Roggen Roll
Bullfrog Brewery

This beer poured out as a deep red color, nearly brown. The head fizzled away quickly and left behind no head. The smell of the beer was really interesting, there was a lot going on and I'm not sure how much I can really pin point here. Rye, and several other spices on the nose. The taste of the beer was a little sour I thought, I wasn't expecting that too much. The spices rest on the tongue in the aftertaste. It's a very different type of beer. The mouthfeel was a little flat and thin I thought. Overall it was interesting, I'd like to try more of this style to see how they compare.

Growler thanks to Jwiss22

Pours a mahogany color with one finger of off white head.

Scent of yeast, rye, sugar, clove, banana, and mild spicy hops. This is the first Roggenbier I have had so it still seems a little strange, but I am liking it so far.

Taste of strong spice, yeast, clove, rye, banana, sugar, dry earth, and a hint of spicy hops. The initial spice reminds me of a Winter Warmer, but the rye and yeast flavors come in and mix things up a bit. I could see drinking a beer of this style more often.

Mouthfeel is light bodied, though maybe a bit thin, and well carbonated.

On tap at Als of hampden served in a pint glass. The roggen roll appears a hazed amber brown color with a thin film of tanned head. A minor amount of lace clings to the glass and the head doesn't retain all that well.

The aroma of this brew initially is dominated by the weizen yeast strain smelling of light fruitiness, clovey spices and banana. Very good aroma, if this brew continues to taste as the aroma led on, this will be a fantastic brew.

The taste/profile does not at all jive up with what I was expecting. It is riddled with yeast, not the yeasty character I was expecting but just a young green yeasty flavor without the pleasant yeast character indicated in the aroma. The yeast's positive contribution only shines in the finish but is thwarted by the herbal bitterness of hops. The aftertaste includes a bit of cloves and banana mixed with a grainy flavor somewhat reminescent of wheat but with a slightly darker flavor.

A light bodied brew with a modest level of carbonation. It is a bit watery at times and not as full feeling especially from a rye. Decent, don't get me wrong but not as enjoyable as other's take on the style. Of all the bullfrog offerings I have had, this one was the least memorable and I had to do a double-take to ensure it was from them. Bullfrog offerings usually have a very distinct "house feel" to them and I just wasn't feeling it with this one. It is overall a bit of a muddled mess, something like a overly herbal hopped hefeweizen with chocolate malt tossed in just for shits and giggles.

a: This was a slightly murky, kind of muddy looking dark brown. It was served to me without a head, just a couple of big bubbles and a whisp of froth.

s: Beautiful, earthy bananas, cloves, spicy rye notes, and maybe something a little smokey.

t: This is only my second roggenbier and I really like it, although I remember liking Troegs' a little bit more. Everything from the aroma was here, making for a deliciously refreshing beer. The love the way rye cuts back on the banana sweetness a bit.

m: The lack of head could certainly be felt, this needed some suds to liven it up a bit.

d: This was a great beer that was just a bit too flat. It tasted and smelled great regardless.

Served on-tap at the brewpub on 29-Jul-10.

A: The roggenbier is a coppery brown color, a dirty penny. Part of the color is thanks to the darker rye malts added. It remains translucent, barely, and has a small head that generated no lace initially. As the ale was consumed, small patches of lace were generated.

S: The nose has a smoky finish that adds heft to the ale, defining it even. Behind that mild curehouse aroma, spicy rye hangs out.

T: The wheat, heretofore hidden, comes out swinging. It provides a soft, tart body that is very light but evident. Smoke follows, building off of the tartness with a subtle meaty flavor. The smoke also ups the chewiness quotient. The rye zest finishes the ale off, adding a spicy, darker malt flavor that takes control of the finish. Mid-sip, prior to the rye, weizen esters add a banana sweetness.

M: The smoke stands out but I really like that each component of the roggenbier gets its time in the spotlight: the rye, the weizen, the hefe and the smoke.

D: A nice style to polish off and re-release. The smoke is a nice touch, adding depth to the ale. All this flavor and under 5%? Crazy.

Had the pleasure of a grower of this one for father's day last night. Brought it over the parent's house and worked my way through it while we cooked. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 06/21/2009.
 
The pour was very nicely done I have to admit I really could not see a way that that could have improved at all. Dark, murky color, like the silt at the bottom of the lake. This gave rise to a nice head of off white that reached a height of maybe an inch or so and never really looked back from there. Super smooth looking with tons of lace inching its way down the sides of the glass as we worked our way in. Enormously sweet aroma, lots of caramel, bready malts, hints of light toffee and a definite herbal note to it. Very sweet though, and that fact left a long lasting impression on me. Smooth, rich, creamy, the depth of this one cannot be taken for granted, this one was sublime. As the first wave of rich, crashing caramel flavor coated the tongue, it morphed into a sublimely nutty, and creamy flavor. I really could have drank this one all day. Long lasting, creamy finish was simply perfect for a nice session able summer beer.
 
Overall, beyond solid I have to admit. I am normally a huge fan of the style, but this one blew away most of the ones I have had in recent memory. Simply superb in every department. If you can get near this one, you need to go out and try it; it is simply one of a kind.

On tap @ the brewpub on 6/13/09. This was a very generous 20 oz or so pour into a rather large Weizen glass.

Pours a deep murky brown with a 1/2 finger of light tan head. Retains around the edges with some thick bunching. Flares up nicely into a big creamy cascade that leaves some solid patchy lacing back. The aroma is all classic Dunkel. Clove, yeasty banana, bready rye sweetness. The rye and spice really bounce off each other nicely. A light floral feel and just a touch of warmth emerges in the back.

