585. Bruery Sour in the Rye

Two Bruery beers two days in a row! What are the chances? Actually, we planned to drink this last night, but didn’t get to it, so that means it is up first tonight. This certainly puts us north of a baker’s dozen with the Bruery, including Tart of Darkness, Oude Tart, Rueuze, 5 Golden Rings, Marrón Acidifié (a collabo with Cigar City), Autumn Maple, Humulus Session, 3 French Hens, Saison de Lente, Rugbrød, Hottenroth, Orchard White and Saison Rue. Ring in that New Year!

Sour in the Rye pours a hazy but brilliant burnt orange with a dazzlingly white head that rolls down the side of the glass when swirled in creamy bright swirls and also has intense orange highlights coming through the glass. There is citric and lactic tartness mixed with spicy oak and rye in the nose followed by loamy earth; it is really quite splendid. Flavors start with young oak and fruit—pear and apple—followed quickly by lactic tartness that transitions into a brighter citric bite towards the finish. There is also some candy and biscuit buried underneath the other flavors in the front and middle, and a decent tannic bite from the oak in the final third of the beer. The vitamin C citric bite and the spicy rye with oak combine nicely in the finish; both linger a bit, but leave the palate mostly clean with only a slight mineral grit on the tongue. The body is medium and slightly chewy with bright, clean carbonation that, combined with the tartness, draws out the other flavors. I like this beer quite a bit more than the Tart of Darkness from last night, mostly because it is brighter and more bracing; while it provides an equal amount of blushing on the cheeks, the tartness is clean and sharp without the lingering acetic burn. There is also more body to balance the tart components of the beer, and more depth of flavor to carry the beer as a whole. I’ll be looking for another bottle of this to see how it ages.

From the bottle: “Deliciously sour, bursting with spicy rye notes and hints of oak from the barrels it was aged within.”

From the Bruery website: “We brewed this ale with around 40% rye as a base malt and let our sour yeast and bacteria eat away at it in oak barrels for over a year creating a sour ale with a complex character of rye spice, oak and a subtle funk.”

ABV: 7.8%

(1/1/2014)

569. Lazy Magnolia Timber Beast Imperial Rye IPA

I like that I have friends who feel compelled to bring me back beer from their vacations, because it means that I get to try things like that I would never get on my own, like Lazy Magnolia from Kiln, Mississippi. And yes, I am drinking this beer out of a jam jar, mostly because it goes with the lumberjack theme on the label, and the sweet-ass name. It’s like the Brawny dude finally decided to do something worthwhile with his life: he stopped chopping down trees to make paper towels, grew a beard, and opened a brewery. Get some, Brawny dude! While the Mississippi location did initially give me pause—this is, after all, our first beer from Mississippi—Lazy Magnolia brings it with the beer as well as the packaging. 

Timber Beast pours a hazy orange copper, with an emphasis on the orange. The head is pretty minimal—the last bottle had more carbonation, while this one is a bit under-carbonated—although when I swirl the beer to re-rouse the head, I can see tiny bubbles fighting through the beer. In this case, however, they lose. The nose is spicy rye and resin coupled with orange and grapefruit; there is some bread crust and toast behind this, along with some pine, but the rye spiciness and resin hop aroma do a good job of smothering them under a flannel shirt of love. Flavors start with warm bread and toast mixed with spicy pine resin; bitterness picks up in the middle, turning to orange and pine as the beer heads toward the finish, closing with some lingering orange marmalade—there is a jammy mouthfeel in the finish, too—and bright evergreen bitterness. The chewy, rounded malt body and hop flavors balance well in this beer—it drinks deceptively easy for a 9.0% ABV beer, although there is a hint of warmth on the back of the throat as it warms. Still, a well made and enjoyable beer, one that is far superior to many of the other double/imperial IPAs we’ve tried, rye or not. The bright hoppy bitterness and rye spiciness dance on the palate, with flavor and complexity to spare. Timber Beast, I’m gonna miss you.

