Afternoon Beer Break: Rogue Colossal Claude

Look at us, back with a real world, actual beer review! It was last month that we told you about the arrival of Rogue Colossal Claude. Well, it’s on the shelves near you now (Rogue Beer Finder), and we’re here with a review after tasting the samples sent over to us.

Just as with a book, the can art for a release can really help sell what it is you’ll be tasting. I mean, awesome art is no guarantee of a quality beverage (especially if you let it sit in the basement for too long), but Rogue consistently delivers, giving us some pretty gonzo – and intricate – artwork. In this case, the Rogue Colossal Claude is calling to mind something of a Loch Ness-style monster. And before you ask, this is apparently an actual local legend out on the west coast – you can read up some more about that right here.

But enough of the tall tales. What of the beer itself? As you can see, the Rogue Colossal Claude pours as a hazy IPA, though it’s nowhere near as citrus-forward (either on the nose or the tongue) as you might expect for a hazy. Giving it a sniff, I picked up a sweet scent, and something I classified as “woodsy”. That woodsy scent carried over into the taste, with a milder bitterness than the IBU rating might other suggest.

Frankly, the Rogue Colossal Claude is a very smooth-drinking imperial IPA, and one that comes closer to chasing the memory I’ve got of some very piney IPAs I had when I first started getting into the style. Cold weather might have you thinking of darker brews, like stouts and porters, but I’d offer up the Rogue Colossal Claude as a solid option, giving your tastebuds a break from the tropics and instead heading out into the great woods. rogue.com

Details from Rogue

• Style: Imperial India Pale Ale 
• ABV: 8.2% 
• IBU: 75 
• Hops: Cascade, Chinook, Citra and Strata Hops
• Availability: Year-round in 6-pack 12-ounce cans, 19.2 ounce cans, draft
• Distribution: Nationwide starting January 1, 2021
• Ingredients
  • Superior Pills
  • 2-Row
  • Wheat
  • Oats
  • C-15
  • Hops: Cascade, Chinook, Belma™, Eureka, Strata™
  • Imperial Juice yeast