Brutal Bitter Ale - Rogue Ales

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Toned down bitter. Hazy orange. Froth dissipitates from the bomber. Smells like a citrus IPA with pine. Fruit midsip. Downs bitter yet toned down with a faint lemoniness and Bittersweet aftertaste. Oily 59 IBU. Americanized ESB. Forget Wheat, this at the end of the hot day.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2004 02:46:25 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.22/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Gauzy peachy orange with what looks like dust motes swirling within the liquid. The light beige head persists for a bit as a thick, sponge-like disk atop the beer and leaves chunky scraps of lace on the glass.

The nose is impressively hoppy. If I didn't know better, I'd have said that Cascade, Centennial or a combination of the two make up the hop bill. So this is what Crystal hops smell like. They smell more like pink grapefruit than white and I think that I can pick out some pineapple esters as well. Malt, schmalt. This one is all about the hops.

Upon tasting... it appears as though I can add another hop to my growing list of favorites. I don't absolutely love Crystal as I do some others, but it is very, very good. Pithily bitter citrus fruit is front and center with pink grapefruit leading the way.

In terms of flavor contribution, malt is in the background. I'm only aware of its presence because the bittering is so well-supported and because there's a hint of underlying pale malty sweetness. The body is full enough to be pleasurable in the mouth while being light enough to allow the beer to be downed scarily quickly. I'm finding out firsthand that a bomber of 6.5% ESB is fully capable of mounting a sneak attack if gulped.

Brutal Bitter is yet another first-rate beer from Rogue. I'm glad to have made the acquaintance of another fine hop of the citric persuasion and I'm even more glad that this beer is available in my local grocery. Brutal Bitter isn't brutally bitter, but it is significantly hoppy and it is mighty good.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2004 22:05:31 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Barleys, this was a very nice treat. Poured a nice light amber with a off white head that was slow to recede. A good lace present down the sides. Smell was highly hopped, with lots of pine resin apparent here and it melded well into the flavor profile which was just about the same. Good smooth feel with a light balance that let it more the sessionable. A really dry bitter after taste that linger for a good long while. This was the perfect beer to have with a slice of pizza, just blended so perfectly. Really a nice treat and was very pleased with it. Awesome but I would really call this an IPA

Serving type: on-tap

05-27-2007 17:45:09 | More by mikesgroove

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a light copper color with a nice white head. The nose brings hops that are floral, citric, and a bit herbal in character. A tad bit of light bready malt in the background. The flavor has some nice hops and a dry earthy character. Good, light, and bitter mouthfeel. Drinks quite well, although not nearly as well as it could given the fairly hefty price point for a sixer of this.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2010 18:16:10 | More by Thorpe429

UCLABrewN84

California

3.95/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Haven Gastropub in Pasadena, CA.

Pours a hazy honey orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of citrus fruit, citrus zest, and honey. Taste is much the same with a malt 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 and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink but it’s definitely not brutal in any sense.

Serving type: on-tap

08-14-2012 00:51:51 | More by UCLABrewN84

brentk56

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Arrives at the bar with a medium amber color and a beaten eggwhite head; boistrous lacing all over the pint glass

Smell: Fruity aroma with apricot and grapefruit esters

Taste: Apricot flavors on the front end are joined by a steady progression of piney bitter flavors; a touch floral on the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium/heavy bodied with low carbonation

Drinkability: Superb drinker - nicely balanced between the fruity and bitter flavors

Serving type: cask

05-11-2006 00:52:39 | More by brentk56

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Fine-looking murky copper body with a creamy, off-white head. Plenty of lacing throughout.

Smell: Hmm. An acutely cakey aroma paired with a fresh floral-citrus scent.

Taste: Zestful citrus flavors, perhaps a little bit of earthy pine, too, with a small amount of malts bouncing in amongst the hops. Crisp, lasting (though in no way overwhelming) bitterness on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. The carbonation is fine, and somewhat prickly at times.

Drinkability: Well, its anything but brutal. But whatever, it still makes for easy drinking.

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2006 20:56:28 | More by ChainGangGuy

