The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 5 Hazelnut Brown Nectar Rogue Ales and Spirits

Beer # 304 Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Brewery: Rogue Ales and Spirits

Type: Independent Brewery Est.: 1988

Location: Newport, Oregon, United States of America

Beer Style: Flavoured Nut Brown Ale

ABV: 5.6%      IBU: 33

Format: Crown Capped Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 750 ml

Cost: $6.95 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

Twitter: @SawdustCityBeer




Another brewery that I haven't had for a while, and yet are always good for a nice brew. Tonight's offering is a take on a nut brown ale, that has been infused with extract of hazelnut. I'm not a huge nut fan, I think it stems from the time I spent in the U.K. as a kid. At the time I was living with my Aunt in Glynneath, Wales. Behind the town on the mountain-side grew wild hazelnut trees, we called them filberts. My cousin and I would play on the mountain-side and snack on the nuts which were still on the terribly green side. Although edible (just barely), the very green filberts had a lovely tendency to make a belly very ill. I doubt I fully recovered from that.

Onto our beer...

Pours a rich chestnut colour with a gorgeous off-tan head made up of tiny bubbles. Aroma is roasted hazelnuts, sweet malt, hints of bread, frangelico and a little molasses. The first sip is dominated by roast hazelnuts, coffee and french vanilla hot chocolate. Pure dessert in a glass. mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly creamy. Finish is bitter, with hints of that brown nut paper that rubs off of freshly roasted hazelnut.good balance between bitter and sweet. Slightly intense flavour associated with the hazelnut extract. Overall flavour reminds me of European pastries,  rich, nutty, cakey, slightly bitter, and not overly sweet. Aeration gives us the intensity of the nut extract with some deeply caramel malt, green hops and some light espresso notes. Finish is coffee and hints of dark chocolate.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6  PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer: 5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

Another really good beer from Rogue. The balance is quite good between sweet and bitter. The only fault I find is that the nut flavour is slightly artificial feeling. I have trouble when breweries use extracts, they usually end up being too intense, and this is one of those cases. However, it doesn't ruin this beer.  Definitely worth a shot, especially if you like hazelnuts. What I would really like to do with this beer, is cook desserts with it.

Cheers

CJT

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Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout Beer

Beer # 245 Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout Beer

Rogue Ales

Newport, Oregon, USA
Independent
Flavoured Stout 5.7 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle with Vinyl Shrink-wrap label 750 ml.
$6.60 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @RogueAles

This is a beer I have been wanting to try since I heard it was going to be made. I love hot sauces and chiles and Sriracha is one that always has a place in my fridge (try it on Macaroni!)

For those who don't know, Sriracha is a hot chile sauce made with select hot peppers ground into a paste and mixed with vinegar, garlic, salt and sugar (representing the four cornerstones of Asian cuisine: spicy, sour, salty, and sweet). The sauce is thought to be first produced in a small village in Thailand called Si Racha, where it was used as a dipping sauce for seafood. However, the version we are familiar with is actually produced in California, USA.  "Rooster sauce," or as it is more saucily known as "Cock Sauce" is a stateside iteration of the Thai sauce produced by Huy Fong foods. In 1978 David Tran fled his country of Viet Nam during the war and escaped to the United States on a Taiwanese freighter called Huey Fong which Mr. Tran would eventually name his company. (So Sriracha is a Thai style sauce made in the USA by a Vietnamese man who runs a company named after a Taiwanese ship... Confused? Me too). Oh and the rooster on the label? Mr. Tran was born in the year of the rooster in the Chinese Zodiac.

Meanwhile... Back in Canada...

The beer is produced by Rogue Ales and Spirits... The lovely people who brought us Voodoo Donut beers. Tonight's offering is a very lovely stout that has had sriracha infused into it. 

Look out taste buds... here it comes...

