And voila: It gave birth to one of the most widespread and ubiquitous craft beers of the 2000s in particular, when it seemed like every beer bar I stepped into in Illinois had a permanent spot for Dead Guy on tap. That image, of the squatting skeleton in the cone-shaped hat, was apparently created as “a tap sticker to celebrate the Mayan day of the dead,” but proved so immediately popular that the maibock was rechristened “Dead Guy” in order to take advantage of the existing artwork. It began its life in the late 1980s as a simple maibock (or maibock-ale) in the Rogue taproom, not yet referred to as “Dead Guy” or bearing its distinctive labeling. It’s a case where I can’t help but think that branding, naming and labeling probably played a part in cementing this beer as Rogue’s most popular and iconic offering. with a flagship like that, then I certainly haven’t encountered it. Rogue takes the oddness a step further here by brewing this beer with ale yeast, effectively making it a “maibock-style ale.” And if there’s another brewery in the U.S. It is in effect the midpoint between traditional bock and Munich helles, and like both of those styles, it’s brewed as a lager.Įxcept for Dead Guy, that is. Suffice to say, maibock is actually bock bier’s lighter, paler cousin, also referred to as “helles bock” or “heller bock,” and characterized by a fruitier, less darkly toasted/caramelized malt character, with more evident hoppiness, which also contributes more hop bitterness. How many other American craft breweries can you think of with a flagship maibock? Because for me, that answer is “zero.” Its such a niche style that even the geekiest beer geeks might have difficulty describing what exactly sets a maibock apart in the first place, as opposed to traditional bocks-a style also not well-represented among flagships. There are so many unusual aspects to their flagship Dead Guy Ale that every time I consider it, I’m amazed that this beer could somehow have become the thing that built the company.Ĭonsider first, the self-proclaimed style of Dead Guy: It’s a German maibock. We’ve seen some eclectic, unusual choices of brewery flagship throughout the course of this series, but I’ve always thought that Oregon’s Rogue Ales must take the cake in this regard. Click here to see all the other entries in the series. This essay is part of a series this month, coinciding with the concept of Flagship February, wherein we intend to revisit the flagship beers of regional craft breweries, reflect on their influence within the beer scene, and assess how those beers fit into the modern beer world.
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