Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout Beer

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon  

Purchased: 750ml (1 pint, 9.4oz) bottle bought at Jewel-Oscoin Chicago, IL; 2015

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable American Stout, 5.7%

Reported IBUs: ?

In b4 this is the best beer I've had from Rogue in a long time. 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 Sriracha Hot Stout is brewed with Huy Fong original hot chili sauce and sun ripened Rogue Farms ingredients. As you can guess, this pours into a dark, opaque body, kicking up a couple of fingers of tan head. There is good head retention, good lacing, and the beer looks the part of any solid American Stout/Porter.

Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout Beer

The aroma on this is actually really good. You get tons of umami, Sriracha, spicy heat, chili, chocolate, cocoa, toast, that creamer/lactose note, and a fair amount of milk chocolate ala a Hershey's bar. And then there's just that hint of coffee from the darker malts. The aroma really starts to pop as things warm up as well.

I cannot fault this beer, it basically sets out what it intends to accomplish, and it does a really good job. This beer nails the umami flavor up front, and delivers a solid Sriracha punch with lots of tomato paste, and chili heat that punches the lower part of your throat. This is not a 2-D beer, and delivers a wave of chocolate, coffee, dark malts, and milk chocolate towards the back. The chocolate plays well with the chili heat that is kicking around in the back of the throat, and you get some cinnamon and chocolate-chili vibes. Overall, it's not bad. 

This is medium-bodied, has good depth, good complexity, and a good Porter/Stout base. The base to this is actually quite rich, especially at 5.7%. I'm getting a lot of that chocolate goodness, and the mouthfeel has substantial chew. Rogue's beers are hit and miss in this category, but they nailed the body on this one. The complexity unfolds through the umami-forward front, and then the chocolate-heavy middle, and the chili-chocolate back. It's like a toned down version of the many higher ABV chili Stouts out there. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average here. This is a really good Porter/Stout masquerading as a really solid chili beer. The Sriracha comes through with some nice chili spice and umami character, and the base beer is big and bold. I would definitely consider pairing this beer with food. And as it stands, 750ml is a lot of this beer...maybe share this one with a friend. 

Random Thought: Overall, Rogue makes some solid beers...maybe even more hits than misses. It's too bad they price themselves out of the market.