James Younger 1876 Rye ALe
Bank Brewing Co.

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From:
Bank Brewing Co.
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
Rye Beer
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
81
Avg:
3.34 | pDev: 22.75%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
16
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 11, 2015
Added:
Aug 25, 2011
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.5 by jpuetz from South Dakota

Aug 11, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

Mar 15, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by yanosh from Minnesota

Oct 19, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Chucker17 from South Dakota

May 31, 2013
Photo of maximum12
Reviewed by maximum12 from Minnesota

1/5  rDev -70.1%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Impulse buy! After having Devil's Gulch I swore off Bank Beer forever. Who knew forever was about five months? 12 oz. single picked up out of sheer, unalloyed, morbid curiosity.

The pour is...oh, hot staggering fuck. Even poured with delicate gentleness, the head rises like the mushroom cloud off of an A-Bomb, it's going to take fifteen minutes just to get this thing into a glass. The smell is, not surprising, off. Rye, grain, & an unpumped porta-potty at the Renaissance Festival in July. That was a memory I didn't need.

1876 Rye Ale is horrendous. Rye bread dipped in formaldehyde? The aftertaste is putrid in the extreme. Seriously, who's idea of beer is this? I can't even force myself to take another sip. I may throw away the glass it's in.

There is now a permanent (which is much longer than forever) ban on Bank Beer in my house. Funny that the previous review says the beer is "flat" - this one is obviously infected. First beer ever I couldn't take two drinks of. Epic badness.
Feb 17, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Bighorn from Minnesota

Oct 27, 2012
 
Rated: 2.75 by Will96 from Minnesota

Oct 13, 2012
Photo of motorhed
Reviewed by motorhed from Minnesota

2.93/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
Poured into a Surly pint from a 12oz bottle, 1 month old.

A - Pours a dark caramel color with very little head, actually, zero head. This beer is under-carbonated and you can tell immediately on first pour. Very light lacing throughout the consumption.

S - Smells of sweetness, maltiness, caramel, and rye.

T - This beer tastes okay. Immediately you get sweetness yet balanced with some pretty hefty malt. Boozy taste as well. Since the beer is under-carbonated, it really needs some added carbonation to round it out. Bready/biscuit aftertaste.

M - Good balance, smooth but yet not enough carbonation.

O - Decent beer but this one needs a lot of help. I wont buy this again. Has potential but didn't pan out in this batch.
Oct 03, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by plumcrazyfx from Minnesota

Sep 28, 2012
Photo of morimech
Reviewed by morimech from Minnesota

3.61/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
The James-Younger Gang returns as this beer is no longer a limited run brew. Pours a clear, dark amber with two fingers of solid head that hung around for a long time. The head eventually settles to a thick cap. Heavy lacing is left down the glass.

The aroma is not really what I was expecting. Has a brown ale quality of nuttiness and toasted malt. More graininess. Rye adds some spice.

Flavor of lightly toasted malt, nuts, and slightly fruity yeast esters. The rye does not come in until near the finish with its spice. Hops add some earthiness and bitterness is moderate.

Solid, medium sized body with good carbonation. Smooth texture.

Word is that the rye got turned down a bit on this latest batch. Too bad as I think that would push this beer into the really good range. Still interesting but could use some more assertiveness.
Aug 12, 2012
Photo of JackieTH
Reviewed by JackieTH from Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev +25.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a dark amber, skein of off white head with fits of lace. Smell is pungent earth, leathery, grain. Taste is earthy, spicy, even a bit charred and smoky. There is a moderately pith bitterness, it's lightly malty, clean. Medium mouthfeel, moderately carbonated. This is a very tasty beer that puts the rye front and center. Very nice.
Jun 17, 2012
Photo of cpolking
Reviewed by cpolking from Iowa

3.2/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This beer pours a hazy medium dark brown in color with hints and tints of ruby and orange. There is almost no head, what is there has an off-white color.

