Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Review

Brewery: Rogue Ales Brewery | Beer: Santa's Private Reserve
Style: American Red Ale | ABV: 6.0% | IBUs: 44
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Think about winter seasonals, and what comes to mind is a parade of rich, dark, and warming beers. While that makes sense, it can get a little old. That's why I love when brewers release lighter winter seasonals that buck the trend.

Rogue apparently shares my opinion, as their Santa's Private Reserve is an American Red Ale. While it may not yet be winter, it's cold enough outside that I decided to post up my review of 2008's batch.

A double-hopped variation on the old Saint Rogue Red, Santa's Private Reserve is a big Red Ale with ABV and IBU ratings to match. The backbone is built from Carastan, Crystal, Rogue Micro Barley Farm Dare, and Risk malts varieties. It's hopped with Chinook, Rogue Farm Revolution, and Freedom Hops. As always, everything is brought to life with the house Pacman yeast.

Rogue is a brief in their description, noting on that it is "reddish in color, with a roasty, malty flavor and a hoppy spruce finish." Let's pretend it's December and dig in!

Appearance: A crystal-clear, rich reg-orange body with brilliant orange highlights. Up top, two creamy fingers of off-white head that hang around a long time, leaving great lacing.

Aroma: Citrusy and somewhat piney hops over a caramel malt base. Basically a Red Ale with the hops cranked up.

Taste: Up front, a properly bitter splash of hops with citrus, tropical fruit and piney character. Underneath, a toasty, biscuity, and caramel-like malt backbone keeps everything balanced well. Bitterness continues throughout the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: A creamy medium body with smooth carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: A great session beer if you're into hops.

Verdict: I'm always happy to find great Winter seasonals besides the typical Stouts, Barleywines, etc. and Santa's Private Reserve fits the bill well. If you're looking for a Winter seasonal heavy on the hops, but perhaps not as heavy as Celebration, this is a great option.

Grade: A

Note: While the review above is being posted in October 2010, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in December 2008.

Rogue Chocolate Stout Review

Brewery: Rogue Ales Brewery | Beer: Chocolate Stout
Style: American Stout | ABV: 6.0% | IBUs: 69
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

According to their Web site, Rogue originally created Chocolate Stout for export to Japan. Apparently a success there, the brewery released the beer in the American market back in 2001. Since then, the beer has built up a loyal following and rather deep trophy case. In fact, Rogue notes that it's the only American beer to win an award at the prestigious Mondial de la bière festival in Strasbourg, France.

As you'd hope from a cholatey beer, actual chocolate is added to the beer, in this case imported Dutch bittersweet chocolate.Its backbone is built from Northwest Harrington and Klages, Crystal 135-165, Beeston Chocolate, rolled oats and roasted barley. Cascade is the only hop variety employed and it uses the house Pacman yeast.

Here's how Rogue describe the finished product:

Ebony in color with a rich creamy head. The mellow flavor of oats, chocolate malts and real chocolate are balanced perfectly with the right amount of hops for a bitter-sweet finish.

I love a well-made chocolaty beer, so hopes are pretty high here. Let's see if it can live up.

Appearance: An intensely dark brown body with only the barest hints of brown highlights around the edges. Up top, two fingers of creamy tan head that sticks around a long time and leaves good sheets of lacing.

Aroma: Wow, this is certainly a chocolate themed beer! The aroma profile is absolutely dominated by creamy milk chocolate that reminds me of premium chocolate powder. There's also some dark roasted malt, coffee, and faint alcohol notes to be found, but it's mostly about the chocolate in the nose.

Taste: A big dark-roasted malt profile with plenty of the chocolate powder flavors going on throughout. Certainly one of the most chocolaty beers I've ever tried. As for the Cascade hops, they certainly let their presence be known. It's sweet, and yet nicely bitter at the same time, making it a very balanced beer. The aftertaste is roasty and chocolaty with good bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and wonderfully creamy with smooth carbonation. The finish is sweet at first with the hops drying it a little as it goes on.

Drinkability: About average; you won't be pounding it like a light lager, but it's hardly a sipper either.

Verdict: Here's a chocolate beer that really delivers in the chocolate department. But, it's not just a one-dimensional beer though, there's enough complexity here to make this a real winner.

Grade: A

Rogue Kells Irish Style Lager Review

Brewery: Rogue Ales Brewery | Beer: Kells Irish Style Lager
Style: Premium American Lager | ABV: 5.0% | IBUs: 28
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Back in 1998, the owners of Kells Irish Pubs were looking for an American beer to put under Guinness in beer cocktails. They approached Rogue to make it happen and after four test batches Rogue brewmaster John Maier delivered what we have here.

I'm listing this as a Premium American Lager, as that seems to be the closest fit in the BJCP guidelines. They describe the style as "refreshing and thirst quenching, although generally more filling" than Standard and Light American Lagers. They also typically contain less adjuncts (or indeed none at all) when compared to their little brothers. For reference, "green bottle" beers such as Heineken and Stella Artois fall into this category.

