Afternoon Beer Break: Rogue Coast Haste

Many beer brands offer seasonal varieties in their product lineups, and it makes sense. As the weather shifts, you tend to look for something different (and it never hurts to give your palate a break as well). Well, Rogue does things a bit differently (because that’s what Rogue does) with a seasonal beer, and that’s demonstrated by the Rogue Coast Haste.

Rogue seems to be (as I’ve not visited their operations) a brand that is very much tied into the land. Think of it like your local restaurant that is sourced locally, and their menu changes. The same can be said, in some regards, for Rogue. In this case, the Rogue Coast Haste is only available from October to January because a key ingredient – their Centennial hops.

These are harvested and rushed over to the brewery (and now you know how they named it) and added into the mix, for an additional burst of flavor in the can. With all of the hops – and the additional dose of literally wet hops – you’ve got a very citrus-forward profile, and you’re first greeted with that on the nose. Then again, many hazy IPAs take that road, so you know what you’re in store for. And yes, I know that this is labelled as an Imperial IPA, but you can consider it to be a double IPA. From most of the research I did, Imperial – these days – just can be taken as short-hand for “stronger than usual”.

And, at an 8.6% ABV, this is stronger than your usual IPA, especially if you’re coming from more sessionable summer IPAs or lagers. Poured into the glass, you’ll notice it is very hazy, and that haze sticks throughout – it’s not anything that settles out (in case you’re not used to the hazy bois). While it’s very citrusy up-front, I did notice a slight tartness to things, and picked up an odd tingle here and there on the tongue.

I did not do any sort of side-by-side comparison, but I found the Rogue Coast Haste to be a good example of the hazy IPAs. Some might prefer a more tropical profile in there, but the citrus heavy notes I think work well as a good example of the style, and make a definite demarcation from the more piney “regular” IPAs that you’ll come across (and that is a flavor note I tend to prefer). If you’re searching it out locally, be on the lookout for it in 16oz 4 packs (or on draft). While you may have your favorite hazies that you go for, if you (or someone you know) really digs the locally-sourced ingredients, the Rogue story will definitely appeal. For me, it was a good pour, but I tend to lean towards some of the midwestern offerings – in this style. But that’s just my opinion. Drink what you like, and as always, do it in moderation – we like having you stop by. rogue.com

Description from Rogue

As farmers and brewers we understand the importance of fresh ingredients. That’s why our favorite time of year is harvest time, when the ingredients are their freshest and beer is just begging to be brewed. To make this beer, we cut down fresh Rogue Farms hops, load them into a truck and rush them posthaste over to our brewery on the coast. When the hops arrive, they go straight into the brew, still wet from the farm. The effort pays off in this hazy, fruity, wet-hop laden imperial?IPA.