If you every get the chance, visit either the Newport or Portland brewery and pub house and enjoy the amazing food (Kobe Bleu Ball sliders will blow your mind), intimidating beer menu, and quirky character they each bring. This is a beer blog, so I won't go into detail, but if you enjoy fine spirits and you haven't tried their Rogue Spirits line of whiskey, gin, and rum you are missing out on one of the finest boutique hard alcohol experiences I've found for a reasonable price.
All this brings us to the Chatoe Rogue First Growth Creek Ale...
Although beer, like art, should be able to stand on it's own merit without context, the story behind the First Growth Creek Ale is too good to pass over. Part of Rogue Brewing's GYO (Grow Your Own) series, this beer is brewed using Rogue's own hops and barley (they proudly list the eight ingredients used to make the ale as Wheat, Rogue Barley from their Dare and Risk malts, Rogue Hopyard Revolution hops, Montmorency cherries, Pacman and Belgian yeast, and free range coastal water). And yes... that's cherries in the list of ingredients.
Chatoe Rogue First Growth Creek Ale poured into the glass a cloudy red-brown with a small but creamy head that slowly pulled away to reveal a wine-like separation where the beer met the edge of the glass. The nose was pleasant and smelled like a subtly smoked lambic. Although not too dark in color, the beer was thick enough that the bubbles seemed to be rising to the top in slow motion.
The first impression in the mouth certainly mirrored the lambic nose, momentarily slightly sour and only subtly hopped. Left to sit for a few seconds, the beer seemed to almost expand and foam in my mouth through chemical reaction. It wasn't until I swallowed that a finely balanced, medium bodied malt ale came through, very refreshing and leaving just a hint of cherry at the end with without sweetness, the bitterness of the hops, or the smokiness of the malts lingering.
I'm not a fan of most fruit enhanced beer, but I put this in a different category... this ale isn't about being a cherry ale, it's about being a great malty ale with cherry accentuating it's best features. This is one of those beers (like several of theirs, including the Rogue Chipotle Ale and Rogue Chocolate Stout) that are too quirky and rich to be consumed regularly but are the beer drinker's equivalent of ambrosia when consumed only a few times a year. Find a bottle, pour, and get ready to slide into the weekend...
ABV 7.7
IBU 25
OG N/A
TG 1.015
This is a fantastic review, and I really want to try the beer. Rogue makes a few beers that are widely distributed, and many more (like this one) that are hard to find. Any suggestions for locating a bottle of Chatoe Rogue First Growth Creek Ale?
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for the more esoteric premium beers in Southern Oregon, I generally would recommend heading to Ashland and hitting up Market of Choice(http://www.marketofchoice.com/), the Ashland Co-op (http://www.ashlandfood.coop/) (Disclaimer... I'm a member), or Shop n' Kart (http://ashlandshopnkart.com/). Market of Choice has the biggest selection and Shop n' Kart has some of the best deals.
ReplyDeleteAll that said, I stumbled across the Chatoe Rogue at Sherm's Food 4 Less (http://www.shermsmarkets.com/F4L.htm).
Typo in header. Creek Ale not Greek Ale.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, we love what we do and sometimes people taste it.
Fixed *grins sheepishly*
ReplyDeleteBased on this review, I located a bottle of First Growth Creek Ale and gave it a try last night. The review is spot on, and the beer is fantastic! Like the reviewer, I'm not normally a fan of beers with added fruit ingredients. They are usually so fruity that the characteristics of the basic beer ingredients are lost. Not the case here. The cherry is fairly strong up front (and delicious) but quickly pulls back to reveal other characteristics (most notably the malts). I also noted that this ale is particularly sparkly and effervescent--almost champagne-like. Very nice.
ReplyDelete