Pours a slightly muddy black-brown that is so opaque light will not shine through. The head is deep tan in colour with red highlights, made up of small to tiny bubbles. Aroma is intensely dark chocolate and cocoa powder with hints of fresh chiles. Some wood and caramel. First sip gives us Sweet chocolate stout malty caramel, some woodiness, then the heat kicks in. Capsaicin heat trips across the tongue, and warms the throat. Heat builds. Aeration gives us a creaminess and an explosion of heat that almost singes the tongue. Flavours meld well together like Mexican Chocolate.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6  PASS
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL

Final Thoughts:

Wow, this beer rocks. You can't drink it fast though you have to sip at it or else the heat becomes too intense. It is a beer I would enjoy cooking with... BBQ sauce springs to mind.
CJT


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7 Hop IPA Rogue Farms

#213 7 Hop IPA Rogue Farms

Rogue Ales

Newport, Oregon, USA
Independent
Double India Pale Ale 
8.02 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml.
$6.60 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @RogueAles

Down again to Newport Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest. Rogue Ales is certainly one of the defining forces behind the USA's craft beer movement. Not only do they have a commitment to innovation, they have a commitment to organics, and have gone so far as to open a farm when they can grow the raw ingredients for their beer. That is where this beer comes in. The four types of barley that went into this brew were grown on the Rogue Farm; and not only that, The SEVEN types of hops that went into it were grown there too! This double IPA contains Liberty, Newport, Revolution, Rebel, Independent, Freedom, and Alluvial hop varieties (sounds like someone is waving the American flag... Or are trying to remember the names of the shuttles from the movie Armageddon... )

Freedom and Independence Shuttles

Whichever, Rogue is always good for a well balanced flavourful beer... let's see how they do this time.

Begin the Hop revolution!


Pours a dark honey colour with a short off tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is bright tropical fruit, grilled pineapple, honey, some florals, and brown sugar. First sip is deliciously malty  like a softer West Coast ale, but is bursting with bright green botanicals, plenty more fruit, and a light brown sugar taffy. Notes of pine, chamomile, tansy, as well as guava and passion fruit. Plenty of grass notes and some hay. Aeration brings out toasty malt and caramel and intensifies the herbal quality. Alcohol is evident but not overpowering, Lips are left slightly sticky.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL


Final Thoughts:

This is almost all you could ask for from a IIPA. A good strong malty character that complements a flavourful and complex set of hoppy aromas. The fruit and the pine balances well and no one aspect of the flavour tries to outshine the others... everybody just plays nice. If it were not for the 8.02 % ABV I could certainly drink this bad boy all day without complaint. However, Share this with a friend or pair it with some food: burgers, steak, ribs, pizza... this beer has you covered.


CJT


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Beer # 152 Dad's Little Helper Rogue Ales

Dad's Little Helper Black IPA

Rogue Ales

Newport, Oregon, USA
Independent
Black India Pale Ale 6.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml.
$6.60 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @RogueAles

What began as one brewpub in 1987 grew into another in 1989 and eventually an innovative and groundbreaking brewery and Distillery. Rogue Ales and Spirits is based out of Newport Oregon and has been at the forefront of the Pacific Northwest Craft Beer boom for the last 25 plus years. Always pushing the boundaries of craft beer higher and further with more hops, strange ingredients and different takes on classic beers. Always challenging the craft beer drinker's palate, Rogue has come up with some very interesting combinations, such as Voodoo Doughnut collabs: chocolate peanut butter banana, and pretzel raspberry chocolate, or the Morimoto inspired black obi soba.

Tonight's offering is a black IPA, fairly new to the craft beer circles around here, but a style that is gaining traction with the beer drinkers who want a bit more depth from their IPAs.

Onto the Tasting...



Dark chocolate brown with a big fluffy tan head made of small bubbles. Lacing is good and strong. Aroma is dark caramel, burnt sugars, deep malts, licorice, and turbinado sugar. Full bodied strong malt flavour grassy with hints of herbs, bittersweet, molasses, ashes, wood. Aeration gives us hay and straw.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

I was not as excited about this beer as I would have hoped. It is a good beer and worth the price of admission, but compared to some of Rogues other ales, this seemed a lightweight. There was good flavour but not a lot of it, and the beer seemed to be a little hollow through the middle. Not one of Rogue's best. But still worthy of a try. 

