Rogue Ales' Brutal Bitter

Although their XS series is a bit pricey (with the exception of Morimoto, which isn't truly XS but still an imperial and in their ceramic bottles), and the guy on heir labels is kind of cheesy, Rogue puts out some consistently good beer and I was happy to see their version of an ESB on the shelf.

It pours a solid amber with a huge tan head that stays for ever. Looks perfect for the type, and as usual Rogue can make a beer with a head that is considerable.

Smells like a bitter. Malty with solid hops that smell a bit grassy. Has a hint of pale or amber to it, but only because of the huge head throwing off so much of the smell. When that dies down you're left with a balanced smell that has both hops and a slightly bready malt.

Excellent bitterness, but not as bitter as an IPA. More like a pale or amber, but drier in the feel. Slightly grassy, but mostly just straight-up bitter without real definition. Not floral, not piney, barely grassy. Slightly sweet with a hint of bread from the malt.

Great beer. Solidly bitter without any one overbearing characteristic, right down the middle of the type. And while that usually denotes an unimiganitive beer, the fact is that this particular type calls for modesty despite the aggressive name. Hope it stays in the stores on a regular basis.

Rogue Ales Morimoto Imperial Pilsner

Imperial Pilsner? Sounds effed up. But pilsner being one of my favorite styles, I had to try it. The fact that it's from Rogue, one of the most solid breweries in the US, makes it even more of a must.

From one of Rogue's imperial series ceramic flip-top bottles, it pours a hazy, unfiltered reddish amber, with a huge cascading light tan head that stays for a long time. Good carbonation.

Smells grassy, with a very subtle sweet maltiness that comes across as a very light bread smell. Grassy. Did I mention grassy? Hugely grassy.

Grassy. I wouldn't describe the initial hit as bitter so much as I would twangy. Tart, not citrus. Hits you with tartness on the top of the tongue, then follows with an excellent bitter aftertaste. Fairly clean finish for such a big beer. Great medium to heavy body. (Burp) Grassy.

I'm a little confused. It has less of the pilsner funk than I thought it should have, but I love this beer. As big and unfiltered as it is, it's still amazingly crisp. The alcohol (more than 9%) is also completely absent, a difficult task in a lighter-style (save for the imperial), but I've had impy stouts that had more of an alcohol bite.

This is probably the only beer in the Rogue XS series that I'll come back to. They're all good, but they're also all expensive, and this is the only one that rates, in my book.