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He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. On Rye
Shmaltz Brewing Company
- From:
- Shmaltz Brewing Company
- New York, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 10%
- Score:
- 88
- Avg:
- 3.93 | pDev: 13.49%
- Reviews:
- 153
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Apr 22, 2020
- Added:
- Dec 20, 2007
- Wants:
- 14
- Gots:
- 31
Imperial Rye IPA aged in a Rittenhouse 100 Rye Barrel.
The 2013 batch was aged in Willett Rye Whiskey barrels. 2016 batch aged in Jim Bean Rye Whiskey barrels.
The 2013 batch was aged in Willett Rye Whiskey barrels. 2016 batch aged in Jim Bean Rye Whiskey barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by zhanson88:
Reviewed by zhanson88 from California
2.84/5 rDev -27.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
2.84/5 rDev -27.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Appearance: R.I.P.A. On Rye pours a thick-looking, almost sludgy copper color. It has a big, slow-forming off-white head that has good retention. Not a whole lot of carbonation is apparent.
Smell: Whew, a bunch of astringency and whiskey scents. Underneath, some caramel malt and piney hops. Definitely interesting but not real appealing.
Taste: Some spicy rye flavors, whiskey, and astringency hit the palate first, and they are strong. Underneath, caramel malts, toffee, and lighter piney hops.
Mouthfeel/Drinkability: Medium bodied for sure, with low carbonation that is fine. Pretty slick mouthfeel, this is one of this beer's best traits. This beer is too odd and astringent for me to find it very drinkable. It's one of the most unique beers I've had, but probably not something I'd have again.
Jan 28, 2011Smell: Whew, a bunch of astringency and whiskey scents. Underneath, some caramel malt and piney hops. Definitely interesting but not real appealing.
Taste: Some spicy rye flavors, whiskey, and astringency hit the palate first, and they are strong. Underneath, caramel malts, toffee, and lighter piney hops.
Mouthfeel/Drinkability: Medium bodied for sure, with low carbonation that is fine. Pretty slick mouthfeel, this is one of this beer's best traits. This beer is too odd and astringent for me to find it very drinkable. It's one of the most unique beers I've had, but probably not something I'd have again.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Tony210 from New Jersey
4.4/5 rDev +12%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.4/5 rDev +12%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark reddish brown, minimal head. Big boozy, malty aroma, caramel, burnt brown sugar. Flavor is liquid caramel, brown sugar, but aged hops bitterness balances out any sweetness very nicely. Thick and syrupy, medium bodied. Overall this was one of my favorite beers back in 2014/2015. Well past it’s prime, but it aged very nicely.
4/21/20
Bomber dated 1/4/14
4.5 rating
Apr 22, 20204/21/20
Bomber dated 1/4/14
4.5 rating
Reviewed by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania
3.89/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.89/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
2016 edition, 22 oz bottle
Pours a cloudy brown with rust colored highlights. White head, good head retention. Boozy caramel and vanilla aroma with mild underlying piney hops in both the aroma and flavor. Lingering finish. Medium bodied, coats the tongue.
Apr 05, 2020Pours a cloudy brown with rust colored highlights. White head, good head retention. Boozy caramel and vanilla aroma with mild underlying piney hops in both the aroma and flavor. Lingering finish. Medium bodied, coats the tongue.
Reviewed by stortore from Illinois
4.35/5 rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.35/5 rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
22 ounce bottle into a tulip snifter. 2016 edition aged in Jim Beam barrels. Bottled 2/18/16, had 7/30/18.
Pours a medium amber, cloudy, with a half inch foamy head and spotty lacing. Aromas of rye, rye whiskey, caramel, oak, malt, dates, pine and lightly dank hops, some figs and brown sugar, light vanilla, light tobacco when warm. The flavor leads with the rye whiskey, then caramel, oak, malt, vanilla, rye, figs, dates, brown sugar, a good amount of pine. Some bitterness on the finish. Smooth, a little creamy, a very good medium body, well carbonated.
Found this bottle three days before having it, wish they had one more. The Jim Beam barrels are great, don’t think I’ve had them in a beer before. The whiskey is prominent, but the hops have held up really well for 30 months in the bottle, and the RIPA base retains it’s identity. Well developed aromas and flavors. Really enjoyed this one.