From the bottle: “Timber Beast is the first in Lazy Magnolia’s Back Porch Series. A spicy, full-bodied Imperial Rye Pale Ale balanced with a generous does of Zythos hops. Retreat to the Back Porch and be a little Lazy. Big Cheers, y’all.

ABV: 9.0%
IBU: 80
Malt: Rye, Pale, Carapils, Caramel
Hops: Zythos, Nugget, Cascade, Centennial

P. S. Art and Chloe rule!

(7/25/2013)

515. Two Brothers Pillar of Salt White Rye Ale

It’s been a while since we’ve sampled the wares of Two Brothers. Which, I will note, is a tragedy—it’s been far too long since we had a good glass of lakewater. However, it appears that it is time to start paying attention, at least in the short run, as the label describes Pillar of Salt as “Retro Release 4 of 15,” and that Two Brothers is “Celebrating 15 years with 15 beers.” And if all those retro releases have names even close to being as solid as this one, you can count us in for the remaining eleven. We’ll add this to the previous list that includes Atom Smasher, Hop Juice, Long Haul Session Ale, Resistance IPA, Domaine DuPage, Bitter End, Heavier-Handed, Moaten, and Cane & Ebel.

Pillar of Salt pours a clear straw with an abundant and persistent white head that laces the glass profusely. The nose is spicy citrus—spicy from the rye and citrus from the hops—that is delicate, perfume-y, and slightly grainy, while flavors open with a touch of caramel and spiciness before heading into citrus and bitterness in the middle. The spiciness picks back up in the final third, and there is a fair amount of bitterness in the finish that lingers on the palate. I also detect a touch of herbal hop flavor to complement the spice, bitter, and resin flavors that round the beer at the end. The carbonation is bright and lightly spritzy; it matches well with the beer, even though the description of flavors may not seem to back thus up. The medium mouthfeel is slightly creamy with a slight tackiness on the tongue. The lighter malt bill does allow the rye flavors to overwhelm the beer a bit too much—it is not as clean and crisp as we might like it to be; even with the brighter carbonation and hop bitterness in the finish, it is a bit muddy across the profile. Nonetheless, Pillar of Salt is an interesting beer, and certainly a different take on traditional rye beers. Congratulations, Two Brothers, on the 15 year anniversary, and here’s to many, many more.

From the bottle: “This one off beer was produced in 2007 as the antithesis of Cane & Ebel. We produced an Imperial Cane & Ebel batch a couple of months earlier and thought we should finish the trifecta with a light colored version. Pillar of Salt is a White version of our Red Rye ale that uses no coloring malts and different hops. The resulting beer is still boldly hoppy, but with a strong citrusy dry hop.”

ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 68

P.S. When I first saw the name of this beer, I thought “Hot damn! Two Brothers brewed a gose!” But then I got closer and read the fine print on the label, and was disappointed. Maybe some day. And if you need a diagram to get the joke, you can go talk to this guy.

(5/30/2012)

Rye APA Brewday

One last hurrah with the trending 1272; this one is a Rye APA, although with the grain I’m using, it is probably better described as a Rye BPA. But I’m just following Tim Turner’s comment that the yeast is the most important part of the brewing process, and sticking with my Rye APA designation and sticking it to the style guidelines yet again. Next up: something British!

117. Rye APA

Mash:

9 lbs. MFB Pale

1 lb. Weyermann Rye

1 lb. Thomas Fawcett Caramel Rye

Mash @ 150° F for 60 minutes w/ 3 ½ gallons of RO water; collected 2 gallons @ 1.062
Batch sparge @ 160 ° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.026

Collected 6 gallons; added ½ gallon, brought to a boil (60 minutes) & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. Chinook 11.3% AA

w/30 to go: 1 oz. Chinook 11.3% AA

w/20 to go: ¾ oz. Simcoe 14.1 % AA
¼ oz. Willamette 4.8% AA

w/15 to go: 1 tsp. Irish Moss

w/5 to go: 1 oz. Centennial 11.5% AA

w/0 to go: ¾ oz. Simcoe 14.1 % AA
¼ oz. Willamette 4.8% AA

Chilled, racked to carboy, and added Wyeast 1272 American Ale II from 116. APA w/Amarillo

