Rogue XS McRogue Scotch Ale, another part of the XS line offered by Rogue, poured a dark, hazy brown with rust highlight into the glass, topped with almost no head and very little carbonation. The nose was pure toffee and butterscotch; sweet with maybe a hint of bitterness.
Rogue XS McRogue Scotch Ale opened surprisingly crisp, with a citrusy lemon, hop start before the sweet toffee and caramel malts took over and coated the mouth. A smoky, sharp flavor kept almost making an appearance, but went away completely in the fade as the ale thickened and went almost completely butterscotch.
Rogue XS McRogue Scotch Ale is a bit of a head scratcher for me… it is a fine drinking ale, but is much smoother and less gnarly than most scotch ales I have tried. The big, sweet butterscotch finish was a surprise, especially as young as the bottle was, and made it much more dessert-like than any other I have tried.
