Rogue Ales Chatoe Rogue First Growth Single Malt Ale

Newport, Oregon, USA
$8-9 for 650ml

www.rogue.com

Maybe it’s the industry, maybe it’s the atmosphere and maybe it’s alcohol, but the folks at Rogue Ales have the best sense of humour on the beer shelves. Married with amazing beer craftsmanship, marketing savvy and an inherent locavore culture, Rogue has achieved well-deserved success in the competitive microbrew field. They are the Phillips Beer of Oregon.

And like Phillips, Rogue is forever keeping us on our toes (tastebuds?), tempting us with an oft-changing lineup of seasonal, limited release brews. They’ve deemed their new line, Chatoe Rogue, as GYO Certified, a Rogue term for Grow Your Own. They’ve done just that, farming their own hops (at their Hopyard) and barley (via their Barley Bench). The Barley from their 235 acre farm was used in the creation of 2 types of malts – Dare and Risk, aptly named for their gutsy decision to plant in the unproven Tygh Valley Appellation. Though the Dare malt is featured in this Ale, the Risk malt has also proven to be a success, utilized in their Dirtoir Black Lager and in a new spirit called Oregon Single Malt Whiskey, currently aging (woot!). Rogue even named the latitude and longitude of the Hopyard and Barley Bench on their bottle. My wine geekness loves the Bordeaux reference – First Growth, Chatoe/Chateaux, Terroir-driven – cheers!

Local Malt + Hops + Water + Yeast = yum. First Growth Single Malt Ale pours a hazy golden amber, with a clean orange, malty nose and flavours of citrus, hoppy herbs, grass and a mild sweet floral kiss. Medium bodied, this ale finishes zesty and dry. We paired this with a blistered thin crust arugula and basil laden Margherita pizza – delish.

It’s so true people – life is too short to drink boring beer. In Victoria, head down to my local, Cook St. Village Liquor, to check out their outstanding microbrew selection. Time it for Wednesday nights and you can chat up award-winning beer writer, EAT columnist and brew expert Adem Tepedelen.

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