Beer Porn: Rogue’s “Somer Orange Honey Ale”

The Stats:

• Somer Orange Honey Ale
• Brewery: Rogue Brewery (Newport, Oregon)
• Style: America Pale Wheat Ale
• ABV: 5.2 %
• Serving Style: 22 oz Bottle from Village Beer Merchant ($7.99)

While I’ve always supported and admired Rogue Brewery, I never considered myself in their key demographic.  They, along with breweries like Stone Brewing Company, seem to make some ‘hardcore’ beers.  Types that are heavy on the hops, flavor and generally alcohol.  What I’ve realized is that I generally don’t like those types of beers (I’m working on it).  That said, I do love any Rogue style that has a picture of a girl on the bottle; their Chocolate Stout and Half-E-Weizen are both delicious.

So when I saw a bottle with a girl that I didn’t recognize, the Somer Orange Honey Ale, I had to try it.  The name alone sounds like a summer seasonal beer, but according to Rogue’s website, they will be releasing it year round.

Opening the bottle you immediately get a faint smell of orange, similar to other wheat/wit biers you may have tried elsewhere.  Pouring into the glass it had that lovely cloudiness that good wheat beers have.  With the first sip that orange flavor is subtle and doesn’t taste like someone poured orange juice into your beer.  The beer has a strong carbonation, almost like a soda, which makes this beer definitely a good candidate for a summer beer on a hot day.  I didn’t get a lot of flavor from the honey and the alcohol is barely existent at all, sadly many of the spices used in brewing get lost in the wheat-y body.

If you don’t enjoy “fruity” or “lighter” beers, there really isn’t anything about this that will convert you.  However, if you enjoy a Blue Moon or Shock Top, then I would highly recommend the Somer Orange Honey Ale.  It has a really nice smooth and mild flavor that would be a great “girlfriend beer”, or maybe a good beer to slowly introduce someone to the world of microbrews.  At the same time, it’s brewed with quality ingredients (like every other Rogue style) that any true beer fan can appreciate.  So, if you are at your local beer store (or even Wegmans), I would suggest giving the Somer Orange Honey Ale a try before the summer is over.  It will be around for the winter time but it would definitely shine more in the summer time with a good BBQ or summer party.