Rogue Brewing in Newport, OR

Occasionally, we come across a beer that isn’t in the mood to play nicely. It’s a beer that requires forms of vulgarity, posturing, and rancor. It’s a beer that wants to hurt you more than you want to hurt it. Our natural proclivities occasionally lead us to one of these little curs, and we attempt to slay the beast with little more than a pen, a few pint glasses, and a sharp tongue. It’s a beer that requires a spell of verbosity. It’s a beer for all you bastards out there. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Rogue XS Imperial Younger’s Special Bitter.

Brewed by Rogue Brewing in Newport, OR, a company notorious for off-the-wall beers with heaps of flavor, the XS Imperial YSB comes in one of Rogue’s 750ml jet black ceramic tanks with a cork on top. It’s a beer made for a fight, and what’s locked inside wants to start one. Once opened, all potential niceties turn to battle cries, as the smell radiates between a wino on the street corner and sweet nights that have turned bad quickly. The color slightly tempers the showdown, as a sweet-looking, agave nectar-colored beer sits dormant, waiting.

And then, after cautiously traipsing toward a sip, the deluge begins. The top of the mouth stirs to a heated tingle as the hops have their way. Then a full mouthful of malt ravages the tongue and throat. It’s the kind of attack that will stick with you even after a thorough teeth-cleaning. You might think there’s a touch of apple in there, but you’ll never find it after the tidal wave of bitter, bitter malt pushes your taste buds to the brink of disaster. Even sipping the beer feels like a year-long power struggle. But there is a way out. As the beer warmed, the subtle and sweeter flavors crept up slowly, ever so slowly, and each passing sip became more and more of a treat rather than a threat. The fierce battle up front paved the way for an almost comforting, whiskey-like finish.

Maybe all the pomp and flare of the bitter taste trickeed the mouth into seeing things the XS Imperial YSB’s way, or maybe all the booze finally made the malt and hop avalanche a moot point. Either way, this son of a bitch is a beer that I would be OK with not encountering again for a few months or more, but if I do see it again, I’m bringing a sharper sword.