Why we picked it: Come on, there's a drunk Santa on the front! What other reason do we need?
About Santa's Private Reserve: Rogue’s annual holiday offering, Santa’s Private Reserve, is a variation of the classic Saint Rogue Red, but with double the hops--including Chinook, and Centennial, and a mystery hop called Rudolph by head brewer John “more hops” Maier!
Style: Red Ale
Food Pairing: Pork, Beef
Tasting Notes: A double-hopped Red, reddish in color, with a roasty, malty flavor and a hoppy spruce finish.
| 9 Ingredients: Carastan 30-37 & 13-17, Crystal 70-80 & Great Western 2-Row Malts;
Amarillo & Perle Hops; Free Range Coastal Water and Pacman Yeast. Specs: 13º PLATO; 65 IBU; 73.1 AA; 26.75º L ABV: 6.0% Case cost: $45 *website: http://rogue.com/beers/santas-private-reserve.php |
Sorry, a little late with the blog posting today. Hope everyone enjoys!
ReplyDeleteThat's ok Tony, I was late with my lunch today so perfect timing!
DeleteSo I saw how much hops this had and was worried b/c I'm not much of HOPs fan as most guys on this blog are. So my first taste was HOLY COW THAT'S HOPPY! Then I started to eat red beans and rice and boy did this taste great paired with the food I was eating. No aftertaste and could not taste the HOPs as much either. Decent beer and love the high ABV!! Was actually looking for another one in my refrig when I was done! Thank God for leftover Red Beans and rice for lunch!
ReplyDeleteRating: 7
reb beans! did you check the exp date on that can!....
DeleteI agree with Joe -- my first sip impression was hop-overdose. But after I drank 1/2 (without red beans and rice), it sure was tasty!
ReplyDeleteIt takes a special kind of day to enjoy Rogue beer. They are typically strong, no nonsense, beer drinker's beers - Dead Guy Ale, Shakespeare Stout, etc. Today was perfect for a Rogue.
ReplyDeleteStarted today off with the Jingle Bell 5K, crushed a few Miller Lites with Dave Peters at 9:40AM, came home and raked a some leaves, had this private reserve courtesy of Santa, and then passed out. Most Rogue beers seem to knock me on my ass. This one did not let me down. Maybe it was the 5K, but I'm pretty sure it was the beer.
We hosted a sleepover tonight and had four kids under the age of 6 to wrangle. As soon as they went to bed, we both headed straight for the beer fridge (it's cool to drink beers when watching other people's children, right?). Thank goodness this was the beer in question - we both enjoyed our half. Justin more than me - he's a hops fan, while I am more friendly with the Dead Guy - but very much a nice way to end the day. Doing the Jingle All the Way 8K tomorrow so unfortunately can't have more now, but I plan to make up for it post-race. Evan a Miller Lite might taste good after running 5 miles in the rain.
ReplyDeleteI love Rogue beer. Back when the Reef was my local bar, they had a different Rogue every month and few let me down. Although as John mentioned, they tended to make my block and a half stumble a challenge. I tasted a lot more of the malt than the hops but that was fine. I also got none of the spruce that I was warned about on the label and that was more than fine. Either that or maybe I'm immune to spruce after the Anchor Steam two days ago. I like this. A lot. This is the first one where I am tempted to drive out to get another sixer right now.
ReplyDeletehmmmm, malt you say?? I assumed the overpowering taste was the HOPs but maybe it was the Malt?? Are you sure Malt was overpowering you and not the HOPs?
DeleteI have no idea.
DeletePosting for Ro since she fell asleep on the couch. Perhaps the margaritas were a bit too much of an appetizer for the Rogue. Her last words were that she really liked it and enjoyed the maltiness and also did not detect the spruce. And she left me half her beer. Which I am now drinking. Getting two cases a genius move on Rogue night. Not so much on Anchor Steam night.
