A Rogue XSperience

Headed to Oregon with an eye toward beer, I knew well in advance that a stop in Newport at Rogue Ale's Public House was mandatory. But, it wasn't until the day before we arrived in Newport that we seriously considered taking advantage of Rogue's "Bed & Beer" - staying the night in one of the three apartments above the pub (the apartment comes with two 22 oz beers). The one bedroom (which comes with a full kitchen, two 22oz beers and a couple pint glasses), it turns out, was available for $90.

Owing to our cheapskate vacationer mentality it wasn't a no-brainer. Katy had visions of a frat house room for rent, while I was more optimistic about the digs. After arriving in Newport we hemmed and hawed in typical Lovehardstein fashion. I had a hard time taking Katy seriously because she was wearing the red long underwear pants she had donned the night before when we were camping at Cape Lookout State Park. Anywho, we walked into Rogue to just to "check it out," and a few minutes later we had decided to stay the night. Good decision.

The Public House is located on historic Bayfront St in what still feels like a fishing town with a tourist problem...or however that bumper sticker goes). The Rogue Brewery is on the other side of the bay.

Approaching the bar you are confronted with a panoply of Rogue Ales on tap (we heard a heated exchange between two locals about whether or not to call them beers) - perhaps 15 in all, about eight from their XS series. Rogue Ales on tap, plus Budweiser and Coors Light (huh? - I'll explain later). We started with a sample of Rogue's uber-popular American Amber Ale (it being almost July 4th and all) which has enjoyed some ridiculous string of wins for the category at competitions (according to the bartender at least). It was a good warmup. Next came a flight of tasters - Double Dead Guy, Imperial Stout, Imperial Porter, Old Crustacean Barleywine, and the I2PA ("I-squared"). Interestingly, the Double Dead Guy and the Old Crusty were probably the two we were less impressed with, though we'd had them back East and thoroughly enjoyed them at the time. The I-squared was the standout. This is Rogue's Imperial IPA and it was freaking incredible. One of our favorite beers of all time. Gad-damn do they know what do to with those hops round here in Oregon. The I-squared is the perfect hazy, unfiltered, full-bodied, hoppy (but not stupid hoppy) IPA. I really really really want to bring some back to Atlanta. Oh, and the Porter and Stout are also "the bomb."

After the tasting session we headed to the Brewery where Rogue was selling cases of bottles on the cheap, as they do to move inventory from time to time. Katy and I scored six 750 ml bottles of the Imperial Porter for $23 - about $65 off retail price! Whoa. We also got to sample a little more - the Double Chocolate Stout was a melted chocolate bar, and we learned that Rogue repackages their beers for sale in Japan (apparantely a skeleton on a beer bottle does not go over very well with Japanese consumers).

Speaking of Asia, we ate that evening at this little Noodle Cafe across the street, reviewed here. It was AMAZING. The owner/chef cooks everything (noodles included) from scratch and uses local seafood. The Jung Bong Spicy Seafood Soup was perfect.

And then, back to the bar, where we were treated to a couple more beers - Katy stuck to the Imperial Stout and I2PA, while I branched out into the Rogue's other hoppy beers, the Imperial Pilsener, Brutal Bitter and Juniper Pale Ale. All were very good - though I was most taken with the Brutal. A local also bought me a shot of Rogue's Dead Guy Whiskey, which was fascinatingly smooth.

About the Bud and Coors on tap - apparently the manager of the Public House only drinks them (weird), but whenever anyone orders them the bartender rings a bell and the locals whistle at them. This should be standard practice at all pubs throughout our nation.

So, in sum, we had a great Rogue Bed n' Beer XSperience. The apartment was well worth $90 - far from a frat house, it was spacious, clean, quiet, and the kitchen allowed me to make some fabulous late-night popcorn.