It's brewed with grain and hops which are grown on their own farm, although the label lists a whole bunch of specialty malts before it gets to "Rogue Micro Barley Farm first growth Risk Malts". In general the amount of specialty malts in a beer compared to the base malt is pretty small, so it's probably mostly homegrown. I give them props for cutting down on transportation needs and producing a uniquely local beer. This is a growing trend in beer now. Sierra Nevada recently put out a beer using all their own grown malt and hops. Bells makes a beer with grain(I think wheat)grown on fields they own in Michigan. And it goes pretty hand in hand with fresh hop beers (all but a very select few beers are made with dried hops because fresh ones go bad in a days time). Anyway on to the beer!
It pours beautifully- a total black color with a blooming head of foam that looks like hot chocolate. The look strongly resembles a super intense stout, especially with the dark head. It smells roasty and chocolaty and I can smell bits of smokiness as it warms up. The taste is good. As a lager there's not a lot of fruitiness, but great coffee and bittersweet chocolate notes. It washes down pretty cleanly- I could have a couple of these and not get sick of it or think it was too heavy. Reminded me a lot of the Saranac Black Forest which is probably my favorite Saranac beer, but this is better- more flavor and more complex overall. Quite a nice beer to savor at the end of the day.
I feel informed, thanks!
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