Another one of the Rogue featured beers the LCBO brought in is Rogue’s Summer Orange Honey Ale (I reviewed their Chipotle Ale a few days ago). I felt a nice “summer” ale was just the thing for this lovely hot summer day in Toronto. That being said, I don’t really know what a “summer” beer is. A light cold beer that you can drink a lot of? A beer with floral additives (like DDC Rosee du Hibiscus)? A wheat beer? In this case, Rogue gives a listing of ingredients. Aside from some noteworthy Rogue brand malts and hops, there is also wheat and oats, honey, chamomile, orange peel and coriander. Sounds summery to me!
Summer Orange Honey Ale - Rogue Ales
From a silk-screened Rogue 650ml bomber, with no freshness date (though there is an LCBO sticker, added to clarify what any 6 year old could have gleaned from the label, which could be covering a date), the beer is a hazy yellow with a bit of fluffy head that dropped to a fuzzy film. Aroma is grainy malts, with some orange peel and a little herbal hop. Taste is quite a bit more complex, lots of dry hops flirt with bitter dry orange peel. Both are carried by a mellow sweet malty body. I get no honey in the taste at all, though I’m told honey actually ferments out, and I shouldn’t actually taste any. So I feel okay about that. A nice active carbonation helps keep things light on the palate; with the brightness of the orange peel taste as well as the nice sweetness, the beer is going down quickly indeed. It’s perhaps a tad too complicated to call a lawnmower beer, but it certainly would be a welcome brew on a hot patio or back deck, and would serve you well at a BBQ. Summer Orange Honey Ale is a nice summer brew, and a great choice if you’re going someplace and want an interesting and attractive bottle to take with you. Get it while it’s here.
Cheers, Rogue!
