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Rouge River - Never Say Never Series

Contribute your own beer reviews and ratings of beers that are made or available in Ontario.

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seangm
Bar Fly
Posts: 607
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 12:44 pm

Rouge River - Never Say Never Series

Post by seangm »

With all the discussion about imperial stouts in the BCBS thread, thought I'd resurrect the ol' beer review section to add a thread for RR's Never Say Never series.

As mentioned I had a can of their 2021 release which was aged for 9 months in Elijah Craig bourbon barrels. It's a massive beer clocking in at 15.5% ABV- that's red wine territory right there, thankfully it's only a 355 ml can.

The bourbon is front and centre, very punchy up front but there's no burn or booziness to speak of. This is smooth and integrated. Tons of barrel notes; vanilla, spice, toasted oak and so forth. The stout itself comes through too with lots of chocolate, coffee-ish roasted barley notes, some dark fruit and touches of leather. I got a hint of soy sauce on the finish but I quite enjoy that in a beer like this.

I've had a few over the years and this is one of my favourites so far. Would love to hear others' thoughts on this series.

portwood
Posts: 355
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 7:56 pm
Location: Markham
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Post by portwood »

All of them have been great - one of the reasons I don't care Goose Island BCBS is as rare as hen's teeth, and costs as much as a bottle of whiskey in Ontario. Unfortunately, it seems Rouge River will not have a 2023 release - in previous years they were released as October anniversary beers. Good news is they have the 2021 currently available on tap and re-released some cans of both 2022's as well.

Tops for me were the 2019 Basil Hayden, 2020 Maker's Mark, and 2020 Super Never Say Never

EDIT: 2023's have been listed on untappd :D
@markhamwhisky

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ry_kinney
Posts: 88
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:27 pm
Location: Amherstview

Post by ry_kinney »

portwood wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2023 8:26 pm All of them have been great - one of the reasons I don't care Goose Island BCBS is as rare as hen's teeth, and costs as much as a bottle of whiskey in Ontario. Unfortunately, it seems Rouge River will not have a 2023 release - in previous years they were released as October anniversary beers. Good news is they have the 2021 currently available on tap and re-released some cans of both 2022's as well.

Tops for me were the 2019 Basil Hayden, 2020 Maker's Mark, and 2020 Super Never Say Never

EDIT: 2023's have been listed on untappd :D
You scared me! Listed along with Dankster Tyrant. Looking forward to all of these.

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