Mar 12, 2019Pours a medium amber, cloudy, with a half inch foamy head and spotty lacing. Aromas of rye, rye whiskey, caramel, oak, malt, dates, pine and lightly dank hops, some figs and brown sugar, light vanilla, light tobacco when warm. The flavor leads with the rye whiskey, then caramel, oak, malt, vanilla, rye, figs, dates, brown sugar, a good amount of pine. Some bitterness on the finish. Smooth, a little creamy, a very good medium body, well carbonated.
Found this bottle three days before having it, wish they had one more. The Jim Beam barrels are great, don’t think I’ve had them in a beer before. The whiskey is prominent, but the hops have held up really well for 30 months in the bottle, and the RIPA base retains it’s identity. Well developed aromas and flavors. Really enjoyed this one.
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota
4.49/5 rDev +14.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.49/5 rDev +14.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from 22oz bottle into glass. Neck of bottle is stamped '1048A6 09:38'. Label identifies the beer as '2016 Edition' (Aged in Jim Beam Rye Whiskey Barrels).
Cloudy, amber brown colored body. Color is close to whiskey. Off white head settles to persistent cap. Ring is fed by big bubbles. Some lines and lacing left behind with each sip.
Aroma is very much from a whiskey barrel, in this case a Jim Beam rye whiskey barrel. Lots of oak and vanilla from the barrel. There is some rye spiciness on the nose.
Taste is heavily influenced by the whiskey barrel, with its alcohol, vanilla and oak notes. Spicy rye notes and still present hop notes contribute considerably. Slightly sweet overall, with alcohol burn and slight hop bitterness.
Medium to coating mouth feel. Smooth but boozy.
A beer that has fully embraced its time in the barrel. This is a sipper, both because of the alcohol component and for the savoring of the tastes. When each sip is done, it is so close in aftertaste to a real whiskey sip. This means the beer has captured the whiskey essence but at a much lower ABV.
This is an example of when a beer can be enhanced by aging in a whiskey barrel and allowing the bottled beer to age.
Apr 18, 2018Cloudy, amber brown colored body. Color is close to whiskey. Off white head settles to persistent cap. Ring is fed by big bubbles. Some lines and lacing left behind with each sip.
Aroma is very much from a whiskey barrel, in this case a Jim Beam rye whiskey barrel. Lots of oak and vanilla from the barrel. There is some rye spiciness on the nose.
Taste is heavily influenced by the whiskey barrel, with its alcohol, vanilla and oak notes. Spicy rye notes and still present hop notes contribute considerably. Slightly sweet overall, with alcohol burn and slight hop bitterness.
Medium to coating mouth feel. Smooth but boozy.
A beer that has fully embraced its time in the barrel. This is a sipper, both because of the alcohol component and for the savoring of the tastes. When each sip is done, it is so close in aftertaste to a real whiskey sip. This means the beer has captured the whiskey essence but at a much lower ABV.
This is an example of when a beer can be enhanced by aging in a whiskey barrel and allowing the bottled beer to age.
Reviewed by TBoneJones from Texas
4.62/5 rDev +17.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.62/5 rDev +17.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pour is copper/ near-amber, low head. Some lacing sticks.
Smell is malts and molasses, with hints of sweet bourbon barrel. Nice here!
The taste follows the nose with sweet malts, some caramel and some tasty orange-citrus from the hops, but then pops through that barrel! Tasty Jim Beam barrel: I know this is just 10% abv., but after each sip I feel like booze-dragon-breath as if I had actually sipped whisky. Not that the alcohol ruins a BIT of it. It's just that good of a barrel effect. The malts leading up to this are tasty, almost honey-like, nearing medicinal but then the Jim Beam rounds it out with that flavored heat.
Feels smooth, medium-chewy and low-carbonated just right.
So much good flavor, so much rich barrel, I feel this remains underrated. A high-top among rye DIPA's. I recall having a version of this a couple years back, but this one strikes me as superior to it, and to many others.
Feb 09, 2017Smell is malts and molasses, with hints of sweet bourbon barrel. Nice here!
The taste follows the nose with sweet malts, some caramel and some tasty orange-citrus from the hops, but then pops through that barrel! Tasty Jim Beam barrel: I know this is just 10% abv., but after each sip I feel like booze-dragon-breath as if I had actually sipped whisky. Not that the alcohol ruins a BIT of it. It's just that good of a barrel effect. The malts leading up to this are tasty, almost honey-like, nearing medicinal but then the Jim Beam rounds it out with that flavored heat.
