John John Dead Guy Ale - Rogue Ales Brewery, Newport
Style:
Whiskey barrel aged Maibock
Serving Type:
Bottle
Alcohol by Volume:
6.4%
Aroma:
Grains are the most noticeable component, a little oaky but not overly whiskey-like
Appearance:
Mostly clear copper colored body with lighter orange highlights. Generous lacing from the thin white head
Flavor:
Some malty, grainy Bock flavors up front, a little bitter mid-palate from the hops and finishes with a hint of whiskey
Mouthfeel:
A little watery at times, otherwise medium bodied. Bitter hops and whiskey make it not the smoothest beer...
Rogue is one of those breweries which people say a lot of great things about. Word of mouth still goes when convincing consumers to buy your product. I've never heard anyone say a bad thing about Rogue so I keep trying their beers in hopes that I'll understand what people see in them. My most recent attempt to understand the Rogue hype is this bottle of John John Dead Guy Ale. This bomber is a collaboration of sorts, it's basically just Dead Guy Ale aged in whiskey barrels. The cool part is that the barrels held Dead Guy whiskey. It's a neat anecdote but I'm not an expert on whiskeys so it doesn't mean a whole lot else to me.
Plain old Dead Guy Ale isn't bad, it's the Maibock that made Rogue famous so it can't be all bad right? Well, Fat Tire made New Belgium famous...
Anyways, this beer starts life as plain old Dead Guy and a lot of that comes through when you try the John John. This beer still tastes like a hoppier, bitter Maibock. The best part about the John John is the whiskey aging. The aging imparts a little booziness and just a hint of whiskey. I prefer this over getting a strong whiskey kick and after burn because what's the point? If you want to drink whiskey, just drink whiskey... Kudos to Rogue for doing a proper whiskey aging on this beer, even if the base beer isn't all that great...
If you're a fan of Dead Guy you should try this beer, it'll have everything you like about Dead Guy but with a little whiskey warmth. Sure it's a safe move for Rogue, but if it ain't broke...
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