THROWBACK THURSDAY: Maple bacon beer comes to Canada

(Originally written May 30, 2012)

Yes indeedy, Rogue brewery’s infamous Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale is now available at the LCBO!  Picked some of this stuff up last nite, as a matter of fact.  The clerk thought I was crazy, but you know what?  It’s actually pretty good.

The first thing you notice is the maple flavour.  You can both smell and taste it on the first gulp.  It’s kinda like going to a cabane à sucre in Quebec where they leave a big vat of maple syrup at your table and the idea is to pour some on everything.  Hey, when in Rome, right?

There also is a subtle hint of smokiness, but truth be told, even if it was brewed with real bacon, this beer doesn’t taste like piggy.  It’s got a smoky, wood aftertaste that reminded me of Sam Adams, and while I’ve only had Rogue Dead Guy ale once when I was in Portland a couple years back, I recall its colour being similar to this stuff.

Although listed as a “strong beer,” at 5.6 per cent alcohol, it’s not enough to knock you out.  A 750 ml bottle, while listed as one pint, was also enough to fill two of those glasses pictured above.

Final Verdict: I gotta say, even if it didn’t taste like bacon, this brew wasn’t too bad.  I might buy another bottle to have with dinner on a hot summer night, or maybe bring a couple of these to be the toast of a party.  BTW, I must say this stuff paired nicely with the evil concoction I threw together for dinner:

That’s bacon poutine from Smoke’s Poutinerie, with some Hostess Hickory Sticks on top for that extra smoky kick.  Mmm, bacon…