Rogue American Amber Ale

You asked for it! You demanded it! And I'm providing it! EXPENSIVE BEER WEEK is a go! Five increasingly expensive craft beers will grace the ratings over the course of the next week.

 First Brewed: At least 1996
Brewery Location: Newport, Oregon, United States
ABV: 5.6%

History & Availability: America, f*** yeah! Rogue's American Amber has won the World Beer Championships' gold medal for the category for 6 years since 1996, including 5 years in a row from 2003 to 2007. Saturation is probably about the same as any other Rogue brew, meaning specifically that you'll be able to find it anywhere that specialty beers are sold. Slightly more expensive than the average 6-pack, American Amber is nevertheless a popular option when you want a higher-priced beer without splurging on the 22oz bottles of wallet-breaking potential.

Appearance: Rogue's amber ale is, appropriately, a medium-to-dark amber color with a nice tan head and a hazy body. Retention seems decent but not great, since carbonation is on the low side. After I poured the beer, there were actually a bunch of huge film bubbles left in the bottle, which suggests something about the characteristics of the beer but I'm too ignorant to know exactly what.

Smell: This beer has a very faint smell of roasty toasty coffee beans. Not really any more to it than that.

Taste: This is a pretty sweet beer. I can definitely taste the redness even though I couldn't see it, which is a little backwards but interesting nevertheless. As expected, roasty toasty malts take the stage with pleasure here. I can't seem to shake an odd sense of connection with the Rogue Mocha Porter, even though these two beers look nothing like each other - they certainly taste the part. Malts on one end, a little bit of a coffee aftertaste, and low on the hops. I actually haven't really had all that many Rogue beers so I'm hoping they aren't simply the same thing repeated over and over, above-average though that one thing may be.

Mouthfeel: A little coarse around the edges due to the smoky flavor, but the minimalistic carbonation helps to keep the beer smooth even in the face of the flavor trying its best to roughen it up. This is definitely a holdable beer unlike a number of the recent ones I've tried.

Drinkability: Pretty good. Not stellar, but not bad. It's certainly not a burpy beer, but neither is it one that you suddenly find yourself staring at the bottom of the mug wondering where the last pint went.

Overall verdict: B+, see the Rogue Mocha Porter if you're interested in a very similar but slightly darker brew.