XS Imperial Younger's Special Bitter - Rogue Ales

theWrkncacnter

North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had this one in the cooler for at least 4 years. I love the Rogue ceramic bottles, as they're perfect for aging. Pours a very deep apple cider like color. Cloudy to the point of being almost opaque. Head was initially very creamy but gradually reduced to only a minimal amount of lacing. Smells of rich caramel malts with a little bit of piney hop notes in the background. Some alcohol comes through in the nose as it warms up. Taste is a deep malty base with a wonderful lingering hop finish. Caramel malts come through the most but it has a good hop bitterness, even for 52 IBU. The one thing holding this beer back is that it feels a little thin. By that I mean that a beer with this heft in it's taste should be a little thicker. Also a suprising amount of alcohol comes through at only 7%. Overall though a great beer and one that has aged really well.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2011 21:00:26 | More by theWrkncacnter

hurdjg

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

04-21-2013 14:04:42 | More by hurdjg

jmilo64

Maine

2.75/5  rDev -29.8%

04-12-2013 00:55:35 | More by jmilo64

campfirebrew

New York

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

04-04-2013 17:57:29 | More by campfirebrew

UCLABrewN84

California

3.51/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, caramel, and some fruity aromas. Taste is much the same with a fruity and tea-like flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. There is a bit of an astringent and drying quality of the beer in the mouth with each sip. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but nothing too extreme or strong going on here. I'm not too sure why this particular beer is sold in the small 7 oz. bottle size.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 03:03:01 | More by UCLABrewN84

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

03-10-2013 20:13:41 | More by spycow

chugamugofsud

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

02-21-2013 18:12:19 | More by chugamugofsud

ummswimmin

New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I picked this up at a specialty store yesterday in a cute little bottle. I poured this into my tulip glass. There was about a finger of foam, but that died down to a halo really quickly. The lacing is minimal, but good looking. The coloring is a pretty deep shade of red.

I like the way the XS smells. I get a decent amount of hopping from this beer. There was also some good malt presence.

The flavor is very malt forward. The hopping is there, but the malt is the story with this one. I like the balance in all of this one. This is a good beer... Rogue did a good job with this ESB.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 20:52:42 | More by ummswimmin

beerdhabelly

Nebraska

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

01-16-2013 02:17:18 | More by beerdhabelly

elcrawl

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

01-15-2013 03:23:59 | More by elcrawl

NickThePyro

Washington

4/5  rDev +2%

12-24-2012 06:31:01 | More by NickThePyro

adkieffer

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

12-17-2012 23:46:05 | More by adkieffer

Braz

Washington

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Got a 10oz bottle from specialty shop. Pours an amber deep reddish hue with minimal head. Fairly hazy.
Aromas of sweet caramel and dough, alcohol too.
Quite sweet and malty, caught me off guard. Good dose of bitterness too, but not as I expected. I think it’s probably quite bitter but the level of sweetness brings it back a bit. Lively carbonation.
Good medium body. Very good beer, just not what I expected.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 06:06:49 | More by Braz

let8it8grow

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2%

12-07-2012 04:04:27 | More by let8it8grow

csustar001

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

12-06-2012 23:42:41 | More by csustar001

nickthetick

Maryland

3.65/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: pours a fairly clear copper hue, left the yeast out, with a thin head of maybe a quarter finger of dirty white head. The head dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing around the glass.

S: Yeasty and toasty right up front, like walking into a bakery full of fresh bread. It's followed in by soft and subtle hints of cherries, cedar and cranberries. Tartness is noticeable in the nose but there is a backbone of sweet caramel lingers in the nose.

T: The first sip was a little disappointing, a bit woody and there is certainly the caramel but the tartness and bitterness is a little toned back. I sense some of the cherry and maybe a bit of raisins. Still yeasty to say the least.

MF: A heavy beer, a tad chewy and a bit warm. Other than the warming sensation the alcohol is not that noticeable. It's not welled layered, as all the flavors kick the palate at once leaving you to think you've just been used for a quickie by a beer.

O: A good beer but I expected so much more out of a beer with that many letters and adverbs in its name in such a tiny bottle. Very open ended; it's in the bottle then the glass then after a sip your left thinking "hmm, now what?" Trim the ABV to 5.5 or 6% and you could have a great easy drinking flagship beer. But again, a good beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2012 03:41:30 | More by nickthetick

chucksim

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

11-05-2012 18:16:44 | More by chucksim

speak72

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

11-04-2012 16:04:17 | More by speak72

Jamesthebrit

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

10-19-2012 21:25:28 | More by Jamesthebrit

ralphw56

Nevada

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

10-10-2012 02:06:49 | More by ralphw56

SnowFlowMfg

California

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

10-07-2012 22:21:42 | More by SnowFlowMfg

GiantMidget

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%

10-04-2012 19:54:41 | More by GiantMidget

bsuedekum

Missouri

3.25/5  rDev -17.1%

10-03-2012 01:43:07 | More by bsuedekum

Hoptometrist

Oregon

3.38/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from a tiny 7 oz. bottle into a snifter

A- Poured a murky brown and orange color, soapy head dissipated instantly that left minimal lacing

S- Sweet floral and fruity notes, big sweet caramel malts. Aromatic

T- Dominant herbal notes, lots of caramel sweetness, fresh floral notes, finishes with an unpleasant tea-like bitterness

M- Prickly carbonation, medium to lighter bodied, finishes semi-dry, some alcohol warming and light booziness

O- Pretty balanced flavor profile that finishes with an odd harshness and bitterness. I got this bottle for free, but imagine this one is worth skipping on considering how much these tiny Rogue bottles usually are

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 01:40:52 | More by Hoptometrist

JimmytheSaintPSU

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2%

08-21-2012 01:57:19 | More by JimmytheSaintPSU