This one I found at my local Wegmans. For those of you in the northeast, I don't need to introduce the store to you. To those of us who aren't from this area, it's kinda the antithesis of Wal-Mart in these parts. 24 hour grocery stores that actually try to carry stuff beyond the bland mass produced crap one usually finds on stores these days.
The initial smell of this one is a very distinct hoppy ale scent. Not too dissimilar from the Loose Cannon IPA by Heavy Seas Brewing Company that I've mentioned numerous times, but the hops don't smell quite as diverse and strong. The ale base smells slightly darker and has more of a caramel scent to it than the Loose Cannon, but of course it isn't nearly as dark as the Black Cannon variant. I can't smell any spices to speak of, I think most of the flavor is going to come from the hops and the beer itself.
The taste is damn near indescribable. The hops are almost nonexistant for the initial taste, but they come back very strongly in the aftertaste. The taste itself is almost pure malt, but it's not sweet or strong because the moment you start to catch that taste, it's more than balanced out by the strong hops.
Personally, I would have made this one with slightly less hops, so that they balance out the malt rather than overbalance it. But this is Rogue, and their style leans more towards hoppy, so I can't say I didn't expect it. And everyone has their own taste. That's what makes microbrews so interesting. The malty/caramel flavor does make for a good winter/christmas drink. But I'd only recommend this for a serious hop lover. Even I find the hops a bit strong, and that's saying a lot.
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