Beer Blogging - Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale
So, how has everyone's Memorial Day been? Hopefully you took a moment to remember why the holiday exists. Hopefully you also ate a steak the size of your head like I did earlier. Now it's basketball time, and it's also delicious (hopefully) beer time. I'm drinking a 22 oz. bomber of Rogue's Morimoto Soba Ale.
The pour: the beer is a cloudy golden color, with lots of bubbles in the bottom of the glass. There's a large, white, fluffy head that's in ho hurry to dissolve.
The aroma: it's both hoppy and nutty. I would say the dominant aroma is hops, with bready and nutty smells underneath that.
The taste: Not at all like it smells. When I first poured it and smelled it, I was expecting a bready version of a pale ale, but that's not at all what I have here. It's more like a lager with some sharp, roasted flavors added in. The flavor starts out like a lager, by which I mean that there's not much strong flavor at all, just a sourdough maltiness. After that comes a sharp hop bite and the toasty flavor of roasted soba (buckwheat). There's a lot of carbonation, and I don't know whether or not to blame that, but the beer tastes kind of watered down (something I've never dreamed of saying about a Rogue beer).
The rating: 5/10. A decidedly mediocre offering from a generally outstanding brewer. The watered down taste kills it - I can see the flavors being good, but there needs to be more of everything. That being said, I can see this beer pairing decently well with delicately flavored sushi or a light Japanese udon soup. Anything more than that, the flavors of the food would dominate this beer. I don't think I'll buy this again - it's just not that interesting.
The pour: the beer is a cloudy golden color, with lots of bubbles in the bottom of the glass. There's a large, white, fluffy head that's in ho hurry to dissolve.
The aroma: it's both hoppy and nutty. I would say the dominant aroma is hops, with bready and nutty smells underneath that.
The taste: Not at all like it smells. When I first poured it and smelled it, I was expecting a bready version of a pale ale, but that's not at all what I have here. It's more like a lager with some sharp, roasted flavors added in. The flavor starts out like a lager, by which I mean that there's not much strong flavor at all, just a sourdough maltiness. After that comes a sharp hop bite and the toasty flavor of roasted soba (buckwheat). There's a lot of carbonation, and I don't know whether or not to blame that, but the beer tastes kind of watered down (something I've never dreamed of saying about a Rogue beer).
The rating: 5/10. A decidedly mediocre offering from a generally outstanding brewer. The watered down taste kills it - I can see the flavors being good, but there needs to be more of everything. That being said, I can see this beer pairing decently well with delicately flavored sushi or a light Japanese udon soup. Anything more than that, the flavors of the food would dominate this beer. I don't think I'll buy this again - it's just not that interesting.
Labels: beer
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
7:31 PM
