Rogue Chipotle Ale

I didn’t get the chance to sniff this one after popping the top because I experienced a foam episode. 

You know … the dreaded foam episode.  Followed by paper towels and the changing of a shirt.  And that spot on the rug that’s now going to smell of stale beer for a few weeks.

Speaking of smelling, I now finally give the post-foam bottle a few sniffs, but this brew doesn’t have much of a scent – it’s very subtle, just a mild aroma of hops and a tiny hint of light maltiness.  But the taste – wow!  Very different.

The first thing I noticed was that it’s tangy, followed by an odd, wet bitterness, subdued but still prominent.  That settles while the hops take over, but it’s not just hops … I suppose it’s the chipotle I’m tasting.  It must be. 

I’m at a disadvantage because I’m not really sure what chipotle tastes like.  I’ve never stuffed any in my mouth all by itself.  (Why does that bring to mind a horse standing there, chewing on a mouth full of hay?  Chomp, chomp, chomp – that would be me with a mouth stuffed with chipotle.)

MMMmmm, chipotle, put some in my ale.

Actually it seems to go very well with ale.  Also, in reading the bottle, I’ve discovered it contains smoked jalapeno peppers.  Interesting!  So that’s what chipotle is … I didn’t know that.

There’s also a dedication:

“Dedicated to Spanish author Juan de la Cueva, who, in 1575, wrote of a Mexican dish that combined seedless chipotles with ale.

“This ale is deep amber in color with a rich malty aroma, and delicately spiced with smoked Jalapeno Peppers to give it that extra bite!”

It definitely has that!  This beer has a wonderful bite to it, but it’s not, you know, hot – not like you’re drinking Tabasco sauce, or something like that – it’s actually very refreshing as in that it’s different, but yet still very good.

I’m going to proclaim this as a groovy brew, but not a holy beer contender.  What it is really good for, I think, is to shock you out of a slump when you’ve started getting jaded in your brew tasting adventures.  I don’t think I’d drink this every day, and I don’t think I’d drink one after another — just one every so often.  I can see that being a good thing.

And very groovy.