Day 69: 03.10.10 Rogue Double Mocha Porter

Rogue Ales Brewery / Brewer's on the Bay

Newport, Oregon


Double Mocha Porter


Style: Double/Imperial Porter
Availability: Limited - Rotating
Format: 750ml painted
ABV: 8.2%
IBUs: 78
Malts: C120, C150, Kiln Coffee, Black, Chocolate and Rogue Micro Barley Farm Risk™ malts.
Hops: Summit and Rogue Micro Hopyard Willamette.


Bottle text & Info:

“Brown black color with a rocky reddish tan head. Dark chocolate, roasted nut, creamy and melon aromas follow through on rich, supple entry to a dryish medium-full body with delicious dark nut toast notes and a long, tart, kumquat, cocoa, and pepper fade with vibrant astringency. A delicious and food friendly porter to serve with charred steaks”

- World Beer Championship Judges     

Double Mocha Porter (previously XS Imperial Porter) is a new package for 2010. It was first brewed in July 2007 as a special product for the Oregon Brewer's Festival and is an Imperial version of Rogue's award winning Mocha Porter.


Tasting Notes:
Pours nice and brownish black with some rocky mocha colored head - two fingers deep with good retention. Head eventually dies down to a ring around the glass. Smells of roasted malts and some surprising citrus notes. Taste is essentially the nose ratcheted up. Slight milk chocolate followed by significants bitter chocolate notes ending with a slight, pleasant orange and pine note peeking through. Since this a porter, i'm guessing the majority of the roast flavors are coming from the kiln coffee. The high ABV on this is masterfully covered - i'd never guess this is any higher in alcohol than you're run-o-the-mill porter. Beautifully done. Overall a really solid offering from Rogue. That being said, this beer still stays true to everything i hate about Rogue: an over priced offering that shows a lot of restraint. I understand that Rogue is really proud and brewmaster John Maier is in love with their own Pacman yeast - but using the same yeast across the board limits these beers, keeping some of them from becoming superb. I'd like to see them become a little more creative, take a few more chances. Rumor has it that John, the face of Rogue, is leaving. Maybe some things will change for the better. Either that or Rogue will completely bomb. We'll just have to wait and see. 

Day 68: 03.09.10 Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner

Rogue Ales Brewery / Brewer's on the Bay

Newport, Oregon


Morimoto Imperial Pilsner


Style: American Double/Imperial Pilsner
Availability: Limited - Rotating
Format: 750ml ceramic swing-top
ABV: 8.8%
IBUs: 74
Malts: French Pilsner
Hops: Sterling


Bottle text & Info: 
Imperial Pilsner, part of the Morimoto Signature Series, was launched in September 2003. The beer was selected by internationally acclaimed Chef Masaharu Morimoto--a James Beard awarded chef and one of the stars of the Food Network series, Iron Chef. Morimoto Imperial Pilsner is golden in color with a dry hop floral aroma and intense hop bitterness supported by a big malty backbone which culminates into a hedonistic mouthful.


Tasting Notes:
Pours an opaque golden orange with little to no, white bubbling head.  Smells sweetly of grassy hops and biscuit. Silky smooth, light to medium bodied mouthfeel with medium range carbonation. Tastes of significant pilsner malt - sweet bready, doughy, slightly astringent - finishing with some superb grass-like hops. Puckering on the end which I love in a pilsner. The alcohol is beautifully masked. I don't get the citrus that most people have raved about with this beer. I can say, nearing $15 a bottle, these can tend to collect dust on shelves - so I'm gonna chalk this up to not being as fresh as I would have like to have tried. A cool session, nonetheless - and my first imperial pils. Thanks and beer karma galore to Xpdtn Grant for this awesome birthday gift. 

Day 40: 02.09.10 Rogue John John Dead Guy

Rogue Ales Brewery/ Brewer's on the Bay

Newport, Oregon


John John Dead Guy Ale


Style: Maibock / Helles Bock
Availability: Limited - Brewed Once
Format: 22oz
ABV: 6.4% 
IBUs: 40
Malt: Carastan, Rogue Micro-Barley Farm Dare & Risk malts. 
Hops: Saaz, Willamette, Rogue Micro-Farm Hop Yard Revolution hops.
Yeast & Water: Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water.


Bottle text & Info:
In a collaboration of crafts, Rogue Brewmaster John Maier and Rogue Spirits Master Distiller John Couchot have joined forces to create a distinct, innovative series of brews called John John Ales. The series will take Rogue Ales legends and age them in Rogue Spirits barrels. A 3,100 gallon batch of John John Ale produces 1357 cases of beer. The first of the John John series is John John Dead Guy Ale, Rogue’s award winning Dead Guy Ale matured in Rogue’s award winning Dead Guy Whiskey barrels. 


Tasting Notes:
Pours a clear glowing amber color with an inch of ivory head that sits and never dissipates until drinking commences. A gentle pour unleashes a beautiful, vigorous swirl of carbonation persists throughout the session. Nothing too special on the nose, some sweet malts followed by slight whiskey and oak notes that are not nearly as noticeable as I had hoped. A medium bodied ale with a soft mouthfeel showcases a strong billing of american whiskey from front to back. For those who enjoy barrel aged ales, you will probably find this a bit mild but it does have some nice flavor profiles. Real basic, but pretty solid. Malt to Whiskey finishing with slight wood, vanilla and caramel notes. Too bad they don't char the barrels at Rogue. That would've been a nice touch. I think part of the reason people (myself included) find Rogue so underwhelming is that there are no extremes. All the ales seem to achieve a sense of balance that sometimes can actually distract from signatures of certain styles as in this case: where the whiskey is not strong enough. 


Bottom line: In this case, I actually think Rogue has found something. A barrel aged whiskey ale that's sessionable? hmmm.....ok Rogue, imma let this slide although less than 7% at almost $9 a bomber is borderline insulting.