He's Gone Rogue

The theme is fairly straightforward.  He's a successful leader and wartime general. His men love him and will die for him.  He has a vision of clarity and the US no longer follows its ideals of freedom.  So, he and his men steal (name your favorite bad ass weapon) and occupy (name a spot - Alcatraz, desert caves, abandoned military bases, the Astrodome) and set up a war room.  Then, they use their genius to take over communications from (name one - TV studios, communications satellites, the Disney channel) and make demands.  To show they mean business, they destroy, just for show, (name a location - a sports stadium, a city, NBC - oh, sorry, that's Brian Williams).  The good guys gather together and conference, and at this point, they call this leader gone bad "rogue."  He's gone rogue, on his own, and he has to be reined in.

So, imagine my curiosity as to the origin of Rogue Ales?  I have had a Rogue Ale a time or two and have enjoyed them, but it was my calling to inform you of beer, and as such, my calling has taken me to a higher level of information to help you through the clutter of advertising and thousands of choices.  I can honestly say that I don't know if I have had as much fun learning about a beer as I have Rogue. 

Rogue Ales website is worth a visit. The first page I would go to is the "About" page which is the link I've provided.  In the movie "The Big Leboski," you know within twenty seconds that this is going to be different when Jeff "The Dude" Bridges buys half-n-half for his White Russians by writing a check for $1.47 (or some such amount) while wearing a house robe in the grocery store.  The Rogue Ale website gives you this same feel. 

The bottle I purchased to write about gives you the same feel.  The top of the bottle has a ring that must be part of their beliefs that states:  Dare, Risk, Dream.  The bottle also contains the exact ingredients that are in the beer, in this case the Hazelnut Brown Nectar.  This is rare in and of itself as most brewers are vague at best on what comprises their beer. As you read the ingredients, you see that Rogue has trademarked their malts for this beer, named Dare and Risk Malts (TM) from Rogue Farms.

This is all very different.  It is like a spiritual awakening in the realm of the brew experience, an epiphany of sorts.  Brewing and drinking can be mundane when you find yourself in mass-produced land.  Craft brews break you away from that.  Home brewing brings understanding.  Calling your beer "The Revolution" and stating a Creed, A Fundamental Agreement, and The Rogue Way takes it to an entirely different level.  Call it a religious retreat of solitude and meditation in the world of craft beers.

The Hazelnut was very good (okay please get to the point, did you like the beer).  After brewing Pecan Pie Ale recently, there were similar flavors (much like saying my steaks on the grill are much like Charlie Palmer's.  Yet Rogue captured the senses much more effectively, the aroma and the taste were there.  Rogue, though, leaps miles ahead of the others with the persona it delivers in its name, its packaging on the bottle, and then its entire culture. 

Buy a bottle of Hazelnut and enjoy it.  Learn more about Rogue.  As for Average Guy, beer has become much more than an experience through this recent beer.  Average Guy's going rogue.  Let the "Revolution" begin.