Beer Review: Rogue Ales Voodoo Doughnut Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Ale

Brewery: Rogue Ales
Beer: Voodoo Doughnut Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Ale
Style: Fruit Beer
ABV: 5.3%
Character: Brewed with chocolate, banana and peanut butter to match Voodoo’s “Memphis Mafia” doughnut
Metal Connection: WICKED INNOCENCE – A Level Higher

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Rogues Ales definitely lives up to it’s name, following the definition of the word almost to the exact being unpredictable, playfully mischievous, operating outside normal controls. Rogue teamed up with Voodoo Doughnut Shop from Oregon, where Rogue is also from, and they collaborated on their second monstrous creation, a Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Ale. According to their site this beer contains 13 ingredients including chocolate, banana and peanut butter to match the “Memphis Mafia” doughnut- a nod to Elvis’ entourage. Their first collaboration was a Bacon Maple Ale. I am equally as excited as I was to taste that one, I really hope I am not met with the same disappointing results. That beer was gawd awful! To my surprise, this time they got a winner!

Poured into my Branchline Brewing can shaped glass, the beer poured a very dark brown, almost black color with a thin tan head leaving a good soapy lacing down the glass. The beer looked great!

I was so blown away by the aroma of this beer. It reminded me of a hot fudge sundae, or the hot fudge section of a banana split. There was a heavy chocolate banana smell up front, with a whipped cream/ice cream like smell hitting you next, leaving a very nice lingering mixture of these smells. The one thing I did not pick up on was the peanut butter.

The taste pretty much follows the aroma. Up front flavor of chocolate like cocoa powder, ending with a strong banana after taste. Unlike the aroma, I did get a nutty flavor in the background hinting towards the presence of the peanut butter, but it wasn’t much. Seriously take a banana, and cover it in cocoa powder and add a small amount of finely chopped peanuts, take a huge bite, and that is exactly what you have here. This is a great dessert or breakfast beer. I did drink this beer after a good sized Mexican dinner, and it was a perfect ending to that meal. It didn’t make me feel full or (more) bloated, either.

Very easy to drink with it’s not too heavy body and light carbonation crispiness. I was looking for a more creamy feel though, which would have made this beer even that much better, but I guess I can’t have it all, can I?

Once again Rogue seems to amaze me, and I look forward to seeing if there are any more collaborations with Voodoo Doughnuts. Maybe they can remake the Bacon Maple Ale, and make it better some how.

Metal Connection: One band that really came to mind here is the band Wicked Innocence from Salt Lake City, Utah. They were one of the first bands I remember listening to who had a lot of experimenting going on in their music. It was very jazzy, heavy, fast, brutal, and just weird at times. In other words, it is just like this beer! Enjoy the song “A Level Higher” from their 1995 sophomore album, Omnipotence.