Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale

Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale comes in a lurid, pink, 750mL bottle featuring a voodoo dude in front of a motif pf pigs and maple leafs--it practically jumped off the shelf and into my hands. I just HAD to buy it. It comes from Newport, Oregon's Rogue Ales and it contains a hearty 6.5% alcohol. According to the bottle, it has 30 IBUs, and is brewed with applewood-smoked bacon and pure maple syrup. It's a muddy amber brew--cloudy, with a thick eggshell head.

Voodoo Doughnut has a strong aroma that is quite smokey, but also features some syrup sweetness. Not surprisingly, it has a very unusual flavour.  The first thing that I noticed was the smokiness. There are actually some notes of bacon, which is something new for me in a beer. The maple is muted, and has an almost candied quality, which I found pretty agreeable.

For a flavoured beer, this stuff delivers substantial beer body. It has a smokey, malt foundation, and, underneath the maple sweetness, the finish packs a decent bitter punch. Rogue never seems to disappoint, but I definitely did not expect to like this one. However, they delivered once again with a unique and charmingly flavoured ale. I wouldn't be very inclined to open a second one in a go, though--more of a novelty than a truly satisfying beer.


Rating: 8.5 out of 10.