Bacon And Maple Flavored Beer: Rogue Voodoo Doughnut

After a very successful tasting of five pumpkin ales, The Info Zombie and crew are poised to outdo themselves and taste eight different winter beers.  But before that podcast is recorded, I thought I would give you a little sample of what’s in store.

Of course there will be the sampling and reactions to some of the finest brews that will have Santa jolly as he delivers presents to all the good little boys and girls.  Yes, there will be playful banter and reflection on the blink of the eye that was the year 2012.  And of course we will test the oddest names in micro and macro beers.  Insanely Bad Elf, anyone?

To tempt you I have sampled one beer first.  Although it’s not a ‘winter ale’, Rogue’s Voodoo Doughnut beer enticed me with its pink bottle and odd flavor of maple and bacon. I gave this a try as a warm up for what will come.  If this is a good indicator, you are in for a wickedly fun time, my Zombies.

Running at $13 a bottle, this beer does lean towards the pricier end of the cost spectrum.  As soon as the bottle is deCAPitated, a cloud of maple scent escapes.  Rogue Voodoo has an amazing smell, for sure.  The pour is stout, and the dark beer gives a frothy head.

In the taste one gets the full brunt of the bacon.  Be advised that Voodoo will activate your salty taste buds.  After drinking down, wait a moment and then rub your tongue against the roof of your mouth to experience the maple and bacon flavors together.

I’d have to classify this as one of the ‘event beers’ that will be drunk in small amounts among friends.  I could not foresee someone sitting down and downing a whole bottle because of the overwhelming salty aftertaste.  If you really, and I mean really like bacon, you may finish the bottle yourself.  But the beer serves more as a conversation piece or gimmick drink at a party or gathering.

Where I would suspect this beer would be best served is in cooking.  A little Voodoo would make a brat recipe or batter for fish stand out.  I suspect that an entire cookbook could be dedicated to the inclusion of this beer in some of the best recipes for tailgating and parties.  I can only imagine what it would do for a beer/cheese pretzel dip.

Keep an eye out for the winter ale beer tasting podcast coming up in just a few days.  In the meantime, deck the halls, go wassail, and wrap your gifts.  You won’t be able to after our Winter Ale beer tasting.

Keep rising from the graves of ignorance, my Zombies…