Monday, December 10, 2007

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 10: Rogue Festive Ale 2006


Rogue Festive Ale is a Saison that goes clocks in at 8.5% alcohol. According to the website, it's brewed with a variety of spices including Grains of Paradise, ginger root and orange peel. This is a bomber I picked up last year. Let's see how it held up.

This pours a hazy bright orange topped with voluminous frothy khaki head that leaves light lacing. The aroma is filled with spice. There's coriander and pepper smells (I'm guessing from the Grains of Paradise) along with some lightly fruity malt.

The flavor is also dominated by the considerable spice. I can't pick out the ginger root but the orange peel is quite evident in the middle of the spice. Some sweet fruity malt. Quite big flavors. Not too sweet as the spice tend to dry the palate a bit. Spices dominate the finish and aftertaste.

This is clearly the best American brewed Saison I've ever tasted.


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