rogue kells irish style lager
March 20th, 2007 by don
OK, I’m a few days late with this entry, but I couldn’t let St. Patrick’s Day go by without trying at least one Irish beer, so I picked this up last week and opened it on Saturday. Actually, my selection isn’t technically an Irish beer, in the sense that it’s not from Ireland. It’s an American-brewed beer in the Irish style.
I’ve enormously enjoyed every beer I’ve tried from Rogue, but I was somewhat disappointed with this one. It’s a slightly cloudy yellow color with a white head, and a lot of carbonation. The taste is smooth and clean and I thought I could detect a bready flavor. On checking the ingredients, it does include wheat, which would explain the breadiness. There aren’t a lot of hops in this concoction; just enough to produce a slight bitter aftertaste. Don’t get me wrong; this is not a bad beer. It’s just that I was expecting something a little darker, a little heavier, and a little more well…substantive. This just reminded me too much of a typical American lager.
(I did end up getting a Guiness stout on tap when the wife and I were out on Sunday, so I at least got some authentic Irish beer in over the weekend.)
