Rogue Ales was founded in 1988 by three beer enthusiasts who gave up their cushy corporate jobs to become brewers. The brewery is named after the Rogue River, which flows through its hometown of Newport, Oregon.

Rogue Mocha Porter is dedicated to the chocolate lover in each of us. Mocha Porter was once known as New Porter, in honor of the town of Newport, Oregon and home of Rogue Ales. The January/February 1995 issue of Men's Health magazine features a bottle of Rogue New Porter (today's Mocha Porter) in the Fifth Annual Collection of Good Advise, Health News, Dire Warnings, Notable Folks and Unsolicited Opinion. New Porter is described as the Best New Beer for 1994! The caption reads: "Oh, Hoppy Day: For a beer-drinking experience order up a bottle of this microbrew from Oregon."

Ruddy brown in color, a bittersweet balance of malt and hops with a light cream finish. Mocha Porter is made from Northwest Harrington and Klages; 135-165, 95-115, and 70-80 Crystal; Beeston Chocolate, Black, Munich and Carastan malts. Perle and Centennial hops. Mocha Porter is available in a 12-ounce 6-pack, the classic 22-ounce bottle, and on draft.

Measurements: 13 degrees Plato, IBU 54, Apparent Attenuation 73, Lovibond 77. No Chemicals, Additives, or Preservatives

About the beer style, "Porter": Porter was first brewed in 1722, in Shoreditch, London. It was last brewed in the UK in 1973, in Dublin, Ireland. In true Irish style, the last draughts were consumed at a wake for porter. Mourners wore black bowler, drank the brew and interred its container in a coffin draped in "Guinness Black".

Porter was not actually brewed at first. Rather, drinkers would order the barkeep to fill their vessels with a combination of brews from two or three different styles. Barkeeps that mastered the blending of beers kept their customers happy. Then a brewer named Harwood developed a fresh-brewed beer that he called "Entire". It artfully combined the merits of the component beers into one luxurious drink. How it became known is porter is occasionally a topic of conversation: the most accepted explanation is that it became very popular with the porters in London's markets.

THE CLUE FOR THE "ROGUE MOCHA PORTER LETTERBOX":

From the big old oak leaning over the creek (see the clues for Peachtree Pale Ale), follow the creekside path upstream. Still in sight of the oak, you'll cross a ditch (be careful you don't get wet). Continue on the trail for a couple of minutes. Presently the trail will turn to the right, then back to the left to parallel the creek 20-25 feet away. Then the trail will turn left, back to the creek. There's a big ol' tree right in the middle of the trail (photo–click to enlarge) and then the trail turns right again (if it didn't you would be IN the creek!).

At this point, the trail is very narrow and the flora is brushing your arms and legs as you pass. You'll walk over a double-root check step (photo, right), and the trail will ever so slightly take you away from the creek. Soon you'll reach a three-way fork in the trail (photo, below). The trail to the left goes right to the creek; the center trail follows the creek upstream; and the right fork leads into an area with much less undergrowth beneath the tall trees—this is the way you want to go.

The sound of street traffic is very near; up ahead the trail slopes upward, and at the very top of the incline you may see a shiny guardrail (that's Hwy 54). Along the left side of the trail is an old, rusty barbed wire fence that nature is slowly pulling to the ground. A three-foot galvanized pipe rises from the forest floor—I wonder what that valve handle does? Up ahead, a tree that fell long ago points toward a large pine (if you stand on the downhill side of the log, the pine is at about 120 degrees).

Walk toward that pine (I took a few steps back down the trail and found a way to it that was clear of most undergrowth). Standing on the trail side of that pine, sight 40 degrees and take 15 steps to a sweetgum that makes a small triangle with two larger pines. On the backside of this sweetgum, nestled between two rocks and hiding under another, you'll find a nice, rich Mocha Porter...

COLORS: This stamp is best colored in two stages. Stage 1 (on-trail): Black (use a dye-based ink pad for best results). Stage 2: pencil coloring (you'll need blue-jean blue, peach, dark brown and, if you want to get crazy, silver! (You'll see how it's done in the logbook and on the stamp's mounting.

STEALTH-O-METER: Please move away from the hiding spot. The trail you were on continues up to the road and serves as an access trail for the folks who live on the other side of Hwy 54. There is a geocache nearby (about 100' away), so don't be surprised if there are other folks wandering around in these parts. Just be friendly!

PEST ALERT: Watch out for spider "clotheslines" and ticks. The latter can be so small you can't see 'em or so big that when they bite it hurts!