ReplyDeleteAs a big fan of Dead Guy, I was looking forward to this one and I was not disappointed. It was not as hoppy as I hoped/expected with the double dose, but it had a nice balance and a clean finish. A really, really good beer. I need another just to prove to myself it was as good as I think it is. Bill pick up a sixer for me while your out. Clear favorite so far: 9/10
ReplyDeleteSolid beer for a serious beer drinker in December. I agree with earlier posts...the pine not prevalent. I get more citrus from the hops...specifically orange. If ya breath out your nose after a sip with your mouth closed, you do ge a little pine. Real dark maltiness and a little spice this holiday is nice.
ReplyDeleteA sixer of this may be a little dangerous...but I'd crush it anyway!
Let's recap. Red bull, santa rogue, vodka shot, ellie lab beer (katy), miller lite, miller lite, miller lite, miller lite, miller lite, soco/lime, miller lite, miller lite, jameson, red bull, miller lite, mller lite, miller mite. Honestly, no recollection of todays beer
ReplyDeleteI love that Bolts' last beer was a "miller mite." Seems fitting.
ReplyDeleteI really like Rogue beers, and I love Oregon in general (has anyone seen Portlandia?) Two years ago, I went to Oregon for an Oregon-Cal football game and got introduced to two other Oregon traditions. The Oregon Duck the duck fart. The Oregon Duck is the mascot of the aforementioned Univeristy of Oregon football team. We were tailgating near the stadium, when the Duck appeared seeking photo opps with Oregon fans. Having had a few Miller Mites ourselves that day, a photo seemed like a good idea. Interestingly, the Duck has a handler whose only job appeared to be preventing any beer cans/bottles from being in the picture. We complied and got some wonderful photo memories of the afternoon. It's a good thing we did, because we were then handed shot glasses containing an obnoxious concoction called a duck fart. I think there was Crown Royal and Bailey's involved. They were as disgusting as I'd imagine an actual duck fart would be. So we only had a half dozen or so of those. The net effect was one of my comrades sleeping through the first half of the game (in the stands, and much to the chagrin of the people sitting in front of him). To his credit, he somehow rallied in the second half. Unfortunately, this made him eligible for post-game duck farts back at the tailgate. That turned out poorly for him.
The moral of this story: duck farts are worse than any beer on this list (so far).
Like most others, I liked this beer the further I got in to it.
My day was much like Bolts. It involved many miller lites, two victory prima pils, a Santa's private reserve, and many shots. I can't give a great review because I can't really remember how it tastes. However I do remember that I thought it was pretty good as I was drinking it. So let's go with 7.5 out of 10, B-
ReplyDeleteThis beer was NOT good, and I'm disappointed to say that I didn't finish it...which is a trend with me for the round of beers this year. Tony, Bolter and DJ have not let me live it down either. I may need to step in next year and help with the picking of our case of beers.
ReplyDeleteI was dissapointed with this beer. Seemed like it would have a lot to offer being Santa's secret stash and all. But it was boring... not offensive, but no pizazz. C+.
ReplyDeleteHo, Ho, No!
ReplyDeleteNot too exciting by that beer, it is very average, I‘m disappointed knowing what that brewery can do. I guess I had higher expectations for that beer.
Rated 4.9/10
You can keep it Santa. Na-Na-Nasty.
ReplyDeletethis beer did not go down easy as we watch MNF but it could be that I'm still pissed that Homeland sucked for the second straigh weekend
ReplyDeleteAre you watching old episodes or something? Homeland definitely did not suck on Sunday. Well, the only thing that sucks is that there is only 1 episode left this season.
DeleteAwesome! That's all I can say about that. The Rogue Dead Santa Ale is amazing. Perfect Monday night football beer when it's 72 degrees out. In fact I think I may sip some Crown to finish it off.
ReplyDeleteCardinal Puff drinks his first beer of the night. It says to pair this with pork or beef and I farted right before I drank it, so there's my beef. I like Rogue either way. I would buy this again.
ReplyDeleteI got a little burned out on Rogue Dead Guy a few years ago and hadn't ventured back to that brand for some time. Glad I did here. Thought this was a very nice seasonal beer.
ReplyDelete