The aroma is rye, spicy rye, roasted rye and a bit of dark fruit. Yep, this is a rye beer.

The taste is a nice roasted, toasted, nutty malt, and a bit of rye toast. The flavor is better than the aroma. This beer is decent, but not great.
Dec 31, 2011
 
Rated: 3.5 by doucmehu from Oregon

Nov 16, 2011
Photo of BeardedBoffin
Reviewed by BeardedBoffin from New Mexico

3.53/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This beer was brewed, presumably, with the thought of Northfield's annual festival in mind, The Defeat of Jesse James Days. I am not sure what aspect of the historical event provides the inspiration for make a Rye. Nonetheless that is what we have here.

The beer pours a dark copper color with a wispy, but resilient, cap of foam. The lacing is decent. The aroma is a mixture of sweet, grain, spicy rye, and a dash of hops. Some nutty notes are noticeable as it traverses the palate. The rye certainly contributes a spicy to the layers of grain. The beer is a light through the center but finishes with some bitterness. There is nothing extraordinary here, but nothing wrong either.
Sep 14, 2011
Photo of jera1350
Reviewed by jera1350 from Minnesota

3.92/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Brewed by Brau Bros. for the town of Northfield.

Pours a dark amber color with a syrupy look to it. It has a thin, but tight head of tan foam. More of a ring around the glass at this point. Some lovely lacing.

Reminds me a lot like Sheephead Ale from Brau. Very sweet caramel, yellow cake smell with a good shot of hops. The hops are a bit earthy and citrusy.

The taste definitely leads with the rye. Earthy and spicy with a hint of hay and grassiness. Some caramel malt sweetness in the background. Some light hop bitterness and hint of lemon zest also peers through the back. The rye and malt really are the dominant flavors here though. Tastes like Brau Bros. yeast was used here which gives that Sheephead taste.

Very slick and almost syrupy feel with a very low amount of carbonation. Finishes dry.

An interesting beer. The rye is nicely highlighted here and the drinkability is above average. I would say this is a nice shake at a rye ale and won't have much of a problem finishing the rest that I picked up.
Aug 31, 2011
Photo of Chaz
Reviewed by Chaz from Minnesota

3.84/5  rDev +15%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours a brilliantly-clear copper in color, topped with an off white head which exhibits both excellent duration and Brussels-lacing.

The nose is rather hoppy, in the manner of a contemporary American-style IPA. Underneath this I get just a hint of the Rye malt and a touch of what I seem to recognize as Brau's house ale yeast strain. A lighter note of biscuit malt, a touch of treacly-sweetness, a bit more of the rye once again, and a hint of smoke!.

Mmmm! There's rye all over the place on the first sip, and this definitely brings to mind some of the better Roggen and American rye ales that I've enjoyed in recent years. Lightly-sweet, but with loads of malt character right from the start; Everything from the sweetness of pale and crystal to the light smokiness of a darker malt (surely not Vienna?) and again, the rye. Light tingling sensation here, almost spicy, and it plays nicely with the hops.

The mouthfeel is quite smooth and creamy, and judging by the nose I was anticipating a little more over-the-top hops. Of course, as I drink this the hops come out in both aromatics and bitterness -as well as oily- although the malt focus quite-readily shines above the lingering hop bitterness.

Notes of ripe pear and a lighter cocoa emerge here as it warms, and are quite well-offset by the rye character itself. Lighter vegetal character that is actually non-obtrusive.

Looking back, I realize that my review scores have been pretty low lately, and as such I almost feel that I should bump this one up to an "A" rating ; ) To be very honest I'd say that 1876 Rye Ale is even better than a cut above average, so here's hoping that I roll the numerical tumblers correctly and give it a B+!

Purchased at Northfield Liquor.

Served chilled (Becher)

EDIT: While technically not a "lawnmower beer", this one did kick my thirst to the curb after I eviscerated the lawn ; )
Aug 25, 2011
James Younger 1876 Rye ALe from Bank Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 16 ratings