Brewed: 5/15/2012 @ 73° F; dropped to 66° F; free rise to 72° F
Secondary: 5/22/2012; dry hop w/ 1 oz. Centennial 11.5% AA
Bottled: 5/31/2012 w/ 3.15 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.042
FG: 1.010

Tasting Notes (9/21/2012): So I probably waited a little long on tasting this one for the purposes of posterity. Not only am I down to my last couple of bottles, but I’ve also been dragging my feet on typing up the notes. Thus, this is not the freshest example of the beer. But being that I am a consummate foot dragger, well, these things are ultimately not that surprising in relation to the bigger picture. Even when beer is involved. After all, I’ve been drinking it, just not typing up the notes. But due diligence is now served. Rye APA pours a burnished rich copper suffused with orange—the color from the caramel rye is quite luscious and iridescent—with that thin white head that manages to pull a decent amount of lacing. The nose is spicy rye from the malt as well as hop pine mixed with resin. There is also a touch of caramel, although it is more in the background. Flavors open with rye spiciness, bread dough, and biscuit/cracker malt flavors; there is some pine hop flavor, but that becomes more evident in the middle, when the beer dries out on the palate via the hop pine and sap flavor, although it is still lightly creamy. A touch of body and sweetness returns in the finish, and then the pine bitterness takes over the, lingering on the back of the throat. There is more mouthfeel than I was expecting here, as well as a rather enjoyable malt complexity. The hop profile is too aggressive, however. I think that less Chinook—and by that I mean less pine—would make this a better beer overall, as the spicy rye mixed with the pine hops is a touch aggressive together. Still, the combination of rye and caramel rye adds subtlety and depth to this beer: it is, after all, better than I thought it would be, and might even be worth revisiting at some point. How’s that for high praise?

394. Sixpoint Righteous Rye and Sweet Action

A nice mellow vacation would fit the bill

So I’ll just be chillin’ in good ol’ Clinton Hill...

Tonight’s escapades include something of a mini Sixpoint marathon. Adam took me down to the Brooklyn Public House for dinner, and lo and behold: lots ’o Sixpoint on tap. Color me served. With beer. Both were delicious. But I’m still not taking notes. You’ll have to beg better than that, my pretties. I did find all y’all some nice descriptions from the internet, however.

From an interview with Shane Welch: “Righteous Ale – a unique style all its own. This beer is made with a significant proportion or rye malt, which lends a distinct sharpness. I ferment it with a blend of yeast – the Belgian Dubbel yeast and our IPA yeast – which adds an extra dimension of complexity. A small contribution of chocolate rye lends a distinct nuttiness. The second beer by Sixpoint to receive a cult following. 8.4% ABV, 64 IBU.”

From the same interview: “Sweet Action – a hard one to describe, simply because it doesn’t fit into any particular style. It’s made with Pilsner and Pale Malts, but is hopped with only noble hops. It’s fermented with a Belgian yeast that provides a dry spiciness. Look for a unique orange taste underneath it all. 6.9% ABV, 33 IBU.”

The ABV listings are all over the map for these two beers, so I’ll leave it at that. Plus, Sixpoint is soon to be launching a Mad Scientists Series. Word!

(7/29/2010)

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)

321. Arcadia Sky High Rye 12th Anniversary Ale

Arcadia Brewing Company is in Battle Creek, MI—this is our first beer from them, and we’re trying to figure out if the beer we just poured is from the actual 12th Anniversary (which was around December 2008), or a more recent remake of the beer. No clear information yet. We’ll keep you posted...

