Pretty much anything bacon touches turns to gold. Such is the success story of Portland, Oregon doughnut pioneers Voodoo Doughnuts, who take credit for the creation of the simple yet amazing maple-bacon bar. A delight so simple, simply a strip of crisp bacon on top of a maple bar, yet achieves high levels of bliss.
But Voodoo is not the only one enjoying the bacon revolution. Rogue Brewery, another famed Oregon establishment, has gone to the extreme length to capture the greatness of the of Voodoo’s magical bacon bar and created its beer equivalent. Ladies and gents, I give you Rogue’s Bacon Maple Ale.
Bacon. Beer. Mouth drooling.
Rogue, known more for their traditional beers with that famous Northwest touch, seem almost late in the game for trying something so balls out. But it would seem as if they’ve brought their big guns to the fight and immediately go to the jugular.
Anyone who comes across this big, pink bottle will no dubitably gaze at the fact that they may have come across a holy grail of sorts, do not be fooled by this seemingly flawless marketing ploy.
Your nose quickly picks up huge notes of dough and maple, which come from the added maple flavoring (surprisingly not from the malts). Drinkers will be awed by the accuracy of the aromas the beer unleashes on your pallet. This far, you’ll be left thinking that this brew will be virtually identical in every sense. But that’s where it seems to end.
One your sense get past the overwhelming aroma, you’ll find yourself asking, “Where’s the bacon?”
The Maple Bacon Ale boasts a large portion of their grist (malt bill) to various smoked malts, which already tend to give off smoky, bacon-like aromas and flavors. Not in this case. The flavor is dominated by prickly and burnt flavors and a harsh hop finish. There are no signs of anything meaty or savory. In other words: No bacon. Whatever flavors are there fall flat and last for moments, forcing you to pour more of this questionable ale down the hatch.
My girlfriend, who was helping me finish the 750ml bottle, stopped drinking after the first sip.
"Interesting." She said. She works in the medical field, which means it's not good. "It's just not grooving with me." She’s pretty open to most kinds of beer and has a love for sours, but she could not even humor the idea of finishing her pint in sympathy.
While Rogue may have found the perfect combination of flavors, in theory; they have failed in their execution. You can’t advertise bacon and not provide. That’s just blasphemous. If anything, they will enjoy the press, as this beer is a marketing goldmine.
For those left unsatisfied and would like to search for bacon-flavored beers, I suggest trying Alaskan Brewing Companies Smoked Porter and Brauerei Heller-Trum’s Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen (which is German for awesome smoked beer).
No comments:
Post a Comment