Ding Points: 43.50

Pour: 40.00, Nose: 70.00, Palate: 40.00, Mouth: 50.00, Global: 30.00

Tasting Notes:

I picked up this 22 oz bottle at a price of $10.99. I finally gave in and purchased it, based largely on the fact that in other places in the last couple of months, I have seen this always higher, and in one case up to $19.99 for the bottle.

I assume the inflated price is simply a combination of Rogue’s general overpriced beers, plus the ‘allure’ of the pink bottle and the name. Either way, at $10.99 is this probably dreadful value, at $19.99 it would be daylight robbery. $10.99 was the lowest price I had seen so I am trying to convince myself that this was a relative bargain – we’ll see.

Rogue, Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale

A still, amber colored body with virtually no head, no retention and no lace. It doesn’t look especially attractive at all. Dying in the glass, the aroma is immediately evident, almost to the point of being distracting.The nose (at least initially), is not unattractive, but it begins to grate very quickly. It has a huge ham/bacon smoked nose that is extremely sweet. The maple syrup really comes through strongly. Certainly not your ‘standard’ smoked aroma, this has much more sweetness and is not subtle in any way shape or form. There’s plenty of pancake references, lots of sugary syrup and even some sausage (well, perhaps that’s my imagination!), but it is an American, sugary breakfast bonanza!

Tastes are similar to the nose, although the sweetness seems to subside and more bitterness breaks through. I guess the sweetness is what they call the ‘maple syrup’, although to me it still has a smokey, pancake feel about it. There is definitely a phenolic, band aid element here which treads a difficult and precarious line with the intended tastes and aromas. It finishes surprisingly bitter, with aggression.

Rogue, Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale

There is definitely dry bacon in the initial tastes. It really is quite strong, and I suppose not that unpleasant, BUT the the point being that if I want bacon, I’m going to EAT bacon. Smoke with a ham element is one thing; syrup soaked bacon is something else entirely. These tastes really have no place in beer.

Rear of the bottle

In the aftertaste there increasing amounts of smoke, almost a tobacco like bitterness. Some leather. Interestingly, the nose seems to keep repeating a maple syrup sweetness. It’s seldom a beer remains so potent in the aroma for so long, and it’s seldom that a beer could be quite so intense in simultaneously bad and interesting ways.

I dunno, as a one off novelty I suppose, but I would never dream of drinking this again let alone BUYING it, I wish I had split it between three or four people, and I still feel ripped off at $10.99. Biggest plus? They spelled ‘Doughnut’ correctly.

Beer just doesn’t need to go to these places, there’s nothing to be gained and it feels like an immature experiment. All a bit sad, really.

Other: 5.60% ABV, Smoked Beer, Rauchbier.