Cold Brew IPA
Rogue Ales

 

 

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.

 

 

A very nice, tasty, smooth brew but unfortunately it didn’t remind me much of an IPA. Nice slightly hazy orange color with a little head and spotty lingering lacing. Smells of great dark roast coffee and chocolate. Tastes similarly, along with some malt, caramel, vanilla and cracker. But where’s the hoppy bitterness? There was maybe a trace of fruity hops buried way down in there but it was so faint that I was left feeling very disappointed. The only hint of bitterness I experienced was that of the slightly-acidic coffee aftertaste. Nice and smooth, mild mouthfeel and good carbonation. But was more like a porter or stout than an IPA.

 

Tuesday, October 09, 2018 6:00 PM
1 Pint 6 Fl Oz/650 ml poured to wine glass
Sight: Deep light brown to amber, appears clear , small to no foam
Smell: strong aroma of green coffee beans, hoppy and malty-strong smell of grains
Taste: Very good, medium bitterness, some sweetness
Feel: Medium-full body, sticky, medium carbonation, good finish follow through, strong bitter aftertaste
Overall: Very good beer, ok to repeat, not to look for

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is a slightly murky copper/light amber, head is light tan with fine bubbles and some lacing on the glass sides; head presented at least 1 inch thick.

Smell is blend of lightly roasted coffee with nutty and earthy tones with that of the hop grass, pine and hints of grapefruit.

Taste follows with more malt showing through the coffee and hops: coffee/malt/hops interplay with flavors of roast, nutty notes, light chocolate, earthy mix of coffee and herbal hops, malt is slightly sweet with hint of roast and caramel.

Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated and then moderate bitterness from the coffee and hop levels.

Overall a very good coffee ipa with maybe a bit more malt depth than others I've tasted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love coffee and I love IPAs so received a can as a gift. I enjoyed it but probably not as mush as I had hoped. I love the aftertaste and really feel the bitterness I like from black coffee and IPAs. While drinking I was a little confused. Felt a like a thin porter but it’s an IPA, and in that case missing the hops. My van was almost 7 months old based on the date on the bottom of my can, so maybe lost a little. I would definitely try this again. Easy to drink. Hard to believe it’s 7,5%.

 

 

 

I have read a lot about this IPA and have been waiting long to finally try it out. Although I had concerns about an IPA being brewed with coffee, the comments made me forget my doubts.
The IPA surprised me twice. Once when openingvthe bottle it splashed right out and made me lose about 50-70ml of this liquid gold... looking and smelling AWESOME - and like an IPA, nothing like coffee (yet.)
Then came the next surprise, its taste: I expected more coffee after having had coffee- or espresso stouts but this could be further away from that sort of coffeeness! This is a full-on IPA, bigtime! You smell it, drink it and it's US hops all over - and you're looking and waiting for the coffee... and then it comes. Then you realize the underlying bitterness is enhanced by raw and fresh - in my mind it is of course green - coffee. Then in the aftertaste you get very subtle, very fine and refined hints of coffee INTERTWINED with the hops. And everything in general.
Because this is what it's all about: it is perfectly blended with the ingredients! The hops, the malts and the coffee beens are fused together to create a distinct, homogenous taste - which is better than any of your coffee sh** you have ever had, hands down. This IS the one and only thing you should drink if you want to try the mastery of brewing beer or IPAs with coffee. Here you should start - and here you should end. A perfect IPA with a perfect incorporation of coffee, matching your remarkable IPA taste so well. A truly revolutionary blend.

 

Easily the best coffee IPA I've had. The balance in flavors is really well done, with the bitterness of the hops and the coffee providing an equivalent taste profile.

 

eyes...
light brown to amber hue, one finger of capped white foam, rigorous bubbles confounding each other in the rat race to their extinction at the top, great lacing, a rather nice bucket o' suds

nose...
west coasty smellin hops on top, mild roast coffee underneath, not much else, pretty much as advertised

taste etc...
great mouth, not silky, has quite just enough snazzle (my word) and bite carbonation wise
the flavor ? strange to place... it starts our very IPA forward (hops) but they bend their will to the coffee which then melts into bitterness in the back quadrants of my maw, the coffee flavor grows as you go on, sort of opens up and begins to taste like a cup you left on your desk that has cooled some, definitely a tasty experiment

verdict?
hmm... I think the hops are a little too much here (and I thought I would never say that!), the coffee gets bumped out of the photo a little too much... it's close but just misses the mark... still, tasty and well crafted, maybe some other type of hops could stand in here and pair better ? I'm sure Rogue will figure it out, they are much beer smarter than I