Rogue "stoneware" bottles. Are you paying for the package or the contents?

I have seen the Rogue special beers in the Stoneware bottles now and again and have never been able to bring myself to shell out the bones. I do not know what other folks have paid price wise but what I have seen is $16-18 for a single bottle which I believe is 750 ml?

Are they really that good or are you paying mostly for the cool bottle? I am a HUGE fan of barleywines (especially American) and was tempted to get Old Crustacean but could not do it. There is also the fact that I had Old Crustacean about 14(?) years ago before I was very beer savvy and i thought it was extremely harsh (was drinking craft beer at the time but much milder, Boulevard pale, bully porter...). If I recall correctly it was in a 6 oz. bottle? Do they still sell it this way?

So. Worth the price of admission or wait 'til I find a smaller portion?

If I could find their stoneware beers in more consumer-friendly packages, I would buy them more frequently. I had the IIPA ($17.99 at one store, saw it at another for $13.99), and I really liked it, thought it was very good, nice and hoppy. Re-bottling in it, I know I'll get no skunkage, but I cannot imagine what would tempt a non-homebrewer to pay that much for them. At least I get multiple uses out of it.

So - worth the price? Yes, as long as you plan to re-bottle with it several times. But I would definitely prefer a more nomal package, and don't foresee buying any more of these until that happens.

They are selling the double dead guy in the fancy schmancy bottle at the Brattleboro Food Coop for 9.99. IMHO some of those beers are really really tasty, but at 16.00-18.00 that is too rich for me. I havn't seen Old Crusty in them little bottles for years.

I've liked most of the Stone stuff I've tried but I don't think I'd pay that much for one bottle.

bigjohnmilford said:

I've liked most of the Stone stuff I've tried but I don't think I'd pay that much for one bottle.

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Not Stone, Rogue!

I have yet to try it but have read on several threads that a soak in StarSan will remove the printing too.

I think the bottles are great for a presentation. I have 4 of them. 2 were donated. Used them once as a decanter for a family/friends dinner. But otherwise I am unimpressed by the beer inside. So much so that I can;t justify the $17.00 for a bottle.

GilaMinumBeer said:

I have yet to try it but have read on several threads that a soak in StarSan will remove the printing too.

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------------> That's awesome and I hope it's true.

The only Rouge's I have had were the Imperial Pilsner and the IIPA. Both of them were gooooooooooooood. Not sure how often I would pay for them (they were both from my secret santa swap last year - thanks Seabee John!!) but they were super tasty.

I was planning on making a thread about this sometime, as well. I have never had any of the beers as I see the same thing. They're around $15 here.

However, it seems to be Rogue in general. $6 for a bomber of their regular beers - just not my thing. They have some solid offerings for sure, but nothing I want to shell out $6/22oz for.

I'm in the same boat. 22oz'es (now that gas is sky-high) are running about $6.99 here. The Double Dead Guy is $10.99.... I just can't justify paying that much, at least not regularly. I buy a bomber of Rogue every... oh, 2 or 3 months. But if I'm gonna plop almost $10 for something.... well then it's well worth it for me to just get a Chimay Blue for $9.99, or a Saison Dupont for $7.99....

As far as the stoneware Rogues... I would love to taste one someday... but won't pay that much, not now, anyways. It's not like I *NEED* the bottles.

jmulligan said:

Not Stone, Rogue!

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oops, looks like I should go have a beer and hang my head. I like the Rogue stuff too. But again too much for one bottle.

Makes me want to stick a note on the shelf at the store offering to buy the empties from anyone who picks up those beers...

Actually, the double dead guy isn't really a fancy schmancy bottle as far as I could tell. It looks like a regular old 22oz painted entirely in red from top to bottom.

Evan! said:

Actually, the double dead guy isn't really a fancy schmancy bottle as far as I could tell. It looks like a regular old 22oz painted entirely in red from top to bottom.

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Yep, it is - I was just bemoaning the fact that I want to try it, but not try $10 worth of it. Different bottle, same story as the XS line.

Evan! said:

Actually, the double dead guy isn't really a fancy schmancy bottle as far as I could tell. It looks like a regular old 22oz painted entirely in red from top to bottom.

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I stand corrected. At any rate, them fancy schmancy swing top bottles still aren't worth 15.00-18.00.

I saw their Old Crusty and an Imperial Stout last spring in the stoneware bottles, $11.99 apiece. I skipped them in favor of Lagunita's GnarlyWine, I bought eight (+/- $4/22oz)and and still have five (plus 2 Old Knuckleheads) aging happily in the fridge. They should complement the keg of Buffalo Wallow BW I brewed.