Cold Brew IPA
Rogue Ales

RB transfer

Copenhagen 10/12 2017. 33 cl can from Fakta. The good ingredients - malts and hops presented with a Star on the can. I suppose that I miss a handful of coffee beans as they claim that they have blended the beer with cold brew coffee.

Pours hazy amber with a small white head. Settles as a thin almost transparent layer of foam. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is intense. Dominated by bitterness and citrussy sourness. Some Coffee odor as well. More subdued sweetness and exotic fruit.

Medium strong carbonation and medium thick palate.

Flavor is light to medium sweet followed by prominent bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter coffee. Lingering. Semi-dry finish.

A little bit strange choice of ingredients but quite well-made.

 

 

 

 

This CAN seem like it is out of order, given that I previously reviewed the lower-ABV AmeriCAN Blonde release 2.0, but it made sense as CANpared to a higher ABV AIPA. They will all get reviewed & added to The CANQuest (tm) eventually, but this seemed like the logical choice in my ongoing Rogue backlog eradication.

From the CAN: "India Pale Ale Blended With Cold Bew Coffee"; "Revolutionary Blend"; "Dare*Risk*Dream"; "Dedicated to Two of Our Favorite Things"; "Rogue Cold Brew IPA is a hoppy IPA blended with 200 gallons of Stumptown Coffee Roasters’ famous Cold Brew Coffee in every batch. Brewed to awaken your senses, Cold Brew IPA opens with a huge hit of coffee aroma that is balanced by a not-so-subtle hop punch."; "17° Plato*82 IBU*74 AA*20° L".

I beCAN by Crack!ing open the vent on this 12-fl. oz. CAN & following that action with a slow, gentle C-Line Glug for no particular reason other than such has become an ingrained habit of mine. I watched in rapt fascination as it foamed up to form two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with excellent retention. Color was Coppery-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22) with NE-quality clarity & amber highlights. Nose smelled strongly of coffee, but not like an AIPA, which matters since I review to style, NOT to personal taste. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was more towards coffee than hops, although I will grant that it had a PNW hoppiness to it. I just felt very CANflicted while drinking it. I liked it well enough, but stylistically, the coffee adjunct was out of place in the style. 8=( Finish, while dry and bitter, was more akin to my morning coffee than to an AIPA. I did my best with this one, but YMMV.

 

 

 

From the 22 oz bottle in a snifter. This fine brew pours a
red tinged murky mahogany with a decent head of off white
foam that subsides to a thick ring, thin light layer, and sports
light lacing. Nose of coffee, touches of cream with pine touched
hops. Flavors far surpass the nose with cold brewed coffee, subtle
caramel, light touches of cream, and seriously sticky pine. Very nice
mouth feel; medium body, smooth, medium light carbonation, and a
bitter pine and mild coffee finish.

Overall, an excellent brew!

Cheers

 

Dark, coffee coloring. Tasted like coffee beans freshly roasted. Has a distinct, hazelnut taste with earthy hops. Not too bitter. Hints of maple syrup. The head was nice and tall with good lacing. Light body... I like my coffee black ;)

I had no intention of drinking this, but my wife works for a retailer that stocks this and brought one home. And I drank it as more of a dare than anything, because I couldn't think of a grosser flavor than a coffee IPA—I was prepared for the worst.

So I was surprised that it's actually kinda… good? One huge disclaimer up front. This is marketed as an IPA, but it's really not; the hop flavor is mild to almost nonexistent. Instead, it's an ale with a nice coffee flavor. It has a copper color, mild carbonation, and a light body, with very little head or lacing. The flavor is nice, though, toasty, slightly sweet coffee, with a slightly herbal citrus favor lurking way in the background.

Know going into this, though, that beer contains caffeine—a LOT of it. I made the mistake of drinking this late and, once I finally fell asleep, must have woken up five times during the night.

So if you go into this expecting a hop-forward IPA with coffee flavors, prepare for disappointment. But if you want a nice, fairly light coffee-flavored beer, this is a good bet.

At first I was put off by the prospect of a strong hop flavor mixed with cold brew coffee, however this is not a very hoppy beer and I agree it shouldn’t be called an IPA. I actually thought that would make me like this beer more, however to me personally I thought the coffee did not taste quality at all. Left an after taste of day old, cold Folgers in the mouth. Did not enjoy.

 

 

 

This is an odd beer. First, although it calls itself an IPA, and is classified as such on BA. But it's not at all like any IPA that I can think of. Yes, it's got some hops, but not too many. That, in my book, is not enough to make it an IPA.

I'd call this a coffee ale, and a pretty good one. The Stumptown coffee is really good, and it dominates the taste. This is a coffee prominent ale somewhat like Santa Fe Java Stout, or Surly Coffee Bender. But it's not nearly as good as those two classics. It's somehow a little unbalanced, not as smooth, and not as satisfying. I still liked it a fair bit, as I'm a sucker for coffee ales, but my lower "Overall" rating reflects the fact that ultimately Rogue has missed in its attempt to combine two styles ... coffee ale and IPA. Buy it if you like coffee ales. If you like classic IPAs, this is a miss.