Pouring a slightly hazy copper, Sky High Rye has a creamy white head and a spicy, skunky, and hoppy nose with just a touch of citrus. The beer opens with some soft spicy rye and bread malt, followed by hop bitterness mixed with a touch of citrus flavor in the middle; the finish is dry with more of the rye spiciness, and relatively clean with a small amount of lingering bitterness. Sky High Rye has a medium body with a bit of a richly textured but also creamy mouthfeel. Carbonation is medium, but still rather soft on the palate, especially at the end. A well crafted beer; there is a nice balance between the rye, hops, and malt. We’d happily drink Sky High Rye again, even if it is almost 18 months old.

From the bottle: “Government warning: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects, (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.”

The Arcadia website is a little bit too flashy without the reciprocal functionality. In otherwords, while I could get to the page where their beers were listed, anything beyond the image of slow rotating bottles didn’t happen. And I tried two different computers. Solid work. Let me know if it works for you.

ABV: 6.0%
IBU: 55

(5/17/2010)

265. The Bruery Rugbrød

This marks our fourth beer from the Bruery, which is located in Placentia, CA. Our previous three include Hottenroth, Orchard White and Saison Rue.

Described as a “Julebryg-style dark rye ale” on the label (and no, I am not certain what that means, but see below to get that all sorted out), Rugbrød pours a hazy chocolate with caramel and orange highlights and an abundant tan head that lingers and lingers and lingers. The nose is bready with some chocolate aromas, and has a dry, almost biscuit-like component to it. Rugbrød starts bready with roasted and chocolate flavors; the middle brings some caramel sweetness, and also some of the rye spiciness, which continues on into the end of the beer. There are chocolate and dryness at the finish, and some lingering alkaline cocoa flavors that are slightly unpleasant. The flavor profile is a bit muddled across the board; there are not a lot of crisp, clear distinctions between the flavors present in the beer. Maybe aging this would help, but maybe not; we don’t currently know. Rugbrød has a medium mouthfeel with a good chunk of dryness on the palate. The carbonation is a bit too effusive in relation to the beer; it may contribute to the overall dryness, but could be toned back. Interesting for what it has to offer, but not that exciting.

From the Carlsberg website, which tells us what a Julebryg beer is: “Merry Christmas and Happy New Beer! Most Danes know the blue and white advertisement for Tuborg Julebryg (Tuborg Christmas Brew). But probably not many know that the famous animated commercial, which features Santa Claus in blue clothing, is actually older than the beer itself. The commercial was originally launched in 1980 as a special holiday commercial for ordinary Tuborg pilsner, but it became so popular that for Christmas 1981 we created the special Tuborg Julebryg. Although Tuborg Julebryg is a seasonal beer and is only on the market for six weeks every year, it is still Denmark’s fourth best selling beer. It’s only beaten by Green Tuborg, Carlsberg Pilsner and Tuborg Classic, which are available all year round. Its launch, known as ‘J-day,’ always takes place on the first Friday of every November and is an annual day of celebration across Denmark. Carlsberg employees drive around the bars and cafes, handing out free beer to really get the festive season started. Tuborg Julebryg is a bottom-fermented, wiener beer brewed on lager, münchener and caramel malt with English liquorice. The beer is dark-golden with a fresh aroma of caramel, grain, liquorice and blackcurrant.”

