Oregon’s Rogue Ales & Spirits is the only brewery-distillery-cooperage in the United States and its latest release, 2017 Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout, is a labor of love among all sides of the business. The beer is brewed using ingredients grown at Rogue Farms and then aged in Dead Guy Whiskey barrels coopered at Rogue’s Thunder Barrel Works.
The United States has numerous examples of brewery/distillery combos, but Rogue is the only one to also have its own cooperage. This branch of the business is still relatively new, dating back to 2015. That year, Rogue acquired vintage coopering equipment and Thunder Barrel Works was born. Using Oregon- supplied oak, Rogue’s own Nate Lindquist creates barrels, all the way from the initial assembly through the sanding and branding. The barrels are made entirely by hand and the process, while certainly painstaking, allows Rogue unique bragging rights among breweries, since it can accurately claim that all ingredients, equipment, etc., used to brew this special beer are made in- house and/or supplied locally. Rogue General Manager Dharma Tamm says his team was determined to find a way to make everything work in synergetic fashion.
“At first it was a creative challenge,” said Tamm, “to see how we could incorporate our brewery, distillery, cooperage and farm into one beer. However, our brewers, distillers, coopers, farmers – and even graphic designers turned it into a quest to create a world class beer that exemplifies the Rogue spirit of challenging the norm and pushing creative boundaries.”
Dark in color with a hefty head of creamy foam, Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout features a cornucopia of flavors such as sherry, coconut, cherries, dark fruit and vanilla anchored in place by a foundation of dark roasted malt and earthy hops. The beer weighs in at 14% alcohol by volume, making it stronger and bolder than the inaugural 2016 release.
This big beer will be available only in limited release, with quantities of Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout available on draft and in 1-liter swing-top bottles at Rogue public houses beginning on July 21. For everyone living too far away to get to a Rogue Public House, Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout will be available in stores starting August 1, but only at a limited number of select retailers. It won’t last long, so if the opportunity presents itself, I recommend you grab a bottle or two as quickly as you can.
For more information on this or other Rogue beers, visit Rogue.com.
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