Rogue Ales
4 out of 10
Not all stouts can be saved by a nitrogen tap. Some are too overdone to redeem. Rogue's Shakespeare Stout qualifies as one of such brews.
Shakespeare poured midnight black with a streaky brownish-tan head. Some parts of the foam were lighter than others, which perplexed me, but I just wrote it off as a weird side effect of heavy malting.
The beer smelled very hoppy at first. After a few seconds, the aroma of apricot or even of fruit roll-ups took over. For a beer touted as smelling like coffee or chocolate, it seemed to miss the mark.
My first, second and third sips of Shakespeare made me cringe. The brew stung my mouth with an overpowering apricot taste at first, but then hit it once more with a very strong, bitter espresso flavor afterwards. A quarter of the way through the pint, I was questioning leaving the beer on the bar and heading home.
Shakespeare left an oily film on my tongue, cheeks and throat.
With oily textures and fruity notes, the brew compared to Russian imperials. However, since I'm not sure of what style Rogue aimed for, I can only assume this brew was crafted with no particular variation in mind.
Shakespeare apparently earned a 99 out of 100 at the 1994 World Beer Championships, but I don't care. This stuff tasted like a garbage combo of rotting fruit, coffee grounds and a used bottle of Quaker State.
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