Rogue Dead Guy Ale

I'm digging through some old stuff, cluttered on my desktop. One is a bottle given to me by one of my bartenders. "Hey," he said, "my friend says if you have this on tap, he'll be here every day." You know, people say that, and they never follow through. Anyway, it turned out to be Rogue Dead Guy Ale, which, of course, I've had/heard of/tried many times/used to love/once had on tap.

Here are notes, from the first time I tapped it, back in December, 2002. Yeah, it's an early one, and it's a gusher, and a bit self-serving. But, here it is:


I'm drinking this fresh from the tap--my second,now--while I peruse my notes on a review from a bottled serving. So what do I think now and what did I say then? We'll put the two together..

First off, like with any brew, this is 100x better on tap, the flavor explodes. Any time you can find it on draft, reward the operation,please, for their boldness and their taste, and order a Dead Guy instead of your usual local micro pale ale. But about the beer...

Beautiful, big off-white head, gorgeous amber/dark orange color.

Aroma: bright, fresh fruitiness, vegetableness, it's a veritable garden in here.

Great hops, just mild enough, with loads of malt. I was confused about the style for a long time. I was led to believe that it was an Oktoberfest, but aren't they usually lagers? A recent trip to Oregon and a visit to a Rogue Ale House set me straight about the DG's true genealogy. An ale-style maibock! These guys are geniuses! Spicy but soft palate, very pleasant finish, an utterly delicious drink!
Unfortunately, this brewer is acutely under-represented in this region. We even lost Shakespeare Stout, thanks to the distributor's bean counters!
All hail Dead Guy, Long May He Rest!
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When I returned from that Portland trip, I met a manager from that distributor and asked why Shakespeare Stout, one of my favorites, was no longer available. I was selling it in bottles, at the Nile, and they cut the whole line back to just three beers, including Dead Guy, Mocha Porter, and Honey Cream Ale. His response was: "We know what we're doing." Followed by: "You're a beer geek, aren't you?" This distributor lost their contract with Rogue once the brewery found out they were selling a slim segment of the line-up on purpose.
But, while I can find them these days, it's hard to get an affordable 6-pack and the bombers are always expensive. Kegs, too. I'm unlikely to turn to them very often, and it has to be something special.

Voodoo Maple Bacon Porter, on the other hand, that's one I was afraid to spend hard-earned cash on. If I ever see it again, though, I probably will pick one up. Just to do it.