Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA

Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA is dedicated, according to the label on the 650mL bottle, to "Farmers & Fermenters". Good folks. It's a swampy orange-gold grog that pours with a cream-coloured head. Born of Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon, 7 Hop checks in at a hearty and extremely specific 8.02% alcohol.  An area code maybe? According to the bottle, there are seven varieties of hops grown at Rogue Farms in Independence, Oregon, and all seven feature in this India Pale.

Aromatically, this stuff is, not surprisingly, hop-focused, and veers off in a couple of directions. There are citrus notes, but also something a little murkier and more resinous. In terms of flavour, the stuff isn't actually as IBU-bound as I'd have expected, and contains a nice, roasty subtext. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of hops--they're ably represented, and give the beer a bitterness with grapefruit-y and spicy leanings, not to mention some earthy dankness.

7 Hop has a lot of activity for a single beer. There's a lot to smell, a lot to taste, and precious little to whine about. Rogue ales always seem to be well made, and 7 Hop is no exception. It's not as elite as Yellow Snow, my personal fave from the Rogue rolodex, but it's certainly a tasty brew.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.