Saturday, May 22, 2010

326. Bear Republic Ryevalry Rye

More from Bear Republic, the brewery that seems to be quite the big fan of rye beers; our previous beers from them include Red Rocket, Racer 5 IPA and Hop Rod Rye. We had this on tap at South Park Tavern. Ah yeah...

Ryevalry pours a soft lightly hazy gold with a thin white head and a floral and citrus hop nose that a bit of spiciness in the backdrop. The beer begins with a soft chewy malt that shifts to spiciness and citrus hop flavor along with a fair amount of bitterness and some graininess from the rye (well, along with the spiciness) before ending with a citrus and tangerine flavor accompanied by a lingering spicy bitterness. Ryevalry has a light soft mouthfeel; the body is slightly creamy and grainy, and the carbonation is medium, but picks up in the second third to help clean up the finish, ending crisp and dry on the palate. An interesting mix of components here; the hop profile is pretty big for a rye beer, but the flavors balance well and help accentuate the rye elements of the beer—the spicy and the citrus meld well in building the overall profile, and the soft mouthfeel allows the flavors to define Ryevalry’s larger structure. As well, subdued alcohol flavor for an 8.2% ABV beer; overall, very fresh and clean tasting, and light and bright on the palate. Yummy and delicious.

From the Santa Rosa Craft Beer Examiner: “Ryevalry is a Rye-infused hopped-up double IPA with a twist. The twist is the use of a Belgian yeast strain. The result is a beer full of bright flavors (lemon, vanilla) a searing hop finish and a slight yeasty funk that brings out the rough edges of this beer to provide a contrast to the sweet and floral beginning. Beware though, this beer goes down easy but it weighs in at over 8%. You have been warned.”

ABV: 8.2%

(5/22/2010)

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