Hot Tub Scholarship Lager
Rogue Ales

Can from Boise Co-op. Bright golden pour, fine carbonation,small foamy head disappears. Weakish grainy aroma. At this point I was prepared to be disappointed. But the taste comes to the rescue with nice robust grainy flavors, not a sign of adjuncts anywhere. Incredibly smooth to boot.

 

Another night, another Voodoo Donut! I have not been enamored of them & I have some other Rogues that I CAN also review & rate, including this one for The CANQuest (tm). Phew! I am running through all of these at a good pace & I look forward to the next brewery horizontal.

From the CAN: "Drink Beer - Raise Money For College Students"; "German Style Helles Lager"; "Dare*Risk*Dream"; "Dedicated to Our Original Rogue"; "Rogue's founder, Jack LeRoy Joyce, was known for his love of Hot Tubbing, which he typically enjoyed in his birthday suit. When Jack passed away in 2014, the Jack Joyce Scholarship was established in his honor. The scholarship benefits Fermentation Science students at Oregon State University. During the 2nd annual scholarship presentation, when one of the original recipients was asked to share a few words about what the scholarship meant to him/her, it was disclosed that, in addition to helping pay for books/tuition/loans/etc., the winner had taken a portion of the scholarship proceeds to buy the 'most Rogue-ish thing possible': a Hot Tub. So, inspired by the common passion of both Jack and this honest student, we created Hot Tub Scholarship Lager - a German-style Helles Lager designed to be enjoyed by Hot Tub lovers everywhere."; "10% of the proceeds from Hot Tub Scholarship will be donated to the Jack Joyce Scholarship and will help us to continue to support the passionate fermentation science students at Oregon State University."; "12.7° Plato*35 IBU*84 AA*4.9° L".

I had a good bit to transcribe from the CAN so I decided to proceed with a Crack! of the vent & pick up where I left off later. I beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass & watched in rapt fascination as it formed just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with good retention. Color was an oh-so-slightly-hazy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose was VERY bready, almost like proofing dough! Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium, kinda big for a Lager. The taste was likewise doughy, bready & a very pleasant reprieve after that Voodoo Donut. The grassy, hay-like hops were very low-key, allowing me to really enjoy the malts. This was a nice, pleasant, easy-drinking beer. Finish was semi-dry. I CAN see this as a cooler-filler when headed to the beach next Summer. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

 

for a good cause. tastes like the end of a hot tub beer when it gets all sweet and muddled. good for a poke.

 

Pours a pale medium yellow with significant head.
Smell is sweet and bready with a touch of spice.
Taste is sweet bready malt and a little citrus in the finish.

It poured a thin pale yellow color with a white head that leaves quickly to a small ring around the glass. The smell is of biscuit and lemongrass. The taste is sweet maltness to start with a bit of lemon coming in also and kind of honey flavor also. The feel is light but very drinkable. Overall a pleasant drink and enjoyable but just not very exciting.

 

 

 

12 oz can.

Pours deep gold with good clarity and a big, creamy white head. Good head retention but no lacing. Aroma let's you know right off the bat that this is not going to be your most straight forward Helles. Biscuity malt followed by floral hops and a heavy fruitiness comprised of green grapes, apples, and lemon. This beer really falls apart in the flavor, where the hops start to take over and force a harsh bitterness. Chalky feel with a dry finish. Medium bodied.

A very poor example of a Helles lager but drinkable enough in its own right. Would not recommend, as there are several better offerings out there for the style.

Rogue Ales "Hot Tub Scholarship Lager"
12 fl. oz. can, coded "05/09/2018 19:45:01" and sampled on 07/19/2018
$2.79 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Nice head! It's risen up as if it wanted to climb out of the glass, rocky and off-white over a hazy golden body. So right there, right off the bat this isn't a very good example of a German style helles lager as it should be clear. On to the aroma... moderate in strength but OK... grainy malt, a light hint of fruit, and background hops that aren't particularly expressive of their variety. The flavor follows and it's OK but neither the malt nor the hops seem particularly German, it's just subtly toasty, and it tastes more like an American blonde lager to me. The bitterness level seems high, but more importantly it comes off a little harshly. Is that the Rogue style coming into play? As for the hops themselves I'm getting a little bit of citrus, particularly a note of soft lemon that certainly doesn't fit the style so let's just throw that playbook out the window - this is not a very good example of a German style helles lager as it's labeled. What style is it? I don't know. Does it even need to have a style listed? I don't think so but if you put one on the label you should follow it. Seeing as how the bitterness lingers I'd call it a Pilsner before a Munich helles, although they didn't call it a Munich-style helles now did they? Murky waters, so again, let's forget about all of that. As it is it's a decent beer with a pleasant malt component and some interesting hops, although the hop bitterness keeps it from becoming as smooth as it could be. It's medium bodied and crisp, and fairly "crushable" although I don't think it has enough character to keep you coming back to it. I appreciate the idea behind it, and support the Jack Joyce Scholarship but I just don't think it's quite that good.
Review# 6,147

 

Pours an effervescent gold with 3 fingers of cream colored head. Good head retention & lacing

S: Bready & grassy

T: Bready, grainy, dryness & a little pear up front. Dryness, a little soapyness, pear, white grape & grassyness & bready sweetness once warm. Finishes dry, grassy, soapy, with nice bready/grainy sweetness

MF: Medium body, firm carbonation, nice balance

Lovely Helles, highly reccomended would drink this over Aplenflo for sure