Santa's Private Reserve 2017 Belgian Strong Ale with Cherries & Raspberries

Review Date 12/19/2017  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Fruit Beer   Brewery: Rogue   Country: USA   State: Oregon   $ Per OZ: $.36 (B)   ABV: 7.8%

Hey there Rogue Ales of Newport, Oregon! What have you done to my Santa’s Private Reserve? Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I love the new beer for 2017. It’s just that I’ve grown accustomed to picking up a bottle each year (or enjoying a glass on tap at Taco Mac) and getting a tasty, hoppy red ale. Not this year, though. Oh no.

It went down like this. I picked up a bottle as I am wont to do at Total Wine. I noticed the different label, but nothing else, when I placed it in my cart. Then, though, I noticed that good old Douglas Smith had popped a bottle and posted about it in that most wonderful of Facebook beer groups, Honest Craft Beer Reviews. He remarked it was different; I looked at my label and there it was: Belgian Dark Ale with Cherries & Raspberries. Definitely different!

Now, many holiday brews remain the same year after year, as Santa’s Private Reserve has. I think of Sierra Nevada Celebration and Harpoon Winter Warmer as two prime examples. Other’s, like the granddaddy of them all, Anchor Our Special Ale, change slightly year over year. Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve 2017 is a radical departure, however, from year’s past.

From the label:

DEDICATED TO THOSE ON THE NAUGHTY LIST

The 2017 vintage of Santa’s Private Reserve is guaranteed to bring the holiday cheer. At Santa’s Request we brewed a special Belgian Dark Ale. Packed with candi sugar, cherries, and raspberries this brew creates a delicious sweet and sour experience that’ll give you both a tingle and a smile.

Ingredients from the website:

Premium 2 Row, Munich, Weyermann Carabelge, Weyermann Caramunich III, Weyermann Special W & Midnight Wheat Malts; Willamette Hops; Belgian Candi Sugar, Red Raspberries, Cherries, Imperial Gnome Yeast, and Free Range Coastal Water.

Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve 2017 has an alcohol content of 7.8% by volume with 36 IBUs. I paid $7.99 for a bomber bottle at Total Wine.

Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve 2017 pours to a dark brown color with a thick creamy tan head formation with tightly packed bubbles and a luscious tart cherry and raspberry nose. The beer is smooth and creamy in the palate with the nutty and chocolaty malts of a dubbel (but not the yeasty notes), dark candi sugar richness and light sweetness, brown sugar, and tart, sweet and sour cherry and raspberry fruit. It finishes tart and dry and really wonderful indeed.

I was a little sad to see the hoppy red ale gone. After a few sips of this wonderful beer, I didn’t miss it so much. Could this be the start of a new beer each year from Rogue and Santa? I guess we'll have to wait for Christmas 2018 to find out.