Deschutes - Hop Henge Experimental IPA

This is a beer I know nothing about before tasting it.  While that might not make for very interesting reading or back story, it should provide for a very honest and unbiased review.  We just started getting Deschutes in the area within the last four months or so and I am definitely OK with that.  I don't buy sixers that often and since the selection of Deschutes we have thus far is primarily six packs I have not been picking up a whole lot of it.  I've also had all the current varieties thus far and choose to focus on new experiences.  However, when I saw this bomber which was both new and from Deschutes I had to snag it.  Besides, try and tell me that the label art doesn't look promising.  Hops are spilling forth from bags from bags!  It's a veritable monument to hops, right?  Let's pour!

Bottle gives no brewed date, but reads "Best by 08/27/13"

Aroma 11/12

A promising beginning shows plenty of citrus aromas with pineapple and grapefruit leading the way.  Floral notes are not too far behind, but resin seems distant at this point.  The caramel sweetness is present and doing its best to mingle with the hops, but its definitely second fiddle.  After the beer warms it opens up beautifully.  A rich honey note steps in to dance with the hops, which remain strong, and the piney resin begins to kick things up a notch.

Appearance 3/3

This bright beer's transparency really helps showcase the honey and pumpkin hues.  The head was particularly pleasing in texture, size, and retention.  A creamy color to match the wet, creamy looking texture as bubbles breached the surface everywhere they could.

Flavor 18/20

I had to wait until my taste buds acclimate before I could truly get a handle on everything that was going on in this bottle.  There are a pair of large flavors at work and its hard to hear anything else of the din of those two oafs.  Largely the huge caramel malts are fighting the hop pine flavors tooth and nail, but behind that are some solid flavors as well.  In fact, the caramel flavors are apparently in a tag team with some biscuity malts that take over because the sweetness seems to die away rather quickly.  The beginning shows us brief splashes of the aroma's citrus before it is almost immediately washed away by the two larger flavors.  Those two gorillas give make for a backbone thick with caramel sugars, pine, resin, and... no that's about it.  Hopheads should love the finish particularly as it gives the tingle of  hop acids, alcohol warmth, and spicy black pepper before it begrudgingly sticks and slides down your throat.  The aftertaste is what one should expect in a strong IPA with plenty of bitter resin, a persistent pepper, and a slight drying effect despite the plentiful malts.  Not the biggest IPA I've ever had, but definitely enough to satisfy those seeking their daily ration of humulus lupulus.

Mouthfeel 4/5

My first note on this was "thick."  It was accurate.  All the malts required to balance the "henge's-worth" of hops result in a big body beer that stumbles and bumbles its way across your taste buds.  The carbonation is spot on and leaves most of the tingly sensations to the resin, peppery hops, and a warmth that seems to only make an appearance in the finish and aftertaste; an interesting trick in a 10.9% ABV brew.

What a great sight!

Overall Impression 8/10

The amounts of flavor in this beer are certainly to be reckoned with.  I also appreciate the body and the fact that the beer somehow maintains a perfect level of carbonation regardless of how warm it gets in the glass.  The transition of flavor from sweet (brief citrus & caramel) to bitter (biscuit, resin, pine, grapefruit's bitter) is also an interesting characteristic to which one should pay attention.

Total 44/50

I'm trying really hard not to be fickle or hypocritical.  On one hand, I often criticize beers for not "bringing the thunder" when it comes to flavor.  This beer certainly does bring with it some substantial flavor, but brings it with all the nuance and tact of a bowling ball.  It's just... asserts itself with flavor.   Again, flavor is good!  I'll never fault a beer for having flavor, I just want to taste more than just the splatting of ingredients on my tongue.  Sure, I tasted several different flavors, I just  really had to search for them behind the giants in the way.  The imagery of a paintball being fired on the tongue refuses to leave me.  Not because this beer was so over-the-top intense, but because it basically all came at once until you get to the finish.  SMACK!  Where was the chance for flavors to develop on the tongue?  I don't know.  The more I type the more I sound to myself like a whiny idiot.  Maybe this is what happens when an amateur tries to put into words the subjective notion of flavor.

TL;DR:  Good beer.  Lots of flavor.  Expect a car wreck of hops in your mouth, but not a wide spectrum of flavor.

Rogue - Chipotle Ale

I have NO idea how I have done this many reviews and this is only my second post about a Rogue product.  I have lots of respect for Rogue and have even used their beers to mark certain benchmarks (50, 100, 200 different beers) with a certain bar's membership club.  Today's review is for Rogue's Chipotle Ale.  I love a good jalepeño-based beer!  Sure, there is some spiciness in there and not everybody cares for that.  Naysayers should know though, that the rest of the beer is often made as refreshing as possible to try and counter that spiciness.  Needless to say, in the midst of this midwestern heatwave (which shows no signs of letting up) a whole bunch of refreshing beer is just what I was looking for.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 8/12
The first smell was almost a farm-like mustyness, as if something a bit gamey had gotten into the mix.  It dissipates soon enough and then the pepper-based heat appears in the nose.  However, even this fades away and gives rise to the premier aroma: the chipotle peppers' flavor.  They are smoky, salty and just a hint of sweetness.  The smoky and salty tones combined are enough to remind one of Bean & Bacon soup.  No other ingredients really shine through the strong chipotle aromas.


Appearance 3/3
This is a gorgeous beer!  When not in direct light, it is a red that nearly matches that on the label.  When lit at all, it is a beautiful, glowing orange with a pumpkin pastel colored head.  There is not a great volume of head, but it retains well and leaves sticky lace on my glass.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 14/20
Very light a crisp off the bat with a dull molasses sweetness.  You really have to hold this in the mouth to get the intended flavors as they are not readily apparent with simple sips.  The backbone is a continuation of the molasses, but introduces the smoky flavor and a mere suggestion of the pepper's heat.  Unfortunately, that is all you get, only a flash and then it is all but gone.  Only when I was more than halfway through the 650 mL bottle did I get any sort of lingering heat.  The heat is briefly restoked as the beer hits the back of the throat and that is really all that differs in the finish.  The aftertaste however adds a moderate but pronounced hop bitter to the lingering heat, leaving the mouth a bit dry and ready for another mouthful.  Very nice touch to end this beer.

Mouthfeel 4/5
It is very light in body, which is great for the style, but still maintains some level of creaminess.  Even in the beginning of the bottle when carbonation was abundant and bubbly, it still had a noticeable creaminess to it.  Halfway through the bottle the carbonation is tiny and sparse, which only makes this lightly creamy texture all the more noticeable.

Overall Impression 6/10
This beer is the consequence of indecision.  Chili beer is a bold choice and so one would expect a bold beer. There is plenty of daring-do in the aroma, but the flavor finds the chilis timid and muted.  The bitter at the end is bold and complimented what existing chili flavor there was (it could have complimented much more as well).  The result is a beer whose chilis are not bold enough to satisfy those looking for a more extreme experience and whose hop bitter is enough to keep away the entry-level beer drinker.

Total 36/50
This ranking still puts this beer in the "Very Good" category and rightly so.  It is not a bad beer by any means, I just don't see it satisfying the needs of those "bold" drinkers looking for a robust exbeerience.  Unfortunately for Rogue, those are the people most likely to buy this beer (especially in this quantity).  This beer is very much like a British Pale Ale, but with the chipotle peppers added to it.  The light creaminess and the aftertaste were the true high points of this beer, but can only do so much in the face of an ingredient that didn't come with guns a-blazin'.