Cheers


CJT



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Beer # 120 Ninkasi Vanilla Oatis

Vanilla Oatis Vanilla Oatmeal Stout

Ninkasi Brewing Company

Eugene, Oregan, USA
Independent
Flavoured Oatmeal Stout 7.2% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml
$4.75 (Canadian) At BC Liquor Stores
Twitter: @NinkasiBrewing

Spring cleaning time here at Pint Jockey Headquarters. This beer has been languishing in the "Fridge of Fame" for a couple of months with a few other gems I had almost forgotten about. But this week I hope to clear some of the backlog as there are a whole slew of new beers hitting shelves for the summer and I am eager to wrap my tastebuds around them. I had earlier done the partner to this beer here the Ninkasi Believer Double Red Ale, which is excellent I urge you to read about it, and I was saving this one for a special occasion; then it slipped my mind. So finally I present to you the second beer from Eugene, Oregon.

Onto the tasting.

Dark chocolate brown almost black with a deep tan head that is quite large but made up of small to medium sized bubbles. Nose is very earthy with cedar vegetation, moss, pencil shavings and a hint of oaky vanilla. First sip is a swirling complex celebration of the darker malts. Body is slightly sweet and very smooth due to the oatmeal. Smoke and oak is more evident on the first taste, Vanilla plays second fiddle but is definately heard in the crowd. finish is Vanilla caramel and a pinch of citrus. Aeration gives us a hint of the 7.2 percent alcohol, and a creamy lemon finish.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL 
Colour: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:
Truly a wonderful beer from Ninkasi. I only wish more were alvailable for purchase in Ontario. The complexity is key. I actually found myself comparing this beer to a good red wine. If you are able please run out and try this beer.
Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 98 Ninkasi Believer Double Red Ale

Believer Double Red Ale

Ninkasi Brewing Company

Eugene Oregon, United States of America

Independent
High Alcohol Red Ale 6.9 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml. (Labelled 1 Pint 6 fl oz)
$4.75 British Columbia Liquor Store

Twitter: @NinkasiBrewing

Taking a trip out to the Pacific Northwest today to a brewery that has just come across my radar. Ninkasi Brewing company has at it's origins, a story not unlike many other great craft breweries; a meeting of two determined and like-minded individuals who share a passion and a vision. Born in June of 2006 in the back of an old German restaurant Ninkasi Brewery has undergone rapid expansion in it's 7 year lifespan. The founders hoped to instill a sense of community and culture in their brewing company. A throwback to the times when beer was a valued part of everyday life, and help to build the written lauguge and shape the education system. Keeping this in mind, Nikos Ridge and Jamie Floyd chose to name their brewery after Ninkasi, the Summerian Goddess of fermentation hoping this would inspire the "...belief in an elevated human experience through the social enjoyment and sharing of beer."

Anyway... off to Eugene and today's beer...

Chestnut brown in colour with hints of auburn. Light tan head with small bubbles that is fairly long lasting. Distinct herbal hoppy head with background notes of toasty malt. Exceptionally grainy and bready on the first taste. The full flavour of the malt shines through. Good strong hit of sweetness indicative of a solid red ale. Hops reappear on the finish stronger and slightly more bitter to cleanse the palate and set you up for the next sip. Fairly complex, there is a lot going on in this beer... but it manages to pull it off. There are notes of grapefruit, citrus, buckwheat honey, turbinado sugar, grilled pineapple, woodiness, and earthiness all competing for tongue space.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL

Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL

Final Thoughts:

Wow. Just a great beer. Complex, easy drinking, sweet, bitter... well balanced all around. I will be returning to Eugene, very soon. Just as soon as I can get my hands on more Ninkasi Beers.

Thanks Ninkasi... I'm definitely a believer
Cheers

CJT


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