This is from the Danish Wikipedia. We used an online translator (thanks Google Translate!), so it is a bit off, and, well, not all of it got translated. Double awesome: “A Christmas brew a special beer, as brewers send the market in the run up to July. Som regel er en julebryg stærkere (i en højere skatteklasse) end almindelige pilsnere, men enkelte bryggerier har også juleøl med pilsnerstyrk. As a rule, julebryg is stronger (in a higher tax bracket) than regular lager, but some breweries also Christmas beer with lager strength. En julebryg skal ikke forveksles med en nisseøl, der som regel er en mørk hvidtøl med den tilhørende søde smag og lavere alkoholprocent. A Julebryg should not be confused with a Nisseøl, there are usually a dark hvidtøl with a sweet taste and lower alcohol percentage. Julebryggen var allerede i gamle dage en stærk lagret øl. Christmas brews were already in the old days, a strong matured beer. Normalt drak man til hverdag tynd øl, men til jul serveres en stærk, vellagret øl, så stemningen hurtigt kunne gå højt. Normally one would drink a beer usually thin, but for Christmas served a strong, well seasoned beer, then the mood could quickly go high. Juleøllen var specielt velegnet til at matche den fede mad, der blev serveret ved juletid. Julebryg was especially well-suited to match the rich food that was served at Christmastime. En sødlig variant heraf blev nydt til risengrød. Den første danske julebryg, der blev udsendt i større omfang, var X-mas fra Ceres , der kom på markedet i 1969. It was mainly a local phenomenon in Aarhus and environs, where the release of the year’s brew was made in November to an event called the X-days during the 1970s. In 1990 put the brewery Tuborg focus on Christmas brew by introducing the term snebajer as a greeting on the labels of Green Tuborg. The following year was a snebajer to a stand-alone product and in 2006 Denmark’s best-selling Christmas brew. Det tegnede univers blev opfundet af Peter Wibroe , og reklamefilmen, som blev lanceret på daværende tidspunkt, vises stadigvæk uden ændringer i landets biografer og på tv. In 1990 the brewery introduced the annual J-Day, which celebrates the release of this year’s Christmas brew.”

From the Bruery website: “Meaning ‘rye bread’ in Danish, we took our inspiration for this beer from the Danes’ staple dark, whole-grain rye bread. Brewed with three types of rye malt, this robust brown ale showcases the earthy, spicy character of the grain, complemented by bready, nutty barley malts and a hint of roast. Loosely based on the Scandinavian Christmas beer or ‘Julebryg’ tradition, this beer is perfect for the colder weather of winter, although it will be available year-round (because who doesn’t love a dark beer now and again, regardless of weather?) And don’t worry about the name, we can’t pronounce it either!”

ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 30

(3/22/2010)

262. BBC Rye IPA 75

Our third beer from Bluegrass Brewing Company, which is still located in Louisville, KY; we’ve previously sampled Brandy Barrel Aged Queen’s Knickers and Bluegrass American Pale Ale.

Rye IPA 75 pours a deep copper with a minimal ivory head; the nose is spicy, mostly from the rye, with some resiny hop aromas running around the edges of the spicy. Starting with rye spiciness and some caramel sweetness, Rye IPA move into some bitterness and hop resin flavors before finishing with a return of caramel sweetness and more of the rye spiciness, with a bit of lingering bitterness from the hops. The mouthfeel is a bit thick, syrupy, and quite heavy; it has a decent amount of legs on the glass, is a bit goopy in the mouth, and is much heavier that one would expect for a 7.5% ABV beer—it has a viscosity and movement in the glass that we haven’t really seen before in a beer. The hop flavors are good, but they don’t stand up to the thick malt and rye body; the nose is more rounded and even than the body and flavor profile. The carbonation is medium to low, but rounds the beer nicely into the finish. This beer would be better with a lighter body; the nose and flavors are good, but the body is too big and sticky for the beer as it currently stands—they need to up the ABV to make this an Imperial, or lighten the body. But the current beer is more in between—while that could make it a DIPA, it still has too much body with not enough payoff for that category. Stripping back the body to make this a solid Rye IPA seems the best direction to head.

From the Bluegrass website: “Gorgeous orange color, bright fresh clean hops, delicious hops dominate but nice minty rye flavor is very good, well done crisp beer; nice job, like the kick the rye gives.”

ABV: 7.5%

(3/19/2010)

77. Great Divide Hoss

We’re back to Great Divide yet again—Hoss is our sixth beer from Great Divide Brewing, and wise money bets says it won’t be our last. We had this with our dinner of roasted red pepper pasta with fresh tomato basil pesto we made from the fruits of our community garden plot. The red pepper pasta came from Pastafinity at the Second St. Market. Do note the sweet John Deer bowl as well—who doesn’t love tractors?

