Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale
Rogue Ales

Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate AleVoodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale
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From:
Rogue Ales
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American Brown Ale
ABV:
5.4%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.52 | pDev: 16.76%
Reviews:
85
Ratings:
429
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Oct 10, 2019
Added:
Dec 02, 2013
Wants:
  39
Gots:
  149
No description / notes.
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Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
At last, the last of my Rogue/Voodoo Donut backlog & frankly, looking at some of the price tags on these, I am surprised that I pulled the trigger in the first place. These enameled bombers mean that I am unable to see what it happening inside, which never makes me happy. OTOH, many of them have mellowed nicely during their wait for me to get to them. Let's see how this one fares!

From the Bottle: "Ale Brewed with Pretzels and Natural Flavors Added"; "Dedicated to Tres & Cat Daddy, the Rogues of Voodoo Donut"; "[Pairs with:] Donuts, Cheesecake"; "Brewed Using 13 Ingredients: 2-Row, Munich, C120, Chocolate, Black, Kiln Coffee & Rogue Farms Dare (tm) Malts; Rogue Farms Rebel Hops; Pretzels, Natural Raspberry Juice, Chocolate Extract, Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water."; "No Chemicals, Additives or Preservatives"; "Oregon Brewed[,] Established 1988[,] Oxygen Fixing Caps"; "13.5° Plato*31 IBU*73 AA*78° L"; "100% Pure Rogue".

I Pop!ped off the cap & started a slow, gentle C-Line pour since I could not see what was going on inside of the bottle. I was impressed by several factors, not the least of which was its formation of just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with decent retention. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with NE-quality clarity & garnet highlights. Nose definitely smelled of chocolate & Black (NOT Red) Raspberries! Mmm. I wasn't getting the pretzels, but what would they smell like in beer? Other than the salt, they would break down pretty easily & just become fermentable sugars. No? Hmm. This was primarily milk/sweet chocolate with black raspberries, at least on the nose. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but definitely big in the mouth & on the tongue. Time had clearly mellowed this one into something that was quite drinkable, given so many of the older, previous reviews. It was like biting into a raspberry-filled Lindt Lindor chocolate! Theirs are dark-chocolate enrobed where this was more towards milk chocolate, but who's quibbling at this point? I guess that I have to, after looking at the style description. I will grant that it may have been an American Brown at its base, but the adjuncts were pulling it away from that base. No caramel & very little-to-no hop presence means that I have to dun it if reviewing to style & not to personal taste. 8=( Finish was sweet, but not so sweet as to be cloying, which would have totally put me off. It was mosdef a dessert beer, but what would you expect, given all of its adjuncts, meant to mimic a donut?!? I might not want it as a donut for breakfast, but as a dessert beer with some coffee? Yes, please! YMMV.
Oct 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by Dalbeast from Wyoming

May 19, 2019
 
Rated: 3.52 by bongobeer from Alabama

Jul 08, 2018
 
Rated: 2.64 by Rammed96 from Maryland

Mar 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Jan 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.87 by Hybridlion from New York

Aug 27, 2017
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

1.06/5  rDev -69.9%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Review from notes taken in 2015:

750ml pink painted bottle with a branded pry-off crown cap served into a highball glass.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: No lacing. No head.

BODY: Brownish cola-red. Off-putting. Opaque. No yeast/sediment is visible within.

Appears undercarbonated. Unappealing. I'm not looking forward to trying this.

AROMA: Doughnut. Cloying sweetness. Artificial raspberry filling. Malt extract. Artificial fruit. Sugary. Faint cocoa.

Mild in strength. I find no over yeast, alcohol, or off-notes.

TASTE: Raspberry and vague artificial fruit. Disgusting sweetness. Loads of malt extract. Inauthentic, shrieking artificial flavours.

A chaotic imbalanced mess of a brew. I find no pretzel flavour at all...just off-putting cloying sweetness.

Syrupy blackberry puree. Cough syrup-redolent. Malt choices were poor. Lacks any genuine chocolate.

