Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager

4.3/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20

22 ounce bottle into pint glass, no bottle dating. Pours pitch black with a nice 2 finger fairly dense dark tan head with nice retention that reduces to a minimal cap eventually. Not much lacing on the glass. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, charcoal, smoked meat, wood, coffee, caramel, dark roasted malt, vanilla, and some herbal hops. Wow, nice aromas here that threw me for a loop. I was not expecting to be hit in the face with smokiness. Taste of big dark chocolate, dark roasted malt, smoke, wood, caramel, nuttiness, and light herbal spiciness. Decent bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, smoke, and caramel on the finish for a while. Medium carbonation and body; with a highly creamy, lush, and smooth mouthfeel for a 6% beer. Hardly any alcohol present other than a slight warming after the finish. Very drinkable stuff; and it is also very robust in flavor for the gravity. Overall this is an outstanding schwarzbier; with a very robust flavor profile, and easy smooth drinking. Definitely surprised me with the smokey profile at first though.

This is an outstanding, robust, and interesting dark lager offering. Very drinkable and enjoyable with good flavor balance!

Rogue Imperial India Pale Ale (I²PA)

3.9/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

7 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 2010. Pours hazy and cloudy orange amber color with a small dense khaki head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap. Some spotty lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big pine, orange zest, grapefruit, floral, herbal, caramel, and honey like sweetness; with a bit of booze. Pretty nice aromas here with good strength. Taste of big orange rind, pine, grapefruit, caramel, spiciness, herbal, and a bit of honey. Good amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of pine, spices, orange, and caramel on the finish for a while. Good balance of flavors; with pretty smooth drinking, but it is still a sipper at 9.5%. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very creamy and slick mouthfeel. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming on the finish present. Overall this is a damn nice DIPA despite not being a fresh bottle. Nice and citrusy flavor profile. I really enjoyed this one.

A very nice DIPA offering from Rogue. I would like to try a fresher bottle sometime.

Rogue Imperial Stout

3.2/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20

7 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 2009. Pours thick opaque black color with a thin tan head with ok retention that reduces to a very thin cap that lasts. Not much lacing clinging to the glass. Aromas of dark chocolate, caramel, coffee, roasted malts, and spicy hops. Some decent and balanced aromas. Taste of big dark chocolate, spicy hops, bitter coffee, caramel, roasted malt, and smoke. Big spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, roasted malt, and coffee. Medium carbonation and full bodied; with a very creamy and slick mouthfeel that drinks fairly smoothly. Alcohol is decently well hidden with only a warming on the finish noticed. Overall this was a bit too spicy for my liking.

A decent imperial stout, but for being 2 years old I was hoping for something much better. A bit too spicy and not enough chocolate and roasted notes.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours crystal clear red-brown color with a slightly foamy 2 finger light tan head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts for the remainder of the glass. Some light lacing on the glass that looks pretty good. Aromas of chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, honey, and hazelnut with some citrus. Fairly strong aromas. Taste of chocolate, roasted malt, hazelnut, and caramel. There is some noticeable bitterness but not much, mostly malt forward, and the flavors and bitterness are well balanced. Finish is fairly dry but there is some toasted and hazelnut flavor that lingers for a short period after the finish. Medium bodied with some fairly high carbonation. Has a bit of a prickly feel to it as you drink. Also has a fairly smooth and creamy body. Very enjoyable to drink. Overall, this is a very good brown ale with plenty of flavor and a smooth mouthfeel.

I had this a while ago at a bar and liked it, so I decided to give it another go. Nice brown ale.

Rogue Mocha Porter

3.7/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 2 finger foamy tan head with very good retention. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts. Taste of bitter chocolate and coffee with a lingering taste of chocolate and coffee and bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Feels just a tad bit thinner than I wanted it to be, but overall a tasty porter from Rogue.

The double porter and this were about the same on taste and mouth feel.

Rogue Double Mocha Porter

3.7/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

750 ml bottle. Pours dark brown with a 2 finger foamy tan head with very good retention that reduces to a cap. Some decent glass lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, with a bit of toast. Taste of sweet chocolate and coffee, with some bitterness on the finish that lingers. Medium carbonation and body with a bit of alcohol warming after the finish. Solid stuff!

This is about on par with the regular Mocha Porter. Pretty solid, this is pretty hard to find though. I found it in Columbus.

Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 1.5 finger thick dark tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves nice glass lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, coffee, cocoa, and molasses. Taste of a bit of chocolaty sweetness on the front and bitter coffee and chocolate on the finish. medium-high Carbonation and medium body. No noticeable alcohol, and a very smooth drink. A very tasty and enjoyable stout.

One of Rogue's best offerings. I know there are quite a few of their brews are hit and miss.

Rogue Captain Sigs Northwestern Ale

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours hazy red color with a 2 finger off white head with great retention. Amazing glass lacing. Aromas of caramel, citrus, and pine. Taste of caramel and citrus. Lots of bitter hops with a good balance. Nice long bitter finish. Nice sized body that goes down easy. Good amount of carbonation. Reminds me a bit of Arrogant bastard. Definitely like this one. Delicious.

This was one of my random pickups. I saw the bottle at Giant Eagle, then read the label. It said the malts and hops, and 80 IBU. Just by that info, it was enough for me to buy it lol.

Rogue Chocolate Stout

4/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle poured into Rogue pint glass. Pours opaque black with a nice 2 finger head that does not recede much at all. Very nice lacing on the glass. When I initially poured it I actually got a giant head and had to wait to pour to the rim. Nice dark chocolate and roasted malts on the nose. Taste is much of the same, very good chocolate flavor. The finish is pretty good with very slight lingering bitterness. Pretty well balanced. I will be picking this up again for sure.

Overall a very good beer, not mind blowing, but I will have to give this one another go and get some second thoughts. Also fairly easy to find. I found the rogue pint glass at Cost Plus World Market.