Santa's Private Reserve Ale - Rogue Ales

cjoc83

Pennsylvania

2.93/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy, beautiful reddish-copper color with an initials fingers worth of slightly off-white head that dissipates quickly to a ring. Nice looking beer.

Surprising amount of resinous and tropical fruit hops in the nose, but the malty sweetness is definitely in there, intermingling with some caramel.

Initial taste is some malt sweetness and just a hint of caramel before segueing into some spicy, resinous hops that stick around for a while after the glass hits the table. The flavors are kind of all over the place, with the hops the dominant note. This doesn't really smack of a holiday ale to me.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium-bodied, carbonation is present but slight. A bit watery for a holiday beer.

This is kind of a mixed bag for me, but this beer failed to wow me where it counts; in the taste. While there are some spicy notes and a nice dollop of malty/caramel sweetness, the beer seems over-hopped and just doesn't come through on the mouthfeel. As I said before, this doesn't really taste like a holiday ale. It tastes more like a weirded-out IPA. Although I will give it a few bonus points for being made with locally sourced ingredients and having "no chemicals, additives, or preservatives" (per the bottle).

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 00:51:09 | More by cjoc83

JMUbrewz

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

06-13-2013 18:06:12 | More by JMUbrewz

DCH

New York

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

06-13-2013 01:12:59 | More by DCH

goblin7704

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

06-11-2013 22:07:42 | More by goblin7704

guzzleacoldone

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -14.2%

06-10-2013 01:50:28 | More by guzzleacoldone

Paccamacca

California

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

06-02-2013 03:42:57 | More by Paccamacca

dmadsen

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +12.1%

05-28-2013 04:26:32 | More by dmadsen

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3/5  rDev -20.8%

05-26-2013 19:45:13 | More by mikeincharleston

MadWolf

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +18.7%

05-24-2013 20:08:44 | More by MadWolf

jkane101

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

05-18-2013 22:19:01 | More by jkane101

Zimm

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +5.5%

05-15-2013 17:20:49 | More by Zimm

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

05-15-2013 17:18:41 | More by twenty5

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

05-15-2013 11:23:43 | More by Slatetank

Artjsantos

Ohio

3/5  rDev -20.8%

05-10-2013 17:38:28 | More by Artjsantos

ajtorres311

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

05-10-2013 16:49:51 | More by ajtorres311

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

05-09-2013 02:15:40 | More by tommyguz

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

3.25/5  rDev -14.2%

04-28-2013 23:42:41 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +5.5%

04-13-2013 21:20:11 | More by DaPan

orangesol

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -14.2%

04-11-2013 03:19:23 | More by orangesol

vidguy17

Iowa

3.25/5  rDev -14.2%

03-30-2013 14:57:12 | More by vidguy17

zestd

Idaho

4.5/5  rDev +18.7%

03-29-2013 20:47:48 | More by zestd

Jamison85

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +18.7%

03-27-2013 05:53:14 | More by Jamison85

alelover

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

03-26-2013 04:09:33 | More by alelover

brheuer

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +5.5%

03-25-2013 00:09:17 | More by brheuer

spycow

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

03-08-2013 01:06:45 | More by spycow