drinking. Grab this beer if you can find it. 91 points.

Rogue Shakespeare Stout

Another highly rated stout from Rogue. This beer features Northwest Harrington and Klages, Crystal, and Beeston Chocolate malts, with rolled oats and roasted barley Seems to be the same from the Chocolate stout. Cascade hops and, as always, the Pacman yeast.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 6.0% ABV. (15º Plato). 69 IBUs. Oregon.

Black in color with dark brown edges. Leaves a very nice head and good lacing.

The nose is so chocolate-y, I thought this was a chocolate beer. It’s a bit earthy and roasty, the hops come through just a little bit, which I like.

Medium bodied with good carbonation, very drinkable stout.

Very chocolatey on the plate, but a lot more earthy, and roasty. Great roasted length. Slight espresso on the back. Just a hint of fennel near the back. Some citrus notes as well, but just a hair watery.

I really like this one from rogue, and I don’t say that too often. Go grab this one. 89 points

Rogue Chocolate Stout

This is the highly rated chocolate stout from Rogue. It has an overall A on BA with the Bro’s giving it an A+, wow. This beer features Northwest Harrington and Klages, Crystal, and Beeston chocolate malts, with rolled oats and roasted barley. The hops are all Cascade. It also has imported Dutch bittersweet chocolate and, of course, Pacman yeast.

Stats:
Stout. 15° Plato (6.0% ABV.). Oregon.

Black with dark brown on the edges. Nice latte colored head.

Go to Starbucks and buy a mocha. Take off the lid, and this is what you will smell. Chocolate, and coffee.

Medium bodied with pretty high carbonation.

The chocolate comes through right at the initial attack. The mid-palate has some coffee and roasted malts, and even a little pine. Then the finish is much more of a regular stout. Very roasted malt flavor, almost burnt. I get a bit of earthyness and coffee flavors on that back.

It’s decent, but I’m definitely not as high on this as other people seem to be. It’s a little boring and light. 87 points.

Rogue Single Malt Ale

This is the second Chatoe Rogue beer that I’ve had, and I loved the first one. This beer is made with only Rogue’s Dare malt with Rogue’s Hopyard Revolution hops and of course has the Pacman yeast.

Stats:
Blonde Ale. 4.8% ABV. (12º Plato). 35 IBUs. Oregon.

Amber in color, great head and lacing.

Hops on the nose with a little pinesol action. Some good citrus flavors on the nose; orange, tangerine, pineapple and a little pear. Diacytel comes through a bit, but more contained than a lot of their beers.

Medium bodied, decent mouthfeel.

A lot of citrus up front, but some malts come through, which is actually really nice. Fairly balanced beer, some of that aforementioned diacytel, but not too bad. Slight bitterness on the back, but not bad.

A decent beer, give it a try. 88 points.

Rogue Younger’s Special Bitter

Named after Don Younger, this is a classic Rogue beer, so it was kind of shocking to me that it’s not even listed on their website right now. I can’t tell you what is in this beer except the Pacman yeast, of course.

Stats:
English Bitter. 4.8% ABV (12° Plato). 35 IBUs. Oregon.

Coppery color, fairly orangeish and a bit cloudy. A little bit of head but not much, and really no lacing.

Pretty closed nose. I get a little malt and just a hint of some citrus hop notes. There is also a pretty serious diacetyl/buttery component coming through, but that is really about it.

Light to medium with a little bit of carbonation.

The palate is much more interesting than the nose. Starts off with a little pineyness from the hops and gradually gets pretty fruity. I get this really nice subtle strawberry component with maybe some cherries and other red fruit. Then it all finishes with a buttery, diacetyl note. Just a little bit of bitterness on the back, hardly worth mentioning.

Pretty solid beer, a little boring, and very drinkable. 86 points.

Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale 2009

This is Rogue’s Double Dead Guy, the 2009 vintage. I actually reviewed this before the regular Dead Guy. This beer features 2-Row, Munich, and C15 malts with only Cascade hops. The ingredients are actually not at all the same, which is interesting.

Stats:
Strong Ale. 19.8º Plato (Around 8% ABV.). Oregon.

Sort of a dark coppery color, doesn’t leave that much head.

The nose is grainy and fruity with a little bit of alcohol coming through. I’m getting a lot of lemon, apricot and pears. A lot of breadyness is coming through also.

Medium to full bodied, pretty thick actually.

Fruits hit the palate first with lemon, sour cherries, apricots, pears, and plums. Then it gets really bready and grainy. Apricots on the finish, where it drys out and gets a bit earthy with a hop bitterness.

Not a bad beer, not killing me either. Definitely not worth the normal price for it. 88 points.