I have a Rogue Yellow Snow last night and it definitely has a soapy flavor. So I'd say it's coming from the hops and sulfate level of the water. That style of IPA is not how I roll.
Personally, I liked Yellow Snow. I didn't detect the off flavors you noted. I see from scanning some of the reviews that some people seemed to not like it, but they all seemed to question its freshness*. How fresh was it?
Not that I have any agenda when it comes to getting people to like Rogue (or any other) beer. I just personally found that one tasty, and wonder why the pDev (13.65) is so high on that particular brew, and why some people seem to love it, other tend to dislike it pretty strongly. Is it the hops? Freshness? Something else?
*caveat: n=pretty small