Hoss has a spicy rye nose with a bright, clear, and clean burnt sienna color, and an effervescent white head. Starting with a creamy soft and smooth malt front with richness that builds into a well-rounded spiciness from the rye, Hoss also has some crispness and a carbonation bite with a slight hop bitterness to round out the beer. It ends a bit dry and biscuity, and pretty clean; there are also some light raisin fruit notes mixed in with the malt closure. Another excellent offering from Great Divide—if this is their vision of an Oktoberfest/Harvest-style beer, then count me in—the spiciness pushes the beer’s flavor and complexity in interesting and enjoyable ways.

From Great Divide’s website: “Hoss is based on the Marzen lages of Germany. Rich, layered malt notes, with hints of cherry and dark fruits, dominate, while the unique addition of rye imparts a slightly earthy, spicy character. Hoss finishes crisp and dry, and its brilliant red-orange color is a toast to the late-summer sunsets that make the perfect backdrop for this beer.”

Um, don’t take this the wrong way, Great Divide, but the addition of rye ain’t that unique—the GABF medal you just won was in the rye category. Category equals not unique. Sorry to point out the obvious. Our meal was excellent, but not the best fit with the beer—the colors work nice, but all of the flavors didn’t quite marry.

ABV: 6.2%

(9/15/2009)

72. Two Brothers Cane & Ebel

Our second beer from Two Brothers Brewing Company, and this one actually has a write up on the brewery website! We had this on tap at the Trolley Stop—the open mike this evening was really rather annoying. Hello, you two chord clowns, it’s called variety—look into it. If I wanted bad acoustic covers, I’d go hang out in the college bars. As for the beer, we’ve had several different versions of Cane & Ebel. While I know that a craft brewery is not supposed to have “versions,” some of the kegs of this that have run through the area have been distinctively different—we’ve seen at least three different versions pass through our neck of the woods. The first one we dubbed “lake water”—it was brown, murky, and, while slightly spicy, was also somewhat non-descript. Since we’d already had it in the bottle, we knew this wasn’t what it was “technically” supposed to be, but, well, we kinda liked the lake water/dirty dish water version for what it offered. And that was before the most recent couple of versions—we still do, however, affectionately refer to Cane & Ebel as “Lake Water.”

This version of Cane & Ebel had a dry malt & hoppy nose with a dark ochre color and a creamy rich head that was full and thick. The soft creamy malt start built into a hoppy and spicy subtle middle with some crisp sharpness that also combined with some burnt yummy maltiness before closing with more bitterness and some slight chocolate notes across the palate. With a medium body, Cane & Ebel had a bitterness that lingered as the beer warmed, although it was a bit more brown-ale-like and less spicier than it was last time. This one tastes more like a hoppy, well-balanced brown ale and less spicier than it was last time (the version between “Lake Water” and this one)—it is not as clean or complex in body and has less of the spicier and nuanced pepper notes of the most recent version. And it is most certainly not the Lake Water of yesteryear. But across the board, Cane & Abel has been drinkable, interesting, and certainly worth the price of admission.

worst photo of the year...

From the Two Brothers website: “This unique red rye beer is full of hop flavor and aroma. We add 70 pounds of Thai palm sugar to each batch. The sugar does not add much sweetness to the beer, but rather a fruity and vanilla-like flavor. A new hop variety call Summit is really showcased here. This 18% alpha hop is also very aromatic which gives a pungent citrus aroma. Then we heavily dryhopped the beer with Simcoe. Original, yes and that is no sin.”

