Kells Irish Style Lager

Brewer: Rogue Brewery, Newport, Oregon
Alcohol Content: To be fair to the brewer, 12 degrees Plato

Official Description from Brewer:
"Irish Style Lager with a smooth mellow flavor and an apple crisp finish."

Wilk's Take:
I don't even know where to start with this beer.  The bottle in front of me clearly reads "Kells Irish Style Lager" but when I go to the Rogue homepage I get a bottle labeled "Rogue Irish Style Lager" with the same picture of the withering Irish flutist wailing away on what looks to be a piccolo.  What do I even call this?  Where's the pithy name that defines the beer?  For this exercise I suppose I'll just simply refer to it as lager.

The lager poured cleanly out of the bottle and the fresh scent of beer made it to my nose as soon as I popped the cap off.  As you can tell from the picture the head on the pour was not very prominent.  The color was a slightly darker shade of yellow and clearly we were heading down a path we've headed down before.

I'm going to veer off the topic here briefly.  My apologies if we keep coming back to comparisons to Miller Lite.  The reason I started the blog with that particular beer is that most of my adult life has been spent kicking back with it.  I would venture to say that Miller Lite is the springboard from which all my knowledge of beer flows.

Back to the lager.  It was a very smooth drink.  I definitely went through the first glass much more quickly than I did some of my previously reviewed brews.  The reason behind this is simple: the lager is not strong at all.  12 degrees Plato roughly translates to around 4.8% alcohol by volume.  It is simply a notch above Miller Lite.

Rogue claims that the Irish Style Lager was brewed with the specific intent of floating Guinness on top of it.  Now, I have no idea why they felt the need to improve upon Harp or Bass, but some people are full of themselves and think they can do it better.  Now, no offense to the guys at Rogue, but a Black & Tan is already perfect the way it is and I would trust two beers from Ireland before I'd pour a Guinness over this.

When Rogue claims an apple crisp finish they are not blowing smoke.  Do not expect a hint of apple flavor when you finish your first swallow.  The drink is definitely crisp and can be enjoyed over and over.

Suggestion: If you're a fan of the American light style lagers, or even MGD, Budweiser, and Coors Banquet, you'll enjoy this lager (whatever the hell you want to call it).  It drank very smooth and easy and 22 ounces disappeared pretty quickly.

Value: I paid about $6 for a 22 oz. bottle.  The value isn't there.  Knowing you can pay roughly that much for a 12 pack of Miller Lite and enjoy more beer over time, that's a better route.  I wouldn't consider this so much a craft brew so to pay $6 seems silly to me.

Michelle Factor: "It tastes too bitter."  Also understand that Miller Lite is Michelle's springboard and she goes to that well often as well.  Don't believe her in her bitter analysis, the lager is smooth and crisp.