Sterling hops provide bitterness and Czech Pils Yeast is employed for fermentation. The backbone is built from Great Western Pale, Crystal -15, Wheat & Acidulated malts varieties. Here's how Rogue pitch the finished product:

An Irish style lager with a smooth mellow flavor and an apple crisp finish. Perfect for floating Guinness! The recipe was developed for our friends at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub.

Side note: I know a pint glass doesn't seem like the right choice for this beer, but I had a pint glass decorated specifically for this beer, so I felt obligated. Anyway, let's get started.

Appearance: A slightly hazy, pale golden-straw body capped by two fingers of off-white head that settles quickly into a thin sheet and leaves decent lacing.

Aroma: Grassy and lemony hops over a sweet pale malt base.

Taste: Very similar to the aroma; grassy and lemony hops over a honeyish pale malt backbone. Simple, yet quite effective. The aftertaste is grainy and honey-like.

Mouthfeel: A medium-light body with good carbonation. Crisp with a clean, dry finish.

Drinkability: The 22 ounce bomber goes back rapidly, making this a very drinkable proposition.

Verdict: I may not be an expert on the subject of Irish Lagers, but I do know that this is a tasty brew. If you're looking for a lightish lager with some character, you won't go wrong here.

Grade: B+

Rogue Dead Guy Ale Review

Brewery: Rouge Ales Brewery | Beer: Dead Guy Ale
Style: Maibock/Helles Bock | ABV: 6.5% | IBUs: 40
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Dead Guy is Rogue's flagship beer, and one of the most ubiquitous brews in the craft world. The dead guy logo was originally designed as a tap sticker in honor of the Day of the Dead, but it proved so popular that Rogue applied it to their Maibock.

The Maibock, or Helles Bock, style is a strong German lager brewed for consumption during spring. According to the BJCP, it can be thought of as "either a pale version of a traditional Bock, or a Munich Helles brewed to Bock strength."

Not just a catchy label, Dead Guy has won a slew of awards, including nine medals from the World Beer Championships. The backbone is built of Northwest Harrington, Klages, Maier Munich, and Carastan malts, Perle and Saaz hop varieties provide bitterness, and fermentation is provided by Rogue's proprietary Pacman Yeast.

Rogue describe the beer as "deep honey in color with a malty aroma and a rich hearty flavor." Sounds good, let's crack it open and pour it into my handy Dead Guy pint glass.

Appearance: A slightly hazy, golden-amber body capped by two fingers of creamy, off-white head that endures well and leaves good lacing.

Aroma: Lots of toasty caramel malt with a dash of spicy hops.

Taste: The focus here is really the bold and toasty caramel malt backbone, which is spot-on for the style. Towards the end a mild alcohol character emerges, about equal to what you'd expect to find in a Bock. It finishes with earthy and subtlety spicy hops that help to dry everything out.

Mouthfeel: A medium, slightly creamy body that features moderate carbonation.

Drinkability: Just shy of session territory, but still very drinkable.

Verdict: Dead Guy is a tasty and very drinkable beer with lots of character, but falls short of being exceptional. A worthy flagship brew for one of the bigger American microbreweries.

Grade: B+

Rogue Somer Orange Honey Ale Review

Brewery: Rogue Ales Brewery | Beer: Somer Orange Honey Ale
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale | ABV: 5.2% | IBUs: 10
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

This review is a part of an article on summer seasonals as part of the monthly beer blogging project The Session.

Rogue is a Oregon-based brewery that's been producing great beer since way back in 1988, making them one of the oldest micro-breweries in the country. Best known for their Dead Guy Ale and awesome silk-screened 22 oz. (or bomber) bottles featuring the "Rogue" character, they've become one of the most ubiquitous and visible craft-brew brands around.

Somer Orange Honey Ale is a new addition to the Rogue lineup this year, though similar beers have been available at the brewery for a few years. Here's how Rogue describe Somer: "this unfiltered beer flavors of orange and honey with a nice medium-sweet malt character."

Northwest two-row and wheat malt varieties make up the body, while Crystal and Rogue Farms Willamette hops provide the bitterness. The rest of the ingredient list is a little more exotic, and includes chamomile, coriander, sweet orange peel, Oregon wildflower honey, and oats. This is shaping up to be quite the unique beer.

Appearance: A brilliantly hazy, golden-orange body capped by two fingers of off-white head that quickly fade into minimal lacing. It's worth noting that the last pour is far hazier than the first pour.

Aroma: Fruit, mild coriander, and mild bitterness over a wheat base; it's lacking just a little as far as intensity goes.

Taste: Golden fruit, citrus, and spicy hops on top of a pale malt and wheat backbone. I'm not picking up too much in the way of honey, but it's there if you go looking. The aftertaste is toasty and grainy with a hint of bitter citrus.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a drying finish.

Drinkability: As a summer seasonal, it's no surprise that this is refreshing and highly drinkable.

Verdict: Somer Orange Honey is a tasty and refreshing summer seasonal that works nicely on a hot day, though it would probably benefit from more citrus and honey. Ultimately, a little too plain to really capture my attention.

Grade: B