Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout

Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout

Where purchased: Tamura’s Fine Wine and Liquor

Cost: $6.99

ABV: 6.1% according to Beer Advocate

Size: 22oz

I bought this beer a couple of months ago to taste for the purpose of creating this blog.  But, I was still trying to figure out how to photograph my beers back then, so I decided to scrap the photos, and give this beer a shot again.  Let me just say that I was more than happy to give this beer another go.  I love this beer in all of its toasty goodness, and this second tasting did not disappoint.

The nose on this beer is of a toasted/roasted malt with hints of chocolate.  There is also a hint of alcohol coming through on the nose.  The initial flavors of the beer is predominantly bitter roasted malt.  But, something starts to come through shortly after that, and I can only describe it as that bitter full bodied flavor of high quality cocoa chocolate without any of the sweetness.  Finally, the subtle flavors of chocolate finish off this beer.  Books on brewing, and other reviewers will say that oatmeal lends a nice "mouth feel" to beer.  Admittedly, I forgot to notice the mouth feel on this beer because I was too busy enjoying the complexity of the flavors.  This is definitely a beer I could enjoy on a weekly basis.  

Rogue Mom Hefeweizen

Rogue Mom Hefeweizen

Where purchased: Tamura’s Fine Wine and Liquor

Cost: $6.99

ABV: 4.8% according to Beer Advocate

Size: 22oz

When I first grabbed this beer off the shelf, I hesitated.  I wasn't keen on drinking a beer brewed with roses.  Quite frankly, I don't care how roses smell.  But, I decided to keep an open mind, and I purchased the beer anyway.  

I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors and the aroma of the beer.  This beer actually smelled a lot like the typical malty home brew that I brew up at home.  The nose was of fermented malt which is fairly pungent with no hops aroma.  The flavor was also tart through the entire tasting.  I would have to guess that this tartness is from the fact that the beer probably isn't heavily hopped.  Overall, I really liked the clean yet tart flavor of this beer.  What was interesting to me was a slight flavor of citrus in the aftertaste.  It might be the rose flavors that I'm interpreting as citrus.  

I consider this beer to be clean and sessionable, and considering that it's only 4.8%, I could definitely enjoy more than one of these in one sitting.  

Samuel Adams Rebel IPA

Samuel Adams Rebel IPA

Where purchased: Gift from a friend

Cost: Gift

ABV: 6.5%

Size: 12oz

When my friend told me that Costco was selling a Samuel Adams IPA pack, I headed immediately down to Costco, and mistakenly bought the Samuel Adams Hopology pack.  The Hopology pack was an interesting mix of beer, but I still couldn't talk to my friend about the Rebel IPA.  About a week ago, he handed me a six pack with three Rebel IPAs, and three of his home brewed hefeweisen beers.  

The Rebel IPA has a malty nose that has a bit of caramel or butterscotch character to it.  The beer is generally bitter throughout, but is well balanced with the strong flavor or malt.  That butterscotch flavor on the malt prevails through the entire taste.  I also noticed a nice inclusion of hops flavor throughout the entire tasting.  Interestingly, the hops aroma isn't very prevalent, probably due to the fact that the malt nose is so strong.  While the Rebel IPA isn't the type of IPA that I normally drink, it's still an enjoyable IPA.  I would definitely buy a case of this beer.  

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA

Where purchased: Tamura’s Fine Wine and Liquor

Cost: $11.29

ABV: 6.4%

Size: 6/12oz Bottles

I saw this six pack of Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA prominently displayed at my local beer store, and I just had to buy it.  However designed this label is a genius because I could just imagine the flavors of hops in this beer.  Well, they weren't kidding.  This is a very hoppy beer.  The nose on this beer is very hoppy with a lot of grapefruit and some floral aroma to it.  I actually detected a slight bit of sweetness on the mid palette, but bitterness on the back of the tongue.  I even detected a slight caramel malt after taste which was very nice.  Overall, I felt that this beer was the right balance for my tastes.  

Something I should note, is after drinking all of these craft beers, I was half expecting this beer to be slightly cloudy.  I even expected to see some sediment at the bottle of the bottle.  I was wrong on both counts.  The beer poured clear, and there was no sediment or yeast at the bottom of the bottle.  

Coronado Brewing & Cigar City Brewing Jurata Porter

Coronado Brewing & Cigar City Brewing Jurata Baltic Porter

Where purchased: Tamura’s Fine Wine and Liquor

Cost: $7.79

ABV: 8.0%

Size: 22oz

When I purchased this beer, I didn't realize that the ABV was 8%.  In fact, I went straight into tasting before I even read the label.  Surprisingly for a beer with such a high ABV, the beer wasn't harsh, and it didn't drink like a beer with a high alcohol content.  

This beer is a collaboration between Coronado Brewing and Cigar City Brewing.  The beer is named after a mermaid that used to swim the depths of the Mediterranean.  They named this beer after the mermaid because of the special yeast they used that would need to traverse the depths of their fermenters to create this beer.

The nose on this beer is of roasted malts and coffee and hops.  There was also a slight sweetness on the nose as well as the alcohol.  There was also a hint of sweetness when drinking this beer, and I felt that it was due to the alcohol content in this beer bringing out that sweetness.  But, mostly the flavors are dominated by the roasted coffee flavors, and a bitter finish.  Is should note that while the roasty flavors dominated, the coffee flavor isn't as strong on this beer as I've noticed on other porters.  Overall though, I enjoyed this beer, and would definitely get it again.  

Deschutes Hop in the Dark C.D.A.

Deschutes Brewery Hop in the Dark C.D.A. (Cascadian Dark Ale)

Where purchased: Tamura’s Fine Wine and Liquor

Cost: $5.99

ABV: 6.8%

Size: 22oz

I'm a fan of porters and stouts.  I really enjoy the coffee and chocolate flavors that roasted barley and grains impart on a beer.  I'm also a fan of IPAs and some highly hopped ales.  Lately, I've been noticing a few beers that mix the dark roasted flavor of a porter with the hoppiness of an IPA.  This is Deschutes' take on a dark ale using roasted malt and hops to provide that IPA character.  

When I initially opened the beer, the nose on this beer was a predominantly roasted malts and coffee.  It actually smelled like I walked into a room after coffee was just brewed.  But, as the beer warmed a little, the smell of the hops started to become more noticeable.  The smell of the hops did have a bit of citrus character to it, but it was faint.  The initial flavors on the front of the tongue was slightly bitter, while the mid palette was of roasted malt and coffee.  By the time the beer washed over the back of my palette, the flavors of hoppy citrus started to take over.  

Overall, I was happy with the flavors of this beer.  I really enjoyed being able to experience the coffee flavors of a porter, while also being able to enjoy a bit of citrus hops.