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a light hazy brown color ale with a huge bubbly head with slightly better then average retention. Aroma of cirtusy hops is clearly dominant. Taste is huge on cirtusy hops, which provide some bitterness, but is well back by some malt. This beer really seems to be halfway between an ESB and an IPA. Interesting and would definitely like top try this again.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2006 17:09:19 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.28/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is a very good beer. Always a fan of ESB's, I've been looking for a flavor like this. Pours a dark, carbonated coper. Slightly yellowish head that retained and laced really well. Smells are what you expect (malt, caramel, toffee, and a sharp hop bite) only a bit more aggressive. Tastes nicely with barley malt, caramel, vanilla, coffee, and spicy American hops. The hops add complexity, florals, esters, and flavor. Balanced out with a big malt body, the hops stay within balance. Not an IPA or an APA, this beer has custom English flavor with American hops. A good blend.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2005 17:23:47 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep hazy orange with a real nice fluffy head that leaves some great lacing,aroma hops hops and more hops,very citric and resiny.Taste is definently hop tilted very zesty,oily and dry I get a slight dry maltiness but not much.Iam not a hophead but gotta give this brew props,by far the most hoppy ESB I have ever had.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2004 20:00:13 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Slightly hazy, deep amber in color. The ivory colored head is thin with limited retention. The aroma is a very nice combination of sweetish toasty maltiness and cascade hops that appear more piney than citrusy. The body is medium/light with a very fine and gentle carbonation which gives it a very smooth and lightly creamy mouthfeel. If they were going for an "English" look & feel, they've certainly achieved it. Very nice. The hops flavors really come through in the flavor, giving it complexity with notes of citrus fruits, pine resin, light earthiness, and at times, even mint. The malt is very lightly caramel-like, bready and softly toasty - the Vienna malt shows and adds a nice richness. Bitterness is, of course, well represented in any Rogue beer, but this is clearly balanced more to show off malt & hops in a drinkable session ale. A unique beer that puts an American-hop spin on an English bitter.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2002 19:56:20 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Served in a tumbler at The Tribes.

I figure I should try some more of Rogue's offerings for some reason. Might as well, right? This one pours a clear sunset brass topped by a finger of light off-cream-white foam. The nose comprises greens, buttery caramel, grass, and some very light leek. The taste brings in more of the same, with the caramel coming off a bit darker and the grass increased ever-so-slightly. The body is a rather light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a pretty silky feel. Overall, an okay beer, nothing close to outstanding or impressive, but nothing really bad, either. I'd pass if offered this again.

Serving type: on-tap

12-11-2011 18:34:46 | More by TMoney2591

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: a bright, but hazy, apricottish hue, with a thick, bubbling, off-white lace-leaving head. Aroma: absolutely bristling with pine, pineapple, grapefruit, all sorts of citrus, very spikey, alert and lively, seriously delirious!
On the palate, a monsoon ensues, a blast of brilliant bitterness, that fades a bit, yes, but returns with every sip. Texture is a treat, tangy, delicious, smooth, but tasty. Long, even eternal, finish. Ultimately, very dry, mouth watering, thirst quenching...yeah! It got me to thinking...this is the hophead's "lawnmower beer"! And me, I've got to live in an apartment! It's an "anytime" ale, I say!
The name protests too much. It's not too brutal, but then I'm used to, and I welcome, a barrage of hops on my tongue at anytime I wish.
The label reads "an Imperial style bitter" (aren't "bitters" UNbitter, such as ESBs?) using exotic traditional floor malts (huh?) Free Range Coastal Waters (okay, I'm lost, free range chicken I get, but free range water?) etc., etc.
No matter my confusion, it's a damned great ale, not shy at all with the hops, and loaded down with flavor. Happily consumed from a generous 22oz. bomber.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2003 02:46:08 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

4.22/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a dark gold color with a frothy white head that fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a complex, but pale malt malt scent with intensely bitter hops. It has a very bitter hop aroma. The taste is great. It has a mildly intense malt core which is dominated by pale and carapils malts. The hop flavor is the focus of this brew. It has a very powerful citrous hop flavor that is quite bitter. The mouthfeel is good. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is an excellent beer with great hop qualities and extreme bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2004 00:59:26 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is a very good ESB, a poor IPA though. I'm going to go ahead and ignore the IPA at the top of the screen.

Beer is red and forms a decent head of small bubbles that leaves some lacing on the glass. Beer is clear, mostly, and is moderately carbonated, looks fine.

Aroma is mildly bitter with some malt notes to it.

Beer is malty and big bodied wtihout being sweet, its bitter but not harshly so, there is minimal hop character although its obvious that the bitterness is from the hops. Its moderately drinkable, 22 ounces was a bit much here but its not difficult to choke down at all. Its well flavored and has that balance people talk so much about. Like I said at the beginning, its not a very good IPA but its a good bitter.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2010 14:52:24 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Common Table in Dallas.

The beer pours an orange color with a white head. The aroma is a mix of citrus and a bit of floral. Overall, this is a very citrus-forward American IPA. The flavor is more of the same with a little bit of pine mixed in. I also get a nice bit of biscuit malt mixed in to keep the bitterness to a low to medium level. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Glad I got to try this one.

Serving type: on-tap

01-12-2011 07:02:07 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

4.38/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pourd out an orange/amber color with a small, white head. No lace.

S - It smelled strongly of citrus and light malt. Maybe some piney notes.

T - It was spicy and sweet. Great citrus and pine flavors. The bitterness was subtle and understated.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A medium-bodied beer.

D - This is a great tasting brew. Although it tastes more like an APA.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2008 02:08:15 | More by zeff80

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.88/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a thin white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is kind of faint but contains mostly caramelized malts and pale hops.

