Longtime readers of the blog may recall that I cannot resist any beer named after a monster.
Hence, we have Rogue’s Colossal Claude IIPA. Look, there’s a dragon on the label named Claude. I’m supposed to say no to that?
Except: It’s Rogue. And Rogue has rested on its laurels since the 90’s, as far as I’m concerned. So, a little suspicion going into this beer.
The nose faded incredibly fast; despite a persistent head, I had to work hard to get the tropical fruits qualities that were initially present. As in: between me noticing them, taking a sip, and then going to write them down, the olfactory qualities all but evaporated.
The beer is…actually a bit bland. Which is not a good thing to say about an IIPA. I can get some malt character and even sense some bitterness but everything about his beer is insisting that I work for it.
It’s not good. It might be bad. I am picking up a little butterscotch here-which means bad things-but mostly the Claude fails to leave much of an impression at all.
It really is a Loch Ness beer. I can tell you I had it, but I can’t prove it to you.
A pint for Dionysus 