Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry, and Chocolate Ale

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon  

Purchased: 750ml (1 pint, 9.4oz) bottle bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2013 bottle?)

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 5.4%

Reported IBUs: 31

Tonight's beer is another attempt at finding enjoyment from Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut beers. Their Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale just kind of sucks and was underwhelming, but I am optimistic that tonight's beer will be a little better. About Rogue:

Rogue has been around forever, and if their beer was more widely available, and not so damn expensive, I'd probably drink more of their stuff. The brewery was founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon by Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, Rob Strasser, and home brewer Jeff Schultz. Due to increasing space and distribution limitations, Jack Joyce went searching in Newport for a location for the new Rogue pub. It was at this time that he met Mohave Niem, founder of Mo's Clam Chowder. She offered Jack space to brew in her building, and in 1989 the Bay Front Brew Pub was built. Rogue's headquarters currently reside in Newport to this day. In May 1989, current head brewmaster, John Maier, joined Rogue after a brief sting brewing with Alask Brewing. John was a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co, and a graduate of the Seibel Institute. To learn more about Rogue, check out their website HERE.

The Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale comes in a captivating pink bottle, like all the Voodoo Doughnut beers. The back of the bottle says this beer is "dedicated to Tres & Cat Daddy, The Rogues of Voodoo Doughnuts." This beer is brewed with 14 ingredients: 2-Row, Munich, C120, Chocolate, Black, Kiln Coffee & Rogue Farms Dare and Risk Malts; Rogue Farms Rebel Hops; Pretzels, Raspberry Extract, Chocolate, Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water. It's a tall order calling your beer a "Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale." Those are familiar flavors, and you practically set yourself up for disaster. Also, where is the Oxford comma. 

 Rogue VD Pretzel, Raspberry, and Chocolate Ale

The beer pours into a dark brown, cola-esque body, with brown and red tones. The beer kicks up two fingers of thick, bready, brown head, and head retention is nice with some good lacing. The beer looks good.

I have yet to unravel the mystery of the Voodoo Doughnut series of beers, which all have a dusty cocoa/chocolate aroma, with some maple syrup in the mix. You definitely get that on the aroma. I'm also getting some raspberry-chocolate and cherry chocolate on the aroma, with some malty biscuit and bready notes. The Munich malts really stand out, and I could see where you could interpret pretzel on this beer's aroma, but I probably wouldn't place it in a blind aroma/tasting. Lots of chocolate-raspberry and big fruity presence.

Annnnnddd...the taste runs into the same problems that the Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale ran into. This beer is front loaded with flavor, and kind of fizzes out. Although, this is a lot better than the Bacon Maple Ale. I'm getting tons of caramel, bready, sugary Munich malts in this, with big toast and biscuit. There's tons of dusty cocoa and chocolate sweetness, with hints of dusty raspberry, earthy/ash/espresso/dirt, and roast. This beer kind of reminds me of a Dunkler Bock with some raspberry thrown into the mix. The yeast is super clean, maybe to a fault, and the mid and back palate aren't particularly flavorful, with lingering toast, bread, and malt sweetness. Lots of chalky and dusty chocolate.

I feel like the biggest detractor to this beer is in the name. This beer implies so many good things: Pretzel, Raspberry, Chocolate. And it comes in a bright pink bottle that screams: "Bold." This beer is really anything but, dialing up moderate flavors with a disappointing palate depth and a serious lack of complexity for something that has had 14 ingredients thrown at it. The 5.4% ABV is a welcomed change of pace, and the beer is unique...I just want more for a beer like this. The beer has a medium-bodied mouthfeel with good carbonation: the first part of the sip is the best, with tons of bready biscuit, pretzels, toast, dusty cocoa, chocolate, Munich malt complexity, and an injection of raspberry up front; mid-palate starts with lingering raspberry, and dials up the bread, toffee, toast, and malt aspects, dusty cocoa; the back trails off those same flavors, with a dash of watery nothing, and then fade to black. Just okay.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this. This beer promises so much, and basically tastes like a pimped out Dunkler Bock or Marzen or something. It would make a great Fall seasonal, but I think Rogue was going for something a bit more bold here. Bold this is not, but it's not a total mess like the Bacon Maple Ale. These bottles are expensive though, retailing at around $12-15 per bottle. Maybe not worth it. Food pairings: evidently doughnuts, maybe I'll try that. In fact, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pick up a doughnut to pair with the remainder of this beer tonight #YOBVDO (you only buy voodoo doughnuts once).

Random Thought: The Binny's off Clybourn is a total clusterfuck. What a nightmare. Too many people, too popular. Don't got there on weekends or during peak hours. Support your mom & pop shops.