Small Batch Series No. 1: Oak-Aged Rye OPA
Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling

Small Batch Series No. 1: Oak-Aged Rye OPASmall Batch Series No. 1: Oak-Aged Rye OPA
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From:
Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling
 
Texas, United States
Style:
Rye Beer
ABV:
7%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.55 | pDev: 16.62%
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
65
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 10, 2020
Added:
May 24, 2012
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  10
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by kjkinsey:
Photo of kjkinsey
Rated by kjkinsey from Texas

4/5  rDev +12.7%

May 24, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Apr 10, 2020
 
Rated: 2.5 by csfcmitchell from Texas

May 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by nathanmiller from New York

Nov 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by ckeegan04 from Texas

Oct 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Getalegup from Texas

Aug 13, 2014
Photo of Phelps
Reviewed by Phelps from Arizona

4.02/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Oak-aged rye oatmeal pale ale. This beer is a re-brew of UNO, Ranger Creek's one-year anniversary beer released in 2011, although the malt bill has rye added and the brew was aged in oak barrels for a month. Into a tulip.

Slightly hazed tangerine, with one finger of big-bubbled, shock-white froth. Remains as a thin top layer.

Good aroma, can be smelled from a foot away. Very floral, rose, lavender. Tangerine and honey blend. A touch of oaky vanilla.

Tangerine and lavender in the flavor, sweet and bright. Oaky as well, nice green wood flavor. Mild bitterness, fairly sweet.

Mild, poking carbonation. Medium-light, slightly watery body. Hops are almost spicy. 3

A very tasty pale ale. Complex, bright.
Jul 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by DC_Brah from District of Columbia

Apr 22, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by BGsWo22 from Texas

Jan 26, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by greenspointexas from Texas

Dec 14, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by JasonMinck from Texas

Sep 08, 2013
Photo of Alieniloquium
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

3.1/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
375 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Bottle dated 4/9/12.

Appearance - Deep golden clear body. Nice white head. Retains a thick collar and some wisps.

Smell - Yeasty, sweet, kinda Belgiany. Some oak and sweetness. Maybe rye?

Taste - Malty, like a belgian pale. Lots of esters. No rye. Slightly sweet and oaky. Slight medicinal note in the finish.

Mouthfeel - Way over carbonated. Medium body.

Overall - Very meh. Not a lot of rye. What the hell is an OPA?
Aug 13, 2013
Photo of Boto
Reviewed by Boto from Connecticut

3.91/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
375ml bottle: Thanks Kaggie! The first think I liked about this was how easy it was to get the wax off to pop the cap! The beer pours a fairly clear amber color. There was a small off-white head that doesn’t linger long. An interesting aroma. It is befinitely old and musty smelling. Pineapple, citrus and oak dominate the nose. A bit of rye and spices in there also. The taste is good. Definitely dry and oaky flavors. Rye, some malts, spices, hints of fruit (pineapple and apricot), and a few other subtle items. Very nice!
Aug 06, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by JamLand from District of Columbia

Jul 03, 2013
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.14/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Interesting looking beer, thanks to ApostleBrewing

Pours a decent looking fizzy but thick 1 finger head that fades at a med pace with nice layered lacing, over a fairly clear golden slightly coppery orange colored beer.

Nose blasts with a rye aroma, so much fruity rye, and possibly bit of wild funk or good infection, a nice orange peel citrus hop, a big toasty oak with a little caramelized oak fibers like aroma, and little grassy earthy hop character. The more I nose it the more I think that possible wild character is just the crazy rye and oak characters coming through strong, but only the taste will tell.

Taste brings plenty of oak at first, a little buttery toasted oak, actually a lot of that. Rye is strong again with a big spicy and fruity character, but I also think there is some wild funk and little wild yeast character, I really think there Brett in this, I'm almost positive, as a horsehair funk starts to really come through, combines with the fruity rye and buttery toasty oak for a nice flavor. Some sweet caramel malts under all that, with a little toasty reddish malt too and almost syrupy. Finish is dry and quite fruity, some fruity slightly citrus hops kicking in, with more Brett funk and fruity rye lingering with a touch of sticky syrupy malt.

Mouth is med bodied, nice fluffy carb.

Overall if that's a Brett infection on purpose it's quite a nice beer, if not, then it's still good but not what they intended. A great rye character and nice buttery toasty oak, with decent malt to back it all up and very faint hops overall. The Brett really puts it all together nicely as it plays with the other flavors.
Jun 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by TheRealDBCooper from Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands

May 25, 2013
Photo of elNopalero
Reviewed by elNopalero from Michigan

4.13/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
UPDATED: May 2013

With a year on this the color and appearance are impressive as it pours a solid auburn amber hue with thick creamy foam.

There’s a subdued aroma with some floral notes come out.

Because of some of the criticism I’ve read I was surprised how well the flavor held up, with a filling spiciness from the rye and a noticing contribution from the French oak. A surprising winner. Makes me wish I had another to check out in four more years.

Original review:

The first thing about this beer is the horrendously nasty smell of … the wax. Yes, the wax. People have commented elsewhere about how the wax smells. I laughed it off—and then I smelled it for myself. Honestly, I thought something had rotted in my fridge. Turned out it was just the wax on this bottle. Cut it out, peel it off, wash your hands, and don’t let it touch the beer.

Ahem.

All that said, this poured a warm golden amber color with lasting foam. It has a floral character to it, with a light aroma that hides some hints of tropical fruit under the floral, spring-time aroma. It has a real pleasing flavor with a pleasant effervescence that keeps the flavors lively on the palate. Lightly hopped, in many ways reminiscent of a Belgian IPA in that the hop presence is balanced or complemented by the characteristics of the yeast (in a ‘Belgian IPA’) or, most likely in the case of this beer, the qualities from barrel-aging. That barrel-aging in French oak imparts a good deal of zestiness, some spice, and the floral notes. Finishes dry.

Not a bad beer. The 375 mL bottle was about $6. Which is more than I tend to pay—but, ironically enough, if this was in a 750 cork and caged bottle I wouldn’t think twice of paying $12 for it. Go figure. Stink wax aside, the contents were really enjoyable. It resembled Ranger Creek’s Uno, which resembled their OPA, but this beer was distinct enough to stand on it’s own. Like a relative where you catch the family resemblance but realize it has its own personality.
May 14, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by jl28r1 from Texas

May 10, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by rph97 from Texas

May 09, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by jheezee from Texas

Apr 23, 2013
Small Batch Series No. 1: Oak-Aged Rye OPA from Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 65 ratings