Rogue Brewery in Newport, OR

I didn’t want it to be this way. One day we end up reviewing a whole bunch of Smuttynose beer, and the next we end up finding ourselves knee-deep in Rogue selections. I wasn’t going to stand for it! We were going to branch out! No more Rogue reviews for at least a few weeks! We’re starting to drill the brewery into the ground! But then we went to our local brewhouse and found myriad Rogue selections not in bottles, but on the freakin’ tap. This was a very welcome surprise and not one I was expecting in Helena. So, folks, I’m quite sorry, but I’m doing another Rogue review. But considering the fact that we still haven’t run into a Rogue beer that we haven’t at least had some attraction to, this was not an unwelcome surprise by any means. Plus, this was a winter warmer, and not related to one of our 12 Beers of Christmas, which, when I say this, I’m speaking for all of the BarBEERians: We are so completely over Belgian winter beers. Sorry, Belgium. Anyway, we found Rogue’s Mogul Madness and couldn’t say no. Deal with it.

Pouring a significantly darker color than I would have expected out of any winter warmer, Mogul Madness looked like a cross between Coke or Pepsi (pick your favorite) and a downsized porter. The smell was quite yeasty and bread like, with some noticeable hop touches tossed in. For it being a winter warmer, I was more expecting this to taste like a porter on a bender; however, it was much creamier and bitterer than expected. Considering it was a winter warmer, I was searching for some spice notes, but all I could encounter was the nice flavor from their typical Pacman yeast and some good combination of hop and malt that lingered on the tongue for quite sometime with a great creamy character. The beer didn’t feel super thick, and oddly enough for a regular Rogue selection, I could see myself having quite a few of these during an outing.

I probably wouldn’t exactly throw this in the winter warmer category myself, but I would maybe say that this was a brown ale on steroids or one that was looking for some trouble. Had on tap, this is an absolutely delightful beer with some great hop and malt characteristics that guide this beer on threw the taste grinder. It’s a rather tough beer to talk about considering I’m not too well-versed in the winter warmer category, but compared to the others I’ve had, this has to be near the top, if you indeed do want to call this a winter warmer. Whatever it is, I suggest drinking it. It warmed my night, that’s for sure.