Rogue Dead Guy Ale

This isn't a Review, It's a love letter.

I really wish I could adequately put into words how much I love this beer. This Ale truly is my first MicroBrew love, and like all first loves, it's the Ale I compare all others to. It's a German Maibock style Ale (and don't ask me what that means, I don't have a clue) and this particular recipe has won the World Beer Cup Silver Medal three years in a row between 2005-2007. It didn't win by accident. This is probably the best Ale I've ever tasted. Honestly a review of this beer is unnecessary: If you haven't tried it, you should.

But what's the point of a redneck beer review blog without the review?

Fine, I twisted my own arm. I'll write a review just for smiles and grins. I ran into the beer for the first time in a little bar called the Brass Monkey. I had dabbled in craft beers for awhile at this time, but the majority of my intake went off to good old Anheuser-Busch. My buddy pulled me in the place, which had just been renovated and was going through new ownership, and we walked in to observe a row of taps in a pretty small bar. After ordering up a plain old Boulevard Wheat and talking to the owner for awhile I asked about the cool looking skeleton guy sitting on a tap, and he highly recommended that I try it. I bought 3 pints that night, and had a hard time leaving.

So how is it?

The Dead Guy at my workstation.

This beer pours light, and as you can see in the picture to the side- it has a very light head. If you smell it you might be able to pick up hints of malt and hops, but it's incredibly subtle. You really need to take in a big nose-full to get much more than a "yeah that's beer" aroma. Describing the flavor is difficult for me. Mainly because when I take a sip it's akin to riding my first bike, or wrecking my car, or the first time I got completely wasted on rumplemintz and got picked up by the cops. Needless to say I have a really hard time pinning down the flavor. This beer is familiar to me, I'd have a better chance describing how air tastes.

The best I can do for you Good Reader is tell you that this beer walks the perfect line between the extravagantly flavorful but obnoxious India Pale Ales and the absolutely tasteless American Style Light Lagers that dominate beer sales in the United States. It's Malty without being too thick, hoppy without feeling like you just chewed on a pot leaf, and smooth enough to drink a ton of it but bitter enough to warn you of the repercussions. That and the bottle is really fucking cool, and serves as a decent conversation starter in the right company.

Verdict = Perfect right?

For me? Oh hell yes. Rogue Dead Guy Ale is the perfect beer for this guy. Honestly I'd drink one every day if I could, but unfortunately economics get in the way. With anything perfect there is a "well yeah but......" hanging on at the end, and for Dead Guy it's the price point and availability. Here in Nebraska it runs 12-13$ for a sixer, and about 4-6$ for a 24oz bottle. On top of that there aren't a whole lot of bars that stock it, due to it's obscurity in my market and the fact that kegs run a pretty penny as well (I've heard it's much more affordable in the West Coast where it's brewed though). But besides the astronomical price I've picked it up whenever I've found it and had the extra cash. If you're reading this you should too.