Rogue Chipotle Ale

Has there ever been a good tasting chili beer that one would want to drink regularly?

I talked to a Rogue sales rep at a tasting party and he told me that the Chipotle makes for a "great marinade".

lol. I tried Crazy Ed's crap one time years ago....5 3/4 bottles down the drain.

That's the best thing he could say about it?? Things look grim.

The Cave Creek Chili Beer? Yeah, that sucked. Luckily, me and a beer buddy found a single bottle and split it, so we only wasted maybe 3/4 of a bottle.

But I also knew a guy who would occasionally order it when out drinking, at the end of the night, because it would force him to slow down his drinking.

Well, maybe, but maybe not. I had a bottle a few months ago, and while I don't particularly remember how it tasted, I DO know that I was able to finish it, and generally thought it wasn't that bad. It's not EXCESSIVE like the Cave Creek...

"Bill Becker" though dead, wrapped in plastic, said news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

Good stuff, IMO. Like it plenty.

As for Cave Creek, let it never be spoken of again.

I've actually had a few bottles of this now. I think it's great - an awesome undercurrent of smokey chipotle flavor - a little woody tasting and all coming from a GOOD beer base. Completely unlike crazy Ed's vinegar extravaganza. Put on your duster and spurs and fire up the DVD of The Good The Bad and The Ugly and enjoy!

Crazy Ed's isn't even hot (and neither is the Rogue Chipotle) it's just a pickled serrano stuck in a sub-Corona light lager. There is no attempt to make it a chile beer.

That was you?!?

"Randal" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Heh!

I would also suggest a Spaten Optimator (or four) and _Cross of Iron_. Leave the pea pattern camo and the PPSh-41 in the closet where they belong.

I found it pretty hot. Heat but little flavor. As far as vinegar goes, I found no acetic-ness to it, but then, I haven't had it in years. Wouldn't surprise me, though, given their open fermenters.

So what's a "chile beer" then? I always figured it was a beer with chile in it, though most attempts don't work very well.

I've not had the Rogue, but will look for it. I admit that Rogue fell off of my radar years ago. But chipotle is simply one of my favorite chiles as it is so dang flavorful without the heat that can be difficult to manage with, say, habeneros.

Sounds like the Rogue might be good for the ol' Beer Can Chicken Trick.

Scott Kaczorowski Long Beach, CA

So is Belmont Brewing company worth a trip? I'll be staying in Ontario for a week next month and was thinking about going there one night.

Good question.

I suppose attempting to infuse some kind of chile into the beer as a part of the process, rather than plunking a serrano into a bottle and calling it done. I've had the Wynkoop Brewpub version of a green chile beer and it was outstanding. No heat (green chile aren't typically hot to my taste even barkers) but a wonderful Big Jim or Anaheim type flavor. I think they made a chile infusion and added that to the secondary fermentation. Still, it's not something I would drink more than one glass of. Also it really helps to have a well-made base beer. Crazy Ed's strikes me as a novelty, kind of like a worm in a tequila bottle or something.

_Randal

I'm just now opening the bottle of Chipotle...

Btw, next time I'm in Ft. Collins, I'll have to try the Coopersmith Sigda's Green Chili

The beer pours a very nice amber with a huge head that settles down after a while but it sticks around right to the end. Good sweet malty smell to it...no hint of any peppers for me. The taste is very malty and then there's a note of "heat" that lingers right through the aftertaste. This is definitely different and pretty well done for what it is, imho, but....I suspect that this style isn't exactly up my alley. ;^)

In rec.food.drink.beer Blake S wrote: : :>

:>

:> Scott Kaczorowski :> Long Beach, CA : : So is Belmont Brewing company worth a trip? I'll be staying in Ontario for : a week next month and was thinking about going there one night. : :

That's a long drive from Ontario -- the beer is OK -- I've never had anything at Belmont that belw me away but it's never been bad either. Food is quite good. Ambience gets several stars -- you can't beat sitting out on a deck right over the beach even if it's inside the relative quiet of the harbor. If you go during the day you may also catch sight of the large flock of wild Amazon parrots that live in the trees along Belmont Shores.

That said, if you're in Ontario, take a shorter drive up to Pasadena...

and possibly stop along the way in San Gabriel...

Both are, IMO, better destinations and much closer.

snipped-for-privacy@fuvm.org (Bill Benzel) wrote in news:43a36509$0$8839$ snipped-for-privacy@news.uslec.net:

Gotta agree with that.

The beer is competent rather than spectacular, though the Long Beach Crude just won a gold at the LA County Fair and really is quite a good beer.

