Rogue Brewing Co - Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale

I heard about this beer online a while back but had never seen it in the stores. The other day while browsing at Whole Foods I came across it and couldn't resist. From the bright pink Pepto-Bismol-colored bottle to the undeniable appeal of maple and bacon, I knew I had to give it a shot.

The beer itself is a 5.6% ABV brown ale, brewed with a laundry list of special ingredients such as maple syrup, real bacon, and several specialized kinds of hops and malts. Given both my New England heritage and my recent review of a maple beer, I looked forward to exploring even further the inclusion of maple syrup into beer.

I cracked open the beer and poured it into a chilled pint glass. It has a nice smoky amber color that is cloudy. The head was a yellowed-white color. The nose was pungent and slightly sweet. The pour was a little thick and syrupy, with minimal carbonation.

And, then we come to the taste. I can see what Rogue wanted to achieve here - a smoky mix of bacon and maple reminiscent of pancakes with syrup and crispy bacon - but sadly the actual taste does not meet that goal. Instead of a milky-smooth, flavorful brew, Rogue has succeeded in crafting a beer that is overwhelmed by a sickly-sweet alcoholic taste. The notes of maple and bacon I was expecting (and hoping for) are present, but vaguely so, and sadly overpowered by a harsh caustic burn. The aftertaste is one of dark, burnt malt.

So, I guess I can't recommend this ale in good faith. For $13, I was expecting something much more well-crafted and polished. Instead the beer falls flat as a drinkable beer. In their quest to make a crazy, unique, flavored beer, Rogue has forsaken all drinkability. It's not that I don't like maple or bacon - I very much enjoy both (especially bacon. Yeah, bacon) - but I feel that this beer simply did not combine these ingredients well into a beer. In my opinion, the primary goal of a brewmaster should be to make a beer that's drinkable, and work out from there. Perhaps Rogue needs to return to the drawing board and start over to make this beer work.