REVIEW: Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale

This is a beer that I have been wanting to try for quite some time. Since it was announced really. I recently saw that bright pink bottle beckoning to me from across the beer section at Kroger and damn near sprinted to get it. I mean, how could I pass up a bacon maple ale? Anybody that knows me know I am an absolute fiend for breakfast. Eggs, sausage, pancakes, bacon, biscuits, hash browns, and any combination thereof. But usually when I look for a beverage to pair with my breakfast I'm going with a black coffee, a bloody mary, or maybe some orange juice. Rarely do I reach for a beer to go with my eggs over easy. But perhaps I've been doing it all wrong. Rogue has teamed up with the famous Oregon doughnut purveyor, Voodoo Doughnuts to create this bacon maple ale. Brewed with plenty of smoked malt, applewood-smoked bacon, and pure maple flavoring. This I've got to see. To the beer!

Out of that garishly pink bottle, Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale pours a quite pretty, slightly hazed sort of reddish gold caramel color. It's topped by a tall fluffy layer of off white head that recedes fairly quickly and leaves some spotty lacing on the way down.

The aromas on this beer are pretty wild. Plenty of woody maple notes come out right up front and mingle with lots of savory smoky bacon hints. I'm surprised that there's only a moderate sweetness to be detected here, I was expecting a bit more. Like I said, it's all pretty wild and one of the most unique set of aromas I've experienced on a beer.

Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale, for all of it's insanity and outlandish ingredients, is really fairly light. And the mouthfeel is a little on the slick side. The flavors lead off with a smoky toffee character.  That smoke becomes more pronounced through the sip and eventually gives way to hints of real maple syrup. It's definitely the real maple syrup. More earthy and woody and much less sweet than the artificial stuff and it comes through in the flavor of the beer. Hints at the savory bacon come out on the smoky finish.

I don't know quite what to make of this beer. I liked it, I'm glad I tried, but I'm not sure I want to have it again. It's certainly an exercise in trying something new and different. And in that respect, Rogue has come through in spades. But like I said, I've had it now, I'm not sure I ever need to have it again. A beer reviewer that I really like, Kevin Patterson of Lexington's Beer Trappe, had what I think is a very good point. He thought that this beer would work much better as a much bigger sort of imperial form. And I think I agree with him. I feel like all of these smoky, savory flavors would be much more at home laid into a much bigger, heartier beer. And remember how said that the flavors here were of authentic maple syrup? I know it sort of defeats the craft beer artisinal-ness of the whole thing, but I think it would taste better with the sweeter fake syrup. This is something that I never say, but I wish this beer was sweeter. I think, with some tweaking, this beer could really be something pretty special. Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale is certainly an interesting beer, and for that reason, I think It's worth checking out. If for no other reason to see how weird and wild a beer can be.