Rogue - Chatoe Rogue First Growth Dirtoir black lager

Dan recommended this beer to me last year, and it took me a while to find it - Rogue Ales' 'Chatoe Rogue' First Growth Dirtoir black lager. This beer is a 6% ABV black lager that's part of Rogue's Chatoe Rogue series.

Chatoe Rogue is a special division of Rogue Ales that focuses on locally-grown ingredients - specifically, ingredients grown on Rogue's plantation. Chatoe Rogue is also Rogue's B&B.

As I understand it, after a hops shortage Rogue decided to buy some farmland and grow a lot of its own ingredients. This, of course, would presumably also be a benefit to Rogue as it would give the company a chance to have total control over the ingredients that go into their product. For your edification, "GYO" stands for "Grow Your Own."

The beer had a black pour, as expected. The thick pour produced dark foam - darker than most I have seen. Interesting.

The head subsided very quickly. There wasn't really any lacing.

The nose is very pleasant - very good mix of chocolate, nuts, and spices. The nose was very rich and frankly, I like that. It's a sensory experience and was definitely indicative of the taste to come.

The mouth is very chocolaty. It was smooth, deep, and delicious with lots of roast hops and chocolate / nut flavors. It reminded me a lot of Ministry of Beer's "Beer of Socialist Labor." Both beers featured a low-carbonation, deep-tasting, smoky brew with hints of toasted caramels and malts. However, unlike the Beer of Socialist Labor, the Dirtoir had an oddly thin taste. I understand that general black lagers have a thinner consistency that stouts, but for some reason I expected this beer to be a bit heartier. It was similar to Uinta's Baba black lager in terms of consistency. Nice taste, but oddly thin.

The aftertaste is one of dark chocolate and some of the burnt hops that I really don't like. The finish was a bit harsh with lots of burnt tastes.

In conclusion, this beer is OK. It's a bit thin but drinkable, enjoyable, and typical for a lager. While it wasn't the best of its type that I have had, it has depth - a dark sweetness that makes it very nice and paired with its consistency and taste - and could work very well for a session beer or even something to sip over dessert. I can imagine pairing chocolate eclairs with this beer. I wonder how it ages, and whether sitting it down for a year or so might do it some good.

Stone Brewing Co. - Espresso Imperial Russian Stout

As you can imagine, I'm always on the lookout for new beers that I can try. One of my favorite go-to breweries is Stone Brewing Company out of Escondido, California. Stone hit the East Coast a number of years back and I had the pleasure of trying many of the beers they produced. Stone's Smoked Porter ale, Vertical Epic limited releases, and Old Guardian barleywine all were big winners with me. In my opinion, Stone always manages to brew delicious, well-rounded beers and I don't think I've run across one that I didn't like.

So in my weekly scan of the Whole Foods beer aisle, I noticed that Stone had a new (to me) beer - the Imperial Russian Stout.

On closer examination, I determined that (like the Old Guardian line) they had two yearly releases: a Classic Release (the Imperial Russian Stout) and the odd-year release (for 2013, the Espresso Imperial Russian Stout.)

As you may recall in my Old Guardian post, when releasing usual-run beers (that is, beers that they produce year after year) they may experiment with the formula and produce two or more variants. In this particular case, both were next to each other on the shelf, equally priced around $8. I picked up one of each, and will be reviewing the Espresso odd-year release now. Some other time I'll try the classic release, a bottle of which is currently cellaring in my apartment.

As you can see, this beer poured brownish-black and had a slight foam to it. I poured out about 85% of the beer into my tasting glass and swished the remainder around in the bottle to foam up. It held on to a khaki-colored head that subsided after a few minutes.

The pour was thick and slow, with a muted chocolately-smooth nose. This beer smells great out of the bottle and as it warms up, the nose really opens up nicely. Nice!

After letting it warm a while, I tried some, and I must say, it's excellent. I was impressed by the smoothness of this beer. Nice coffee / espresso tastes up front. The overall body of the beer (and more importantly the finish!) was very smooth, buttery, with warm chocolate notes. It wasn't thin or harsh, but very nuanced, full and warm with just the right notes of toasted hops and malts.The aftertaste was full and pleasant, with no flavor lost at all. Good delivery, good flavors, and well balanced. I couldn't have asked for more in a Russian Imperial Stout.

Truthfully, the key here is that this beer is not bitter. So many imperial stouts get caught up in that heaviness and roasted malt / hops flavors (and yes, I know, these beers are supposed to have SOME of that) but when it's overdone, the beers turn out almost undrinkable. Fortunately for this one, the blend is just right. It really was a pleasure to drink.

These kind of beers, while traditionally intended for the winter, work fine any time of year. And especially this one - because of its rich, smooth feel and well-blended flavors, it is appropriate whenever you want to drink it. And I can definitely recommend this beer to novice drinkers, as the flavor is very approachable. If you happen to see one, grab it (it's only $8) and enjoy! Or, if you're patient, pop it on your bottom shelf for a few months. Some blustery cold night, pop this in the fridge and enjoy! I bet this would go great with a slice of pecan pie.