Rogue Brewery beers have probably the most distinctive labels of any brew on the market today. Laden with images reminiscent of early 20th century communist propaganda the bottles showcase proletariat workers, Trotsky lookalikes and a scary skeleton. Despite reveling in such a heinous ideology, Rogue Brewery has produced some incredible beers (I can’t fault them too much for the communist stuff; the labels are what made me want to try it).
The first beer I sampled was the Brutal Bitter that, as someone who hates really bitter beer, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy. Man was I wrong. This is a phenomenal brew. It poured from the bottle into my stein with a rich copper color and a nice head. It has a nice citrus smell, actually its one of the best smelling beers I’ve had in a long time which makes a huge difference in quality. The full bodied taste was made up of hops, citrus and, I had to look this up because I was unsure exactly what it was, almost an apple/grapefruit flavor.
You can’t go wrong with this beer. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to sampling other brews from Rogue.
Agree, Rogue makes some great beers. I don’t think I’ve had one (and I’ve had a lot) that I don’t enjoy.
That said, the brewery is tempting fate by creating so many different types of beer. I favor the Dogfish method of having a handful of regular brews, coupled with rotating specialties.
Try the Mocha Porter if you can find it.
I recently tried the Rogue Bitter and I wasn’t all that impressed. In all likelihood, this had something to do with the fact that it followed after a Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA, which is the best beer I’ve ever had.
I’m a big fan of the Rogue Dead Guy Ale. Tastes pretty good and one of the highest alcohol contents in a beer out there.