St. Rogue Red
Brewed with 2-row Harrington, Klages, and Munich malt with Hugh Baird 30-37, 13-17 Carastan and Crystal 70-80 malts with a yield of .39lbs of grain per bottle. Hopped with Chinook and Centennial. 13 Plato, 44 IBU's, A.A=73, 27 Lovibond. 12 oz bottle. ~$2 at Jack's. Pours out to a slightly hazy very dep crimson, forming a modest yellow head with average retention and sparse lacing. I didn't really pour this as aggressive as I should have. Carbonation is moderate. The aroma is intense with caramel and honey with a ton of vanilla and spicy hops. The caramel is very strong but not buttery, thank heavens. The taste is very interesting. The first thing that stands out is the amount of grainy husky caramel and munich malt in here....tons of it, leaving a roasted husk taste on the tongue from beginning to end. Despite the intensely sweet nose, it's not overly sweet and there is a fair amount of Centennial flavor in the middle as well as a mild to moderate bitterness which sustains through the aftertaste. There are alot of residual sugars which I love about Rogue's brew thanks to the Pacman yeast. The hop presence is quite large in the aftertaste..the Chinook piney bitterness stands out. Hrmm...this one is a mixed bag. This is definitely a quality brew, but the combination of caramel, pine and excessive grain husk leaves me not wanting to drink another. This is a very rich brew for my tastes. Definitely worth a try for those interested in red's as it's quite unique.