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Monday, March 4, 2013

95. Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Ale


When you hold beers like me, you can experience a little bit of Christmas all days of the year.  In this case, I decided to enjoy a beer before heading to a Carolina Hurricanes game and opted to go with the holiday ale by Rogue.  

The beer poured an amber color into a snifter glass.  A finger and a half of off white head that had a stickiness to it.  Sheets of lacing all over the perimeter of the glass, making for one attractive looking beer.  I picked up aromas of malt, caramel, dark fruit, maybe a little bit of spice.  Also had a touch of citrus.  I tend to like amber ales, but I don't remember any amber ales with this type of profile..I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into!

Malty sweetness comes first, following by a hop bite that tends to linger a little too long for my tastes.  The malt, caramel is evident.  The dark fruit I smelled didn't pick up in the taste.  The citrus that was hard to detect was much more evident..not a sweet citrus either, definitely grapefruit.  I think I could pick off some piney hops as well.  The beer was medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.  Overall, I feel like I've had better amber ales that are a better representation of the type.  I've also had better Christmas ales, since this lacked the spice.  To me, this is a pretty unremarkable beer.  Agree or disagree?  I'd love to hear your opinion.

Grade: C-
Price Paid: $2.29 (12 oz bottle)

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