Rogue Brewery, Dead Guy Ale.
This is one of the most popular, and higher priced beers in the great state of Oregon. Until now it is one I have not tried. However for the sake of doing this inaugural post I reached deep down into my pocket and shelled out the twelve dollars and bought myself a six pack. I left the store wondering if I had just made a mistake.The nifty label is a great conversation starter, the skeleton is reminiscent of the way the Inca’s buried their dead, though I doubt they had a brew quite this well done. That fun label and the clean flavour of this brew proved to me that I did not make any mistake.
Lets got down to brass tacks here, Dead Guy Ale is a six percent by volume ale with a beautiful amber colour. Oregon is typically a state where every beer has enough hops to be an over hopped IPA, I hate over hopped beer, Dead Guy is the exception to that rule. The hops are blended perfectly with a malt blend that rolls across the tongue. The care and spirit that is poured into this beer is evident, the smooth texture, warm toasty floral, and clear amber all speak to the masterful brewers. While this may not be my favourite beer, nor my favourite Rogue brew, this is a beer worth having.
If you happen to be at a Rogue location, by all means pick up a pint of this beer. Enjoy the hell out of it, but at twelve dollars for a six pack this brew isn’t likely to become your daily driver. All in all I would say that this is a good beer, perhaps a seven out of ten on the scale I just made up. In normal speak this beer is right up there with Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown ale, I guess I will have to write about that one here soon too.
Dead Guy Ale is only the first stop on this beer trail, I plan to take you all over Oregon in search of the greatest beers we have to offer, from Rogue and Ninkasi here in Eugene, to Honor and Deschutes in Bend, on up into Portland with Rose city brewing. Along the way I hope to share with you where to grab the best meals, get a fantastic cocktails, and which markets sell the freshest produce.
Drink well my friends.
In continued celebration of coming on board here at Gubulub next week I am going to tell you all about Rogues Oregon Single malt whiskey. Yay for new things.