Taproom Talk

I have another combination of which I’m a big fan (Mom you should be proud, I almost ended that sentence in a prepositional phrase). Rogue Chocolate Stout is a wonderfully black stout with a big brown head and a phenomenal cocoa aroma. I love bittersweet chocolate and this is the closest thing I’ve found to a bite of 70% cocoa chocolate and a sip of espresso (pretty much my breakfast every morning).

The taste is a waxy chocolate, similar to the way a chocolate scratch ‘n sniff sticker smells. My neighbor Emelia nailed it. Tootsie roll, but that’s just a note of the aftertaste. This beer would be just as good room temperature, a bold statement if I do say so myself. This gloriously, “Hedonistic” Stout, as Rogue describes it, has a malty, chocolatey goodness that pleases me to no end.

The only way I could further this experience was to go searching through my humidors for a PG No. 5, a short Dominican cigar with a bouquet of rich, pleasant flavors.

Rogue, you crazy brewers, you’ve topped yourselves. Bravo. Count Chocula would be proud.

I was eager to taste the Wild Goose IPA, which is brewed by the Frederick Brewing Company in Frederick Maryland, as I thoroughly enjoyed their SnowGoose seasonal awhile back. Much like the SnowGoose, I was once again, astonished.

This light gold beer poured with a slight white head that quickly disappeared to reveal a pleasantly hoppy essence with few bubbles. The taste was incredibly crisp and refreshing with smooth hints of hops and citrus. The finish was highly complementary with a smoothness that reminds me of the nectars produced by the Anchor Brewing Company. This is a highly impressive showing- the IPA is worthy of a tasting any day.

I love Rogue. Top notch beers in 22oz bottles. Rogue keeps it real; minimal but great ingredients. Rogue brews beers I can wrap my head and my hands around.

Chipotle Ale. That’s right. Ergo, the reference in the title to Dr. Pepper. Mmmm-hmmm, it’s because Rogue made a beer with freakin’ peppers.

I don’t know why I’m writing like an instruction manual translated into Japanese then back into English.

Guess what this beer smells like? Yup. Peppers. Smokey, chipotle peppers. It’s so subtle that if I wouldn’t have known about it, it would have taken a while for me to figure it out. This is something that should, by its description, make me gag. It doesn’t. This is an appealing beer. If you will grant me an indulgence, I think this is an intriguing beer. Although there is a ‘bite,’ it has more to do with a crisp, mildly tart taste. There is no traditional peppery ‘hotness’.

Oddly enough, after a few sips I feel flushed and ‘hot.’ Go figure. There were smoked peppers in my beer at some point.

I’ll write you a prescription for Rogue Chipotle Ale: take one and then howl at the moon, but don’t bother calling me in the morning. I sleep late.

The words apple and beer don’t seem to mix well, nor does their perceived liquid combination. If I really wanted alcohol that tasted like apples, wouldn’t I want something like hard cider?

Probably because it sits next to Zima on a store’s shelf, I’ve never tasted nor considered buying hard cider. I did however, find myself tasting an apple beer (not hard cider mind you) recently, which pleasantly surprised me. This Belgian creation, known as Floris Apple, reminds me slightly of the Framboise beer reviewed recently as it effectively combines a fruit with the bitter hoppiness of beer. The aroma is obviously apple-like but not like that of breakfast apple juice- more like hops with a fruity apple essence. The taste is all beer with the pleasant citric fruitiness of sweet apple. If anything, I’d say it’s a Granny Smith sourness taste that works wonderfully.

This is truly a uniquely tasting beer that I definitely enjoyed and highly recommend if you can find it. Just remember to not drink this one for breakfast unless you don’t want to keep the doctor away.

The Old Dominion is known for many things, from historical landmarks and beautiful beaches to fine wine and heritage; however, one thing Virginia should be known for is its excellent beer. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to taste the Old Dominion Brewery’s Oak Barrel Stout on tap, you’d proudly proclaim this beer as the nectar of the gods.

Simply put: this is a phenomenally good beer. Conditioned in real oak barrels, which previously were used in aging Virginia Gentleman Bourbon, this jet-black sweet stout pours with a huge tan head and gives off a wonderfully malty smell with hints of oak and vanilla. If this stout’s essence doesn’t give you goose bumps, the lightly burnt malty taste that also boasts hints of sweet vanilla and a woody oak will blow you away. You can also pick up delicate traces of bourbon and espresso as you sip upon this smoothly dry nectar.

If you are not a resident of Virginia when you have the opportunity to imbibe this worthy stout on tap, you’ll probably consider making the Old Dominion your permanent residence and the Old Dominion Brewery your permanent watering hole.

Special note: amazingly enough, the brewers at Old Dominion figured out a way to bottle the Oak Barrel Stout; therefore, if you can’t make it to the brew pub, you still have an opportunity to find this wonderful beer at your local beer super store.

As a wee lad, I used to greedily devour Wheaties for breakfast, thinking it would impart some of its championship qualities upon me. So it was with a wee bit of nostalgia that I sipped upon Australia’s Coopers Vintage Ale. This beer poured with a medium head which slowly dissipated to produce a caramel colored cloudy body that gave off a pleasant malty smell. With a stiff 7.5% alcohol content, the taste combines wheat and barley to produce something akin to eating Wheaties with honey poured over them. Amazingly, the taste works! The finish is subtly sweet leaving you looking forward to another sip.

All in all, this is an interesting beer, worthy of a tasting, especially if you consider yourself a champion.