There is also a Gordon Biersch and the Crown City brewpub within walking distance of LB's. LB's is not a brewpub, but they will have the full line of Craftsman's beers. Also, eat at GB. LB's food is frankly crap.

However, from Ontario, I would hit Lamppost Pizza and Main Street Brewery in Corona first and foremost. Don't let the kid- infested pizza parlor fool you. There's a nice pub in a room by itself in the corner.

Or maybe even Heroes in Fullerton for what I think has a vastly underrated tap selection. Noisy and lots of kids, though.

And the owner is a jerk.

Scott Kaczorowski Long Beach, CA

"Randal" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I don't see much of a difference between that and plunking a plug of Fuggles into a keg before bunging it up. Obviously, the ingredients are different, but the process is the same.

Agreed. It's just not a very good beer and they could probably achieve the same flavor while leaving the chile itself out.

We were at Cave Creek 6 or 7 years ago. Kind of a neat place, actually. More of a compound than a brewery. I was surprised at their use of open fermenters with little other than a mostly- open screen door between them and the Great Unwashed.

We had lunch - don't remember if it was any good (I think it was) and a Porter that was a little thin. The waitstaff was pushing the chile beer *hard*. A family of about 8 cleancut people sat near us and the waitron got them to buy a round. Before the bottles showed up I whispered: "Heh! Watch this." There was one young fellow who was going to choke his down, dammit, and he did. But the other 7 took a sip and set it down, not to be touched again.

You gotta wonder what the reasoning is behind foisting something on people that they are almost guaranteed to not like. It's not like it's the only beer they make.

Scott Kaczorowski Long Beach, CA

As Bill and Scott said, it's not really worth going out of your way for. I enjoy BBC immensely, but it's just as much for the food, the fact it's about three miles down the road from me, and that it's on the water, as it is for the beer. The beer is solidly good. But it's not great, and nothing's ever blown me away there (not that beer always has to blow me away; there's a hell of a lot to be said for people who consistently brew solidly good beer).

I know nothing in/of the inland counties, and I am quite blissful in my ignorance of such, so I have no suggestions for your immediate area. Pasadena's a bit of a hike from Ontario, but the options mentioned by others are indeed good. There's a Yard House in Rancho Cucamonga, which is closer than Pasadena, and depending on what part of the country you're coming in from, there may be a lot there that you're not ordinarily able to get. Note that the Yard House rarely has any terribly rare beers, but if you're from the east coast, they'll have a lot that you're not accustomed to seeing. (For locals, it can end up being like cable TV: 150 channels/taps, and nothing interesting on.)

-Steve

"Steve Jackson" wrote in news:b9Zof.4511$l25.2814@trnddc03:

Not too much going on out there I'll admit, but I'm tellin' ya, Main Street in Corona is NOT A BAD PLACE.

Riverside Brewing Co. used to be worth the trip, and we still stop there on the way back from infrequent trips to Arizona. Not sure what happened to these folks, but the result is pretty sad, especially given their early success. How you screw something like this up in a UC town with ~22k students... It's no Prescott Brewing Co., but it generally comes up at about the right time in the drive for us.

PH Woods in Moreno Valley doesn't suck if you can get past the off-the-rack Clam Jumper/Chilis decor.

I've heard good things about the Falconer in Redlands, though I've never been.

So why are you posting?

Blah.

Actually, I wish Blake would tell us what he's after. If he's a brewpub bagger, Long Beach would not be a bad place to drive to from Ontario. In geographic order coming in from the 71 to 91: Main Street, BJ's, BBC, Rock Bottom, San Pedro Brewing Co., Red Car, Redondo Beach BC, Manhattan Beach BC, cheapest local hotel possible.

If he's looking for West Coast beers, I'd have him stay away from Lucky Baldwin's and strongly suggest Naja's.

Etc.

So you're home today. And we're not at Cafe Boogaloo 'cause why?

Scott Kaczorowski Long Beach, CA

The only thing I was after was a trip to the Belmont Brewing Company. I've been to many of the others that you've mentioned, but not Main Street. I've got some friends living in Norco so maybe I'll check it out next time. Coming from the Northwest, I'm surprised how far one has to travel in the Southland for good beer. I did have one of the Belmonts on tap at another pub, and it was tasty (something red, but can't remember the name exactly). I was hoping that the Belmont was more of a hopheads hangout (as opposed to Rock Bottom, Gordon Bierch, Taps etc.). Surprisingly, I've found the BJ's (at least the one in West Covina), to brew better better beer than the ones up here in Oregon (IMO). It's also strange to me that BJ's is always packed in West Covina/Arcadia, but up here they're better known as an also-ran brewpub that's not on the radar of most beer enthusiasts. The food at BJ's is pretty good though (especially the buffalo chicken pizza).