(9/10/2009)

60. Terrapin Rye Pale Ale

From Terrapin Brewing in Athens, GA comes this Rye Pale Ale. We’ve got no clever stories for this one besides the fact that this is a rye beer and a damn good one.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale has a hoppy nose with fruit and citrus aromas; its rich amber color is offset by the white head that, while minimal, does hang around. There is a slight malty front before moving into the hop bitterness and rye spiciness of the middle. Terrapin Rye closes with the reassertion of hop bitterness, ending pretty crisp. Medium-bodied, Terrapin Rye has a smooth, rich, and clean mouthfeel with medium levels of carbonation. Overall, a refreshing and enjoyable rye beer; the rye spiciness is a welcome addition to the pale ale form. While there still is a bit of difficulty separating the hops and the rye in terms of describing flavors within the beer, this one seem easier to sort out than some of the rye IPAs we’ve had—the rye shines through a bit more in the middle of this one.

From Terrapin’s website: “By using an exact amount of rye, a grain seldom found in other micro brewed beers, the Rye Pale Ale acquires its signature taste. Made with five varieties of hops and a generous amount of specialty malts, it offers a complex flavor and aroma that is both aggressive and well balanced – a rare find among beers.

The Terrapin Rye Pale Ale was released in Athens, GA in April of 2002 at the Classic City Brew Fest. Six months later this beer which was sold only in Athens was awarded the American Pale Ale Gold Medal at the 2002 Great American Beer Festival, the most prestigious competition in North America. We hope you will agree with our peers in the brewing industry that this is truly one of the best pale ales in the country.”

ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 35
OG: 13.3° P
Malt: 2-Row Pale, Munich, Malted Rye, Victory Malt, Honey Malt
Hops: Magnum, Fuggle, East Kent Golding, Amarillo (Dry Hop)

(8/29/2009)

50. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye

Hop Rod Rye is from the Bear Republic Brewing Company in Healdsburg, CA; we had this on tap at the Trolley Stop. Once upon a time, I resisted purchasing this beer because of the lame hot rod imagery on the label. I regret that decision now. The lesson to be learned here: never judge a beer by its label. Actually, I take that back. Some beer labels, such as this one, do deserve to be judged, and judged poorly. I didn’t think it could get worse, and then I read that prose. Stunningly retarded. This one as well. For shame. But Hop Rod Rye is nowhere near in the same category as those two colossal losers. Their label may be less interesting, but it does package up a delicious beer.

Hop Rod Rye starts with a spicy rye nose; it is a reddish amber mahogany/cherry wood color with a light tan head. Beginning with a spicy but balanced malt front, Hop Rod Rye has a malty rye middle that finishes creamy, clean, and dry. The hoppiness and bitterness of the beer are not really prominent in any portion of the profile, but they are felt in the middle and finish; the bitterness also exudes a bit of cotton-mouthy dryness in the mouth. With a medium body, some creamy slickness, and a smooth but evident carbonation level in the mouthfeel, Hop Rod Rye is simultaneously easy drinking but complex enough to warrant paying attention to as you drink. A well rounded and balanced beer—if you like rye beers, this is one to not miss. And our guest commentators had their own two cents to add: Adam really liked the creamy spicy finish, while Jenn was feeling contentious and refused to acknowledge the spicy rye nose. Speaking for myself and Elli, we’ll continue to enjoy this one on tap whenever we get a chance, and we might even let one of the ugly hot rod bottles grace our fridge.

From Bear Republic’s website: “The first American rye to be produced, Hop Rod Rye is a high performance, turbo charged, alcohol burnin’ monster ale with dual overhead hop injection that revs out the hop-o-meter at over 90 IBUs. For all that, a good dose of rye and caramel malts ensures a sturdy chassis to carry all that flavor. The rye malt adds a spicy grain character that takes this beer to the winner's circle!” While I have forgiven their label, I’m not sure I can forgive this prose. It takes the badness of the label to a whole another level...SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: 90+

OG 1.074

(8/19/2009)

23. Barley’s Rye IPA

We had this beer on tap at Barley’s Ale House No. 1, which is located at 467 North High St., Columbus, OH. Funky fresh little bar, and they make some damn fine beer.

