Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve
On the 7th Day of Christmas Brews the Beer Elf brought me a nice little brew. It’s the end of the week and time to pretend to catch my breath. Got most of the Christmas shopping down and decided it was a good time to wrap some gifts. I’m running out of hiding places. When I was a kid my mother had to hide the presents in the truck of the car. It was the only way to keep me from finding them and in some cases keeping me from unwrapping them (I wasn’t so good about re-wrapping to hide the evidence). I digress.

This was about what I expected from Rogue. No whimpy brews coming from these guys. I was trying to come up with a way to describe the bold malty taste. “Roasty, toasty” kept coming to mind for the malt side and to describe the hoppy finish…. nothing. I couldn’t come up with description. So I looked at the label and it said “Reddish copper in color with a roasty malty flavor and a hoppy, sprucey finish.” Well I guess I’m not the only one coming up with the “Roasty” term.

This is a really nice dark porter style beer but with a dominance of hops. No spices but that sprucey description is actually pretty descriptive. There is a slightly piney flavor that comes with the finish. The finish reminds me of the two brews from the last two nights…… very long and lingering. Might need something to snack on to clear the taste after about 5 minutes.

I also have to wonder about the Christmas brews.
From: Newport, Oregon
Brewery: Rogue Brewery
Cost: $2.26
Size: 12 oz

12 Beers of Christmas (plus 3)

Day 7: Rogue Santa's Private Reserve