XS Imperial Red - Rogue Ales

dngilb

Oklahoma

4.5/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I was sort of surprised to see only a B+ coming from this beer. It is one of my top five favorites right now. I've had beers from the Ratebeer.com top 20 for 2010... and I find myself enjoying this XS Rogue Imperial Red far more.

Taste: There is chocolate, but not very sweet... not real bitter. The bitterness comes instead from a perfectly balanced blend of hops that give a sort of grapefruit citrus notes, without being sour. There are other flavors that I'm having a hard time putting my finger on... its not a coffee flavor, but its some fruit flavors and wine like flavor that I find in pulp natural processed african coffees when brewed in a french press or a cafe solo. Please don't take that to mean you're going to taste coffee. You aren't. But if you are blessed enough to live in a city with a true "third wave" coffee establishment... Double Shot Tulsa, Barefoot in Portland, Intelligentsia... then I think you'll see what i'm talking about.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2011 01:55:52 | More by dngilb

Buster

Oklahoma

3.5/5  rDev -8.9%

05-19-2013 02:21:04 | More by Buster

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

04-26-2013 23:51:22 | More by spycow

Beer21

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%

04-09-2013 02:18:02 | More by Beer21

BAsbill

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

03-30-2013 04:07:52 | More by BAsbill

InfernoBoss

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

03-23-2013 07:24:35 | More by InfernoBoss

chugamugofsud

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -8.9%

02-21-2013 18:07:37 | More by chugamugofsud

MAJ85

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

02-05-2013 14:50:46 | More by MAJ85

imperiallibations

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

01-30-2013 22:41:40 | More by imperiallibations

hopandbarley28

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +17.2%

01-25-2013 16:39:35 | More by hopandbarley28

FLBeerGuy

Florida

4/5  rDev +4.2%

01-24-2013 03:08:11 | More by FLBeerGuy

jnoelani

Washington

4/5  rDev +4.2%

01-23-2013 23:33:24 | More by jnoelani

tbryan5

Louisiana

4/5  rDev +4.2%

01-20-2013 23:47:27 | More by tbryan5

drummermattie02

Texas

3/5  rDev -21.9%

01-19-2013 17:21:38 | More by drummermattie02

eawolff99

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

01-16-2013 21:54:47 | More by eawolff99

elcrawl

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%

01-15-2013 03:23:29 | More by elcrawl

t0rin0

California

3.25/5  rDev -15.4%

12-26-2012 00:34:22 | More by t0rin0

grahamboudreaux

Tennessee

4.5/5  rDev +17.2%

12-17-2012 13:57:31 | More by grahamboudreaux

jucifer1818

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +17.2%

11-30-2012 06:56:18 | More by jucifer1818

Seanniek91

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 7oz bottle into a Redhook Limited Release goblet.

Appearance- Murky, cloudy, amber/brown color with a nice foamy half finger head. Nice lacing probably due to the alcohol content.

Smell- Some cherry, vanilla, alcohol, malts, yeast. Sweet smelling.

Taste- Malts and yeast upfront. Alcohol flingers. Some cherry and raspberry I think?

Mouthfeel- A little syrupy, but the carbonation evens it out nicely.

Overall- Another great beer from Rogue. Damn good red, but if you don't like alcohol presence in your beer then you won't like this.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 18:25:57 | More by Seanniek91

GiantMidget

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

10-13-2012 23:03:46 | More by GiantMidget

PopnLoads

Illinois

4/5  rDev +4.2%

09-12-2012 23:34:13 | More by PopnLoads

mcsauter82

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +4.2%

09-10-2012 21:01:10 | More by mcsauter82

BigPlay1824

New York

2.88/5  rDev -25%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Enjoyed in a pint glass

A: pours a very murky reddish brown color with a ton of suspended sediment and a solid amount of carbonation bubbles that float towards the top supporting an ample head that is creamy and tan (kind of looks like pancake mix as its put on the griddle), lingers for a solid amount of time and leaves
S: interesting, im catching hops, a solid sweetness that is deep but not quite like molasses, birch syrup maybe? also dark fruits
T: finishes with an intense hop bitterness, through the middle is kind of thick and muddled with a bit of a drywall note (gypsum?) slight sweetness, malt notes are decent but not all that cleaned up
M: thick, minimal carbonation tingle, finishes smooth with a bit of a dry note that lingers on the palate long afterwards
O: its ok, not grand, not well rounded IMO, like i said all of it is just kinda muddled, there are far better imperial reds out there than this

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 22:44:42 | More by BigPlay1824

Furtanken

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +17.2%

08-31-2012 06:05:05 | More by Furtanken