Rogue Fifteen Thousand Brew Ale

This is a limited release (I have bottle 330 out of 1,515) brew from Rogue Ales of Newport, Oregon.  It celebrates that they have had one brewer with them, John C. Maier, for all of their 23 years and 15,000 brews.  The bottle is hand signed by the brewer.  According to the bottle this was brewed in February of 2012 and it was released in August of 2012.  It contains 9 ingredients, including four malts, two hops, Belgian candi sugar, Belgian stout yeast, and water.  It comes in a ceramic 750-ml bottle, that is capped, but has a swing top.

The beer pours a pure, dense black in color.  There is a tall head of thick, almost creamy, light brown foam. The aroma is very dark roasted malt, dark cocoa, some coffee, slightly sweet and milky.  The taste is very dark roasted malt, bitter coffee, bittersweet dark chocolate.  There is sweetness, but it is balanced by all the dark roasted and bitter flavors.  It is surprisingly light in the mouth for all its massive dark roasted flavors.  The finish is bitter, bittersweet, and fairly dry.  They made a good stout for this special release.