Rogue Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale

Tonight I picked up a Rogue Ale - oddly enough, I don't think Steve or I have reviewed a Rogue brew yet.  I've tried many of Rogue's beers, and a strong majority of them have been fantastic, so I'm not sure what's taken us so long to get to this brewery!  After doing some research, I found that the Rogue franchise is quite expansive.  They have a brewery, a pub, a distillery, a restaurant in Portland Airport, a hop farm, a barley farm, and the list goes on.  They are like the McDonalds of the craft brewing world!  (that's a tough metaphor to draw when you've got breweries like Anhueser Busch out there....but... humor me).  Rogue also sports some cool label designs themed around skeletons. 

This brew is classified as an India Red Ale.  Here is a link to the beer-geek information.  The bottle shows a portrait of Captain Sig, a fishing boat, and a crab, all themed around that show on the Discovery Channel about crab fishing, Deadliest Catch.  On the bottle, it states "Dedicated to the Hansen Brothers - Sig, Edgar, and Norman - the Rogues of the Bering Sea.  Portions of the proceeds of Northwestern Ale will support the Fishermen's Fund."  I like that show - those guys are both insane and badass-tough.

I changed it up today and used my pilsner glass - big mistake.  The foam volcanoed out of the glass, and has created a plateau above the rim of the glass that is making it difficult to drink (see picture below).  After waiting for about 30 minutes, the foam finally subsided enough to get my nose in there for a smell - lots of sweet toasted malts in there, bread and biscuits, as well as some subtle plums...smells fantastic!  The color is a deep mahogany red, and totally clear.

The first sip brings those malts home - an awesome combination of chocolate, caramel malts that bring bready notes and some toffee sweetness.  There is also a great balancing bitterness, fresh pine, with a nice dry finish.  The texture is creamy smooth, and the carbonation is perfect.  There's a slight warmth at the end, but just barely noticeable, from the 6%ABV. 

Overall Rating:  (5.2 out of 6.0)  This was an enjoyable, extremely drinkable beer from Rogue.  It's essentially an amber ale that is generously hopped with the fresh American stuff (my favorite) - perfectly balanced and very unique.  I highly recommend this one.


Pilsner glass + Red Ale = .......this