WILK Friday BeerBuzz–9 Dec 2011 Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve w/Brett Joyce

Back in Oct 2010 we were lucky enough to have Sebbie Buhler from Rogue Ales join us on the Friday BeerBuzz to sample the beer that carries her image on the label, Chocolate Stout.  It was a very special show, and a wonderful beer. 

Back when Mrs. BeerBuzz & I were first dating, the very first beer we shared was a Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, and it was no surprise to anyone that for our wedding, we had a custom labeled Rogue beer for our guests….so as you can see Rogue is a very special brewery for me personally.

Leap forward to 2011 and I was absolutely committed to getting another Rogue beer and guest on our show, and what a wonderful combination to feature:  Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve, and Brett Joyce, President of Rogue Ales.

Santa’s Private Reserve is what I would certainly term a non-traditional holiday ale.  Anyone familiar with the St Rogue Red that Santa’s Private Reserve is based on will know it is decidedly hoppy; in fact is is a double dry-hopped version of St Rogue Red.  I also think it is funny to note that brewmaster John Maier uses a mystery hop called “Rudolph” in Santa’s Private Reserve, and even Brett was sworn to secrecy.

Brett is a great spokesman for Rogue Ales and I think that comes from his background at Rogue.  Brett’s father Jack Joyce was driving force in the creation of Rogue Ales in 1988, and Brett has been with the brewery for a long time, starting out washing kegs and working his way to become their president.  It was very exciting to talk to Brett not just about our beer of the day, but also some of the other ventures Rogue has undertaken from distilling to micro-barley malting.  I was a big fan of Rogue Ales over 15 years ago, and that fondness for their craft continues today.