Beer Review: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Posted on 08. May, 2009 by MJay in Product Reviews

At last it’s here! Our first beer review! We’ve got a great selection today that I hope all of you can try. Our goal here is not to tell you what you already know (we all know Bud tastes like crap), but introduce you all to some new stuff that you might have seen before, but never had the guts to try.

First things first though, what kind of qualifications do I have to review beer? Well, being half-German, I suppose that its in my blood, but I think my best qualification is that I’ve got none. I’m just like the rest of you out there; I enjoy beer and I’m willing to try anything once.

That being said, I’ve got a system I like to work with when determining the holistic appeal of a beer: Pour, Smell, Taste, Value, and Overall Satisfaction, with Taste and Overall Satisfaction being weighted more. I’ll rank each category on a scale of 1-10 and we’ll come up with a neat way to display all of our reviews in an easy to read list. In addition, whenever one of us does a full-review, the other will offer a quick second opinion.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Introduction: rogue

Rouge Hazelnut found its way to me at my local watering hole a few weeks ago and caught me totally by surprise. Hailing from Newport, Oregon this is one of the most enjoyable beers I’ve had in a long time. A far stride away from the keg beer you’ve surely grown accustomed to, plan on sitting down with this and enjoying the entire experience.

Pour: 7

Coming out of a 22 oz. bottle, this beer has a decent pour. Give it a little time to rest and you’ll thank me later. The foam is a really nice caramel color and the beer itself carries a nice dark amber. While you’re waiting for the foam to settle check out the label; the pictures of animals are food parings and the alcohol content is listed in degrees Plato (Just divide by 2.5 to get your percentage).

Smell: 8

This is one of the best beers I have ever smelled. The aroma is slightly nutty, but also has a nice hint of hops. Its very unique, so make sure you take a deep breath before your first sip! It doesn’t really smell like you’d expect a beer to smell, but its great.

Taste: 9 (x2)

Hmm… Not a word I would typically use for a beer, but its delicious. You get a nice smooth taste, followed by a subtle hint of hazelnut. Nothing overpowering at all in this beer, everything is well balanced. As can be expected, you get much of the same pleasure after finishing this off. Nothing new, just good balance, a great hint of hazelnut, and a satisfying experience. The best about this beer is knowing that you get a full 22 oz. to enjoy.

Value: 9

I have found this at my local liquor story for $5.95 and one place downtown for $10. Considering the mark-up on normal 12 oz. beer at a bar is usually 300%+, getting a 22 oz. Rouge Hazelnut in a bar for only 68% more than you could at the store is a pretty good value, especially considering you are getting almost two beers worth (though that is likely to decrease with every, “Hey, come here and try this stuff!”).

Overall Satisfaction: 9 (x2)

After 22 oz. of this, I carry a pretty happy buzz. Its the perfect way to start off a night the right way, but is also more that sufficient to enjoy on a night in after a long week of work. I can’t find anyone that doesn’t seriously like this stuff. Just one word to put my stamp on this baby: Yum.

Total Score: 61/70 (87%)

Rating: Must Try!

Chris’s Second Opinion

Pour: 7
Smell: 9
Taste: 9
Value: 6
Overall Satisfaction: 8

Comments: Out of the hundreds of different beers that I’ve tried, this ranks in my top 5 tastiest beers, without a doubt. The hazelnut is very well tasted and it smells equally as good. The only place that I really differ from MJay is value. Sure, there isn’t much markup from liquor store to bar. However for $6 at a store, I’d like to get a little more than 22 ounces, even if this beer is about 6.25% ABV. As delicious as it is (did I mention it’s delicious?), I have a hard time passing up a nice $8 sixer to get this single. With that being said, whenever I do drink this beer, I’m always happy to be drinking it, which gives it a very high satisfaction rate in my book. I definitely agree with MJay when I say the Rogue Hazelnut Brown is a Must Try.

Click Here to learn more about the Rogue Brewery.