Rogue Brutal Bitter from Oregon Brewing

Tonight I enjoyed my first beer in a few days, and I picked one from one of my favorite brewers. Rogue Brutal Bitter is definitely a very creative version of an English Bitter. It poured an orange-amber color with a head the color of orange sherbet. This ale is much hoppier, and more bitter than the standard Bitter. John Maier, the Brewmaster at Rogue, likes his hops, and there's a healthy dose of citrusy West coast hops in this beer. While it's hoppier than a traditional bitter, it is not as hoppy or as strong as an IPA. Oregon Brewing can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned, and this beer just strengthens that conviction.

Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red Ale

This wonderful red ale starts and ends with hops. The first sip is all West coast hop flavor - piney and citrusy. Then you notice the smooth creamy body with plenty of malt - slightly sweet and fruity too. Finally, it finishes with a lasting hop bitterness. As you can see in the photo, it had a nice big orange-colored head, which left plenty of lacing on the glass. It poured an orange-amber color. Oregon Brewing is one of my favorite brewers, and this beer just strengthened my opinion.

Widmer Hefeweizen

Widmer Hefeweizen is an American wheat beer. I don't think I would call it a hefeweizen. Although it's made from wheat malt, and it has the yeast in the bottle, it just doesn't have the flavor of a true Bavarian hefeweizen. This is a good refreshing beer for the summer, with the fruity, citrusy flavor I would expect from an American wheat, but it doesn't taste like a hefe.

Rogue Mocha Porter

I'm a big fan of Porters. I even named my dog Porter. Today's review is Oregon Brewing's Rogue Mocha Porter. This is a dark rich Porter in the Robust style. It has a big roasty malt flavor, with chocolate and coffee accents. Although neither of these ingredients are actually used to make this beer, the malt selection creates these flavors in a big way. Hence the Mocha in the name. It poured a deep brown with a small tan head. The mouthfeel was as rich as the flavor. The hops nicely balanced out the brew. Oregon Brewing is another of my favorite microbreweries, and this just added to my favorable opinion.