Dead Guy Ale

Brewery: Rogue Ales & Spirits

Supplier: Beer52

Whilst they list this as a Maibock, which is a lager, they also say it is an ale and they list the yeast which is an ale yeast; what I think has happened is that it used to be made with lager yeast but they then shifted to the house ale yeast using the same recipe (and keeping the lagering stage). This is one of their oldest core range brews, first brewed in the early 90's for Día de Muertos. It's made with a load of malts, Independent Hops, and their house yeast strain (all of which are Trademarked). I served this chilled.

Appearance: A murky amber colour with a white head that is so thin it's almost gone. 

Aroma: Unfortunatly there is the smell of both stale and unfermented beer like you often get in those typical British ale pubs, along with some apple juice. 

Flavour: Sharp sweet notes on the front following into a fruity sweetness similar to the apple juice on the nose. 

Body: Medium body with a little bit of a syrupyness. 

Aftertaste: This fruity sweetness turns into a malty sweetness. Some strawberry notes hang right in the back. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, sweet but not overly so, and quite fruity; simple but refreshing.

Price Range: Another of the 8 beers for £14 - so £1.75 for a 355ml bottle, for this price you can't knock it

Food Pairings: I think it would go well with something salty with strong flavours, something like peppered jerky.

Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Brewery: Rogue Ales & Spirits

Supplier: Beer52

Not usually a big fan of Rogue, I bought this one as I love hazelnuts, but didn't realise they use Hazelnut extract (though apparently it's natural). Rogue is an Oregon-based brewery and quite often does novelty beers. This is one of their core range; so one of their consumer-tested recipes rather than a one-off that could be fantastic or horrible, and it's won gold twice (2011&12) in the Specialty Beer Category of the Great American Beer Festival. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A clear brown with a hint of ruby when held to the light. The head is a latte brown colour, it's medium in size but thins to a trace quite quickly.

Aroma: The most distincly brown toast like note that I have every smelt, these then develove more into a nutty note. There are also underlying sweet malt notes.

Flavour: Again brown toast on the front, with some musty malt notes in there. With some drinking there are some vanilla notes that come throughh.

Body: Quite thick and a full mouthfeel, works really well with this beer

Aftertaste: Give a refreshing mix of minty hops and malt that round of the beer and refreshes the pallet. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice beer and quite unique. Even though there no discernable nutty notes, I think the nuts add an element to it.

Price Range: £2.55 (usually £3) for a 355ml bottle, a decent price for a very sessionable beer.

Food Pairings: Whilst this is on the sweeter side I think something sweet like dried fruits (like banana, apple, pear, etc.) would go very well; maybe with a savoury coat - like apple crisps.