Barley’s Rye IPA was first introduced in 2005; the current version has a hazy tan color with a lacy white head and a piney, grapefruity nose. The initial feel on the palate is rather smooth and neutral; there is not much malt sweetness at the front, although there is spiciness from the rye followed by citrus, grapefruit, and pine hop flavors, before moving on to close with a nicely balanced bitterness that lingers on the back of the tongue. There is also a bit of spiciness or resin at the end as well—we were not sure if this flavor was from the rye or from the hops. While the beer could use a bit more malt in the body to balance out the large hop profile, this is still a very enjoyable beer. And on top of that, Barley’s growlers are ridiculously cheap: $11 got me a growler filled with Rye IPA to take home. I thought the bartender was undercharging me, and told him that I hadn’t brought in the growler, but he assured me that the $11 charge was correct. Lamentably, Columbus is still an hour away by car. Stupid lack of local Dayton breweries...

From Barley’s website: “Drier than our flagship IPA, Centennial IPA, Rye IPA bites back thanks to generous additions of Simcoe and Nugget hops. Why rye?

Necessity is not always the mother of invention. This is especially true at Barley's, where the spirit of inquiry and the pursuit of new and different styles and flavors has inspired many styles over the years.

Enter rye. This grain has a distinctive flavor, imparting a dryness and biscuit-like quality. Our first brew with rye was Angelo's Crooked Sky Rye. Now, Rye IPA.

(Why is my pant leg still rolled up? Because I'm that cool. Or an idiot. Your call.)

Rye's ability to thrive under poor soil conditions and cold temperatures has long made it a staple in the diets of Northern and Central Europeans. Although perhaps best known for its use in baked goods, rye also has a history of use in the production of whiskey, gin, and even beer. This scrappy, nutritious grain has over the years made its way into the hearts and beers of Germans, among others, and is rapidly making headway among brewers in the United States.

"Why rye?" you may ask, and not without good reason. Mention rye and the average person thinks of dense, flavorful breads and crisp crackers. Beer does not immediately leap to most minds. Yet rye makes for an interesting recipe component, contributing a distinctive, refreshing flavor; its growing presence on the beer frontier is well justified in light of its unique contributions to the taste and quality of beer.

Rye's main contribution as an ingredient is its enhancement of the overall complexity of the beer's flavor. Although the crisp, slightly spicy rye flavor does emerge somewhat distinctly (usually at the finish), at the proportions generally used it is neither too forceful nor overpowering. The subtlety of the rye flavor is due to a variety of factors, including the amount of rye used in the recipe, the form of rye used, the hopping level, the type of yeast used in the recipe, and the other ingredients involved in the brew.

In many ways, the flavor of rye beer is reminiscent of wheat beers. Light bodied and somewhat dry, rye beers tend to have a nice head and an interesting grainy, slightly spicy flavor.

Why rye? Why not?”

ABV: 5.9%
IBU (estimate): 70
OG: 1.059
Malts: British pale and American flaked rye
Bittering hops: Simcoe and Nugget
Finihsing hops: Simcoe and Nugget
Dry hops: Simcoe
First Tapped: January 15, 2005

(7/23/2009)

1. French Broad Rye Hopper Ale

From the lovely French Broad Brewing Company in Franklin, NC

Delightful selection to start things off. Rye Hopper has a biscuity and bready nose, with a chewy full mouthfeel, a dark amber color, and a nice clean lacy head. In terms of taste profile, the beer has a strong smoky flavor with a nice balance betweeen the spiciness of rye and hop bitterness. Beer became spicier as the bottle warmed, but malty body carried the flavors well.

Very good overall--I wish we could find this locally because we'd drink it regularly.

From the bottle: "Rye Hopper is an Asheville interpretation of an American Rye Ale. The rye malt character is accompanied by a distinctly heady American hop profile and a smoothly, bittersweet finish."

ABV: 5.9%
SRM: 10.5
IBU: 59
OG: 15° P

(7/1/2009)