T: The taste is nicely balanced, which I wasn't really expecting with a name like "Brutal Bitter", with a pale hops bitterness and a faint but complimentary caramel and citrus sweetness. The malt character is hearty and provides some good substance. The after-taste is slightly bitter.

M: Smooth and crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, clean and dry finish.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, good kick, nice representation of style, an ESB isn't usually my first choice of style, but this is a good beer to drink for a while.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2008 03:02:51 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Had this with a few other IPA's I picked up and wanted to split with a friend. The list of beers that night was Bavarian Barbarian 2x4, Brutal IPA, Terrapin So Fresh So Green and Lukcy Basartd Ale.

This beer came in 3rd in my opinion to the ones we had that night. The Terrapin was 4th. This beer seemed like it something I'd love, The name sounded great and the ratings were high. It had a lot going for it.

The beer pours out at a light copper color with a pretty good head on it. The aroma is very good along with the appearance. The smell is strong with hops which I love. The taste was hoppy but it just didn't seem to have enough kick to it. I didn't find it to be "Brutal". The mouthfeel was on the lighter side as well. It's a good beer but I wouldn't rave about it.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 03:28:49 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.6/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours deep honey with an off the charts beaded san colored head. good lacing and head retention

Smell: earthy hop notes &honey malt notes

Taste: Piney & citrussy hops (grapefruit) with a sweet malt up front. Great hop finish, perhaps a little too much for the style, but it works for me

MF: Rich & ballanced, good carbonation

Very drinkable, think this is more like a DIPA, would love to ty this side by side with SNCA, yummy

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2006 03:26:09 | More by russpowell

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.1/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A coppery orange color, pours with a cream/ tan colored head when roused sufficiently, this beer had a relatively low carbonation level (which in my book is good for this style). It is cloudy at first, but this is just chill haze, as it warms up it becomes quite clear. There is a floral woody, almost medicinal, aroma to this beer. The floral hoppy aroma travels the furthest from the glass though. It is much thicker bodied than I was expecting but perfectly in line with how the beer is advertised on the bottle (I am not sure why I was not expecting this). There is a solid malt presence that is infused with a pronounced hop presence in both the flavor and the bitterness. The bitterness starts at the back of the tongue and then hangs out in ones mouth as you swallow the beer, and then is even there after the beer has disappeared down ones throat. This beer is definitely a hoppy ale, in the American style but featuring a not so typical hop (the Crystal variety), which is a nice contrast to the typical cascady type flavor found in most American examples. There are definite notes of citrus but a grassy sharp flower nectar note asserts itself as well. I love beers that are of a single hop varietal, it gives me the chance to try and pick out what a specific hop contributes to a beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2003 17:33:00 | More by Gueuzedude

Halcyondays

California

3.85/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle, from a six-pack,

A: Dark, cloudy orange, with a small head, which leaves a bit of lace.

S: Hoppiness, lots of grapefruit and papaya.

T: Quite hoppy, though more subdued than your average IPA, lots of grapefruit and citrus, with biscuity pale malt, has a sweetness in the end that is very delightful.

M: Smooth, but quite chewy and resiny at the same time, with a bit of acidity to hold it all together.

D: A good bitter, this could definitely be a session beer, even at 6.5%, another good beer from Rogue.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2007 05:10:41 | More by Halcyondays

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer pours a hazy brownish orange colour, with lots of thick, foamy off-white head, that leaves consistent rings of thin lace as it recedes. It smells of caramel malt and citrus and pine hops. The taste is much the same, bready, caramel malt and citrus, pine, and grassy hops. The carbonation is moderate, the body fairly light, and it finishes with tangy and floral hops. This is quite a ramped-up ESB, Imperial, as Rogue calls it, so much so that it definitely resembles a West Coast IPA. Whatever it's called, it's nice and hoppy and very easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2009 00:02:12 | More by biboergosum

Gavage

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Copper / orange in color with a nice 1" head and decent lacing developed through the drink. The aroma is floral and slighlty fruity. The flavor is great as malt and bitterness are all over this, and some mild fruit tones are detectable. The bitterness level is brutal as the label says - and it's great !

Very smooth and slightly dry on the finish. Medium bodied. Bitterness lingers forever on the tongue. Absolutely a great beer to sit and have several of.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2004 19:26:34 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours slightly hazed light copper with a off-white head that leaves some lacing.

The smell is of light citrus with sweet grainy malt in the back.

The taste is citric with sweet malt backing. Can't say it's complex, but it is tasty. A good dose of hops with plenty of malt backing makes it bittersweet. A certain wheat-like crispness in the finish.


Smooth in a fuller side of medium body. Some chewiness to it.

Drinkable and enjoyable, despite a bit of rawness about it. This one fits the bill of a boosted-up bitter. A uniquely intense ESB.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2007 14:21:48 | More by jwc215