The taste brings the same thing to the table. Caramel and some light chocolate, a flush of banana bread in the middle, with a touch of spicy rye emerging, which plays nicely with the sharp notes of clove and cinnamon. A firm earthy bitterness pulls up the back. A steady spicy and dry feel finishes things off. Just excellent balance of flavors to this. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a sharp and pricklier carbonation up front and then a heavier feel underneath, which I think actually makes this feel a bit more than it's 5.5% listed ABV. This maybe holds back the drinkibility and body back a touch for me, as I felt that this glass was more than enough for this sitting.

The rye works beautifully in this, remaining in the background for the most part, letting the Dunkelweizen flavors shine, but then...bam!...really coming out strong in the finish. Wow, this turned out really nice, with some great flavors and solid balance. Another great brew from the Bullfrog!

I was able to enjoy this on-tap at Capone's recently.

A: Pours very cloudy, and looks rusty and cider-colored. A near-white head disappears quickly but leaves a slight kiss of lace.

S: Banana and clove jump out first, with yeast and hints of spice finishing off the scent.

T: Following the nose, the taste is full of banana, but strongly balanced by clove, spice, dunkel and caramel malts. There is a lot going on in a mouthfull, and its a fun beer to drink. The biggest strength of this brew is its balance - everything seems to be in perfect order. Its a busy yet well-balanced brew.

M: Mouthfeel is full and malty. Carbonation seems to hang in the clouds of this one, as if suspended mid-brew

D: Although it seems to drink a little bigger than you might originally think, it is straight-up delicious and well done.

Growler into shaker pint on 6/6/09. Thanks to FooFaa for sharing!

A - Poured a muddy brown body with a slight reddish tint and a sturdy finger's width of creamy beige foam that settled to a thin veil and left very little lacing.

S - The dunkel characteristics are at the forefront of the aroma, with hints of clove and banana. A spicy, yeasty presence develops and is bolstered by the addition of rye into the mix.

T - Opens with banana notes, clove spiciness and a noticeable chocolate presence with some brown sugar sweetness and just a hint of cinnamon. The rye character is persistent throughout and keeps the flavor on the spicy side. Earthy bitter notes develop in the middle and extend into the finish.

M - Medium bodied with a slight syrupy texture and mild carbonation. Finishes with a fairly dry, earthy hop bite and plenty of yeasty spiciness on the palate.

D - This one definitely drinks like a dunkel but has a prevalent rye presence throughout, lending dry, spicy attributes to the brew. This was a very enjoyable offering Bullfrog.

This is a Roggenbier as described on the chalkboard, but has a lot of hef-ish texture & phenols working. A dunkel with a ton of rye? Or a roggen with wheat? It's tasty, that's all that matters.

Draft at the brewpub. Poured into a (maybe) half liter, stubbed weiss glass.

My tender shaved off most of the head, so I got a pretty hearty pour to work on. I think it was $5. Great value on their staple beers. Body was a muddled, bland, crayon scribble on cardboard brown. Pretty froth building up on every shake shake of the wrist.

Smell is big on sweeter anise & less on hostile clove. Pumpernickel & really ripe & bruised banana play nice too. I could sense the alcohol.

Taste was carmelized malt up front, quite minerally, a jab of lemon tartness & subtler banana, all spice & some more forceful clove, bland chocolate, & a little dusty, black tea-ish bitterness. A nice crusty bread aftertaste really sealed the deal for me.

One of the thickest "initial" mouthfeels I've ever encountered. Not heavy thick, just heavy in froth, grainy grit, & maybe some dryness to make sure I was completely devoted to this partnership. It thinned out once it started moving & getting warm, but I don't remember ever having to pull a beer out of a glass before. It took effort. That was my exercise for the day. :)

Alcohol tasted & felt higher then stated(I guessed 6.5ish), but since I was corrected there, & still quite hungry, I went for another(& the previously stated growlers).

We never got past ordering appetizers. :D

Appearance: Murky brown, classic dunkel look, with an off white 2 finger foam crown.

Smell: Clove, over ripe banana, bavarian yeast, rye, and a nice touch of smoke and a hint of cinnamon.

Taste: Same as nose but even better than smelling it! Wow this brew really comes together nicely. I'm always excited when a beer is "gestalt" aka when the "sum is greater than its parts" and this was such a beer! Complex but balanced!

Mouthfeel: On the thin side of medium....a hair too thin IMHO.

Drinkability: I wish I brought a growler of this home instead of the Edgar IPA.

Home Run Bullfrog!

A new brew in the Bullfrog stables. A combo brew combining the traditional flavours of a dunkleweiss with the addition of rye (roggen) malt.

A-Beautiful deep, hazy brownish copper with a thick, creamy tan head. Head fades away to a thin ring and leaves nice lace.

S-Nice spicy aroma of banana, clove, caramel and an ending spicy rye bread zing.

T-A near perfect melding of all things good in a hearty dunkleweiss combined with the spicy, bready goodness of rye malt. This brew is about as close to liquid bread as one can get!

M-Medium bodied and about the creamiest things ever. A lovely spicy zip in the finsih...even a bit of orange zest bitterness.

D-One of the best wheat beers I have ever had! Terry is a freakin' genius! What an awesome combination. The dunkleweiss atributes and rye malt play off each other to form a near perfect symbiotic relationship! Yummy!