Depth of flavour is horrid. Flavour intensity is mild.

There's some alcohol warmth in there too, and I'm not liking this at all. The cloying sweetness really brings this beer down. Poorly built stuff.

TEXTURE: Smooth, flat, thin, lumpy, inconsistent, wet, unrefreshing. Too syrupy. Overbearing and heavy on the palate.

Not oily, gushed, or hot, but certainly boozy.

This texture doesn't work at all.

OVERALL: Downright disgusting. I didn't find the pretzel I was hoping for, and even with four people at the tasting this is being served at, we'll be hard pressed to get through the bottle. Truly awful.

F (1.06) / AVOID
Apr 19, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by Scott_McCool from Florida

Mar 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by mpenske from California

Feb 06, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Jan 24, 2017
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.03/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
There’s a time and a place for this beer, and it’s definitely a dessert beer. Individual flavors stand out nicely, but it’s overly sweet and syrupy. Might make a nice ice cream topping.
Dec 12, 2016
 
Rated: 4.33 by ikidunot from Canada (ON)

Aug 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.27 by CBrodbeck from Florida

Jun 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.85 by 22Blue from Kansas

May 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.25 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

May 05, 2016
Photo of Libeertarian
Reviewed by Libeertarian from Montana

3.66/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From notes taken 04/13/16:

Semi-opaque, dark brown. More like a Porter or Stout in appearance. Creamy, film-forming, light brown head of moderate retention. Smells predominantly of milk chocolate, maybe the beginnings of some tart, dark, fruitiness. Very much the same on the palate, but some light coffee and toffee notes, and tartness slightly more forward than in aroma, but almost more metallic than fruity. I was hoping for more overt raspberry, or even pretzel. That said, as a Brown Ale, this is quite good. There’s a subdued toast and bread character, that may be imparted from the pretzels, so that’s something. Light leathery, earthy hopping, and some peppery goodness, brought out in the finish. Medium- to full-bodied, spritzy but thick at first, mellowing almost to velvet. Mildly astringent and acidic, making my teeth chalky.
Apr 17, 2016
Photo of q33jeff
Reviewed by q33jeff from New Jersey

3.56/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 3.5
**
08/26/2014
Aroma: raspberry and chocolate, a great combination. Appearance: black-brown. No head. Purple-ish hue when down to 1-2 oz in glass. Taste: medium bitter chocolate with fruity finish. Malty.Feel: mostly flat.Best of the rouge-voodoo set. Shared bottle with family on vacation with dessert of chocolate croissants, sticky buns, and white choc mac nut cookies. Yum."
**
Mar 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.77 by tomb_ride from California

Feb 25, 2016
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

3.92/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours an initial toffee color but forms a dark chocolate brown in the chalice. The head is beige/creme colored and 3 fingers high, leaving broken lace behind.

Aromas of cocoa powder, a little salt, bready pretzel, and a touch of raspberry sorbet. Maybe a little banana too? Just overall frutiness with lots of chocolate.

Flavor is not horrible; it's got a sort of two dimensional chocolate covered pretzel which really gets loud at the finish. In between there are notes of cocoa powder, baked malts, dashes of salt, and estery yeast. It actually drinks like a very nice tasting porter. Each sip is different, this one here just revealed a bunch of raspberry. It's like drinking a mystery.

Feel is highly carbonated with a nice mineral quality to it, a touch of dryness towards the end.

Overall, this is my first Voodoo Doughnut beer, and it's not really all that bad. If you look at it as a porter rather than a mishmash of ingredients, it actually remains quite enjoyable. The price tag is hardly justifiable though, but I'm glad I got a chance to try this.
Feb 08, 2016
Photo of HerbGuy42
Reviewed by HerbGuy42 from Washington

2.17/5  rDev -38.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.75
All I tasted was astringent bitterness and what tasted like a very artificial version of raspberry. No balance; flavors do not blend smoothly. Yuck. Just yuck. I have had some excellent beers by Rogue. This is not one of them.
Feb 03, 2016
Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale from Rogue Ales
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 429 ratings