John John Dead Guy

Brewed By: Rogue Ales
Brewed In: Newport, OR
Type: Ale matured in whiskey barrels
ABV: ~6.4%

What they say: “In a collaboration of crafts, Rogue Brewmaster John Maier and Rogue Spirits Master Distiller John Couchot have joined forces to create a distinct, innovative series of brews called John John Ales. The series will take Rogue Ales legends and age them in Rogue Spirits barrels. A 3,100 gallon batch of John John Ale produces 1357 cases of beer. The first of the John John series is John John Dead Guy Ale, Rogue’s award winning Dead Guy Ale matured in Rogue’s award winning Dead Guy Whiskey barrels.”

Website: Covered in the last review. Well laid out. Thumbs up.

Why this one, Show? This beer was brought to my attention by Ms. BigShow in the store where we picked up the Dirtoir Black Lager. Barrel-aged beers are among my favorites, and the fact that this was aged in the brewery’s own whiskey barrels seemed too good to not try.

First Thoughts:
Head: White, thick, good cling at first, some retention.
Nose: Crisp, hoppy notes.
Color: Ruddy gold.

Presentation (5): Instead of the fist-raising Rogue dude in one of his various costumes, the front of the bottle bears a picture of the two Johns hoisting a pint of their collaborative brew. In addition there’s various and sundry info about the beer like ingredients, IBUs, Apparent Attenuation, and a brief description. While comprehensive, they had me at “Dead Guy Ale aged in Dead Guy Whiskey barrels.” 5

Originality (5): While aging a beer in [whiskey] barrels is quickly becoming craft beer commonplace, it IS fairly unique for a brewery to age its beer in the barrels of its own distillery. As this diagram shows, it is a totally closed system: the spent wort from Dead Guy ale is used to distill Dead Guy whiskey, the barrels of which are then used to age the beer. Even the hops and some of the malts are from Rogue’s own farms. 5

Body (10): The sip moves lightly through the mouth, and the carbonation gives it a good snappy feel. The bitterness stays on the tongue for a bit after the swallow, subtly crackling away. This beer certainly doesn’t feel like you’re drinking a meal, but is still pronounced enough to leave an impression. 8

Taste (10): In better collaborations, both parties are present without any one overshadowing the other. The first notes on the tongue are all Dead Guy Ale, with its hoppyness evident. Before it can get too bitter, the taste mellows out with notes of wood, cherry, and subtle-sweet bourbon. As the beer warms in the glass, hints of vanilla emerge in the middle of the sip. While at first I found this to be great, over time it almost felt like I was drinking two distinct liquids—beer up front and iced down bourbon in the back. I like the taste of both, though. This one’s tough to call. 7

Efficiency (10): This is hard to pin down. Rogue seems to be making a habit of not putting their ABV content in any sort of easily-found locations, so it’s hard to nail an efficiency rating. Rogue’s “Beers” page lets me know that an inexact way to approximate the ABV is to divide the PLATO number by 2.5. This—maybe—gives this beer an approximate ABV of 6.4%, so it seems it would be fairly efficient. For some people, the flavors may turn this into a “one and done [with]” beer but there’s enough of a kick here to make its presence felt. 6

Versatility (10): One-off beers like this don’t really make for a lot of versatility. If it suddenly becomes one of your favorites, it’s going to be off the shelf before you know it. If you base a great recipe around it, same thing goes. Right now, this is a pretty snoberrific beer—being a Rogue beer aged in Rogue spirit barrels—so it’s good to grab now and bust out later to impress folks. The bitter-and-sweet flavors would match well with spicy foods or a rich sauce (Rogue’s page gives their pairings as pork or spicy foods). So while it’s available, it’s fairly versatile. 7

Final Score: 38 – Really Good Beer

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