I just drank a very wonderful beer. You of course already know the beer I drank, Rogue Brutal Bitter from the Epinions headers, but you can’t grasp how truly delightful a beer this is unless you have already tried it. If you haven’t, I strongly urge you to get out there and find a bottle somehow, some way. It’s that good.

This beer, like all beers, has a story to tell. My first experience with Rogue Brutal Bitter came about three years ago at Redbones in Boston. It was November, and Redbones had imported a keg of Brutal Bitter along with a slew of other Pacific Northwest treats for their annual event celebrating the beers of said region. Here’s what I though back then:

First up was Rogue Brutal Bitter. I had heard a lot of hype surrounding this beer, but it didn't live up to it. It was a nice enough brew, but neither as Brutal or Bitter as I have been led to believe. Hype notwithstanding, it was one of the better beers of the night, lots of aromatics and a respectable bitter finish. A great aperitif beer, but less hoppy than I expected. Still I would love to drink this beer regularly.

Fast forward to 2002, the month of August. Until now, I had never ever seen Brutal Bitter in bottles, so when I stumbled across some at Sherlock’s in Marietta, Georgia I scoffed a few up. It’s rare that a Rogue beer disappoints, but this one went far beyond my wildest expectations, and tasting better than I remembered it from years ago.

What exactly is Brutal Bitter? Rogue defines it as an “imperial bitter style” (whatever that means). Rogue’s eccentric brewer, John Maier, calls it a cross between Extra Special Bitter and IPA. It’s certainly far removed from an English bitter, having way too much American hop character for that. It’s made from floor-malted Pipkin pale malt with some Cara Vienna and Cara Wheat malts.

One hop variety is used, a hybrid called Crystal. Rogue describes Crystal as a triploid variety developed from the German Hallertau aroma hop variety with contributions from Cascade, Brewers Gold, and Early Green. Brutal Bitter debuted in 1996 as a special beer in honor of the 20th anniversary of Portland’s famous Horse Brass Pub, where you can find many Rogue Ales on tap. The beer proved to be so popular that it became a permanent addition to the Rogue lineup.

Despite the name, this is not a brutally bitter beer, though it does have a very good hop bite to be sure. Rogue’s website lists the IBU level as 59; the bottle’s label is at odds with this and proclaims 76 IBUs. Either one is respectable, though with an original gravity of only about 1.06 I would suspect the lower number to be more accurate. The beer does have a good bitterness as earlier mentioned, but the dominant hop characteristic here is the aromatic grapefruit citric character.

My one quibble with this beer: the price. It is definitely the most brutal aspect of Brutal Bitter. I paid a whopping $4.48 for a 22-ounce bottle. Broken down, that comes to about 20.36 cents an ounce. If Brutal Bitter were sold in six-packs, that would come to a $14.66 price tag, a bit high in my book.
No one can fault Rogue for charging what the market will bear, however, and I must admit I will definitely pay that price again for this wonderful brew. I don’t seem to be the only one, either. The cooler slot for Brutal Bitter has always been empty, and it seems they can’t keep this stuff in stock.

OK, enough babbling you say, just how does the bloody stuff taste? Rogue Brutal Bitter pours to a cloudy orange color with a thick, rocky head formation and a very intense grapefruit nose. The palate displays that citrus fruit character in abundance; it’s absolutely incredible, like a bottle of pure hop juice. But there’s malt here too, a firm background of toasty Vienna and crisp pale malts. A strong hop bitterness takes over and lingers on after the finish.

Despite all of this, Brutal Bitter is amazingly smooth, refreshing, delicate, and drinkable. The flavors seem to advance in waves, first toasty then fruity then bitter with an incredibly smooth transition between each element. This is a truly one of a kind gem that is worth every penny of its price.



Recommended: Yes