Feels smooth, medium-chewy and low-carbonated just right.
So much good flavor, so much rich barrel, I feel this remains underrated. A high-top among rye DIPA's. I recall having a version of this a couple years back, but this one strikes me as superior to it, and to many others.
Reviewed by T-34-85 from New York
4.36/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.36/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Consumed on tap.
This is an excellent beer.
Good hefty old school DIPA with lots of rich malt sweetness, providing an excellent pairing with the flavors contributed by the rye whiskey barrel aging.
Much more used to having barrel aged dark beers (stouts, porters, etc.), but this style IPA surprised me by pairing so well with the strong depths of flavor from the barrel aging.
Jan 22, 2017This is an excellent beer.
Good hefty old school DIPA with lots of rich malt sweetness, providing an excellent pairing with the flavors contributed by the rye whiskey barrel aging.
Much more used to having barrel aged dark beers (stouts, porters, etc.), but this style IPA surprised me by pairing so well with the strong depths of flavor from the barrel aging.
Reviewed by ichorNet from Massachusetts
4.23/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.23/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
I feel like I've had very few Shmaltz beers that I'd take seriously enough to review, but R.I.P.A. on Rye is a brew that should give anyone pause... a 10% double IPA aged in rye whiskey barrels (in this case, those belonging to the Beam distillery). This is certainly nothing to mess around with!
Pours a deep brown-ish color with some copper highlights and ruby overtones if held up to light. A tight, khaki-colored head that leaves behind intense tiers of lacing that seem entirely defined by each sip I take. Damn, this is sticky. The color may not be "pale" whatsoever, but this is a rule-breaking beer and I'll give it very high marks for its beautiful pour and the intense way it sits in my glass.
Nose is heavy rye, earthy hops, pine, caramel, toffee, whiskey, oaken tannins and baking spice (nutmeg/cinnamon/vanilla). This is 100% upfront with everything it's about and for that I'm grateful... this hides nothing because it doesn't have to. Reminds me a lot of Boulevard's Rye-on-Rye in both recipe and intensity, though this is certainly hoppier.
Flavor is earthy and spicy with toffee, tobacco, rye and pine resin/pine needles headed off by a slight woody smokiness. As the nose seems to have indicated, this has a lot of stiff, woody notes and lightly-sweet milky caramel on the tongue crossed with a bitter and somewhat harsh tone of whiskey/booziness that comes out towards the finish. The forward flavor of ethanol is the thing that most hurts this for me, putting it pretty decently below Rye-on-Rye in the "American strong rye ale aged in rye barrels" category. Not a lot in that category, honestly, but this is like a less refined version of Boulevard's masterwork. It's still really good, and I like the complex flavors, but this is a bit brutal to be honest. It loses some points for its harsh and semi-acidic feel, though this could definitely improve a bit with age as far as I can tell... the hops are already buried by the barrel-aging and, although this is about 8 months old already, I feel it would only smooth out over, say, another 6 or 7. Perhaps I'll buy another one and lay it down now that I know it to be worth its salt.
Oct 04, 2016Pours a deep brown-ish color with some copper highlights and ruby overtones if held up to light. A tight, khaki-colored head that leaves behind intense tiers of lacing that seem entirely defined by each sip I take. Damn, this is sticky. The color may not be "pale" whatsoever, but this is a rule-breaking beer and I'll give it very high marks for its beautiful pour and the intense way it sits in my glass.
Nose is heavy rye, earthy hops, pine, caramel, toffee, whiskey, oaken tannins and baking spice (nutmeg/cinnamon/vanilla). This is 100% upfront with everything it's about and for that I'm grateful... this hides nothing because it doesn't have to. Reminds me a lot of Boulevard's Rye-on-Rye in both recipe and intensity, though this is certainly hoppier.
Flavor is earthy and spicy with toffee, tobacco, rye and pine resin/pine needles headed off by a slight woody smokiness. As the nose seems to have indicated, this has a lot of stiff, woody notes and lightly-sweet milky caramel on the tongue crossed with a bitter and somewhat harsh tone of whiskey/booziness that comes out towards the finish. The forward flavor of ethanol is the thing that most hurts this for me, putting it pretty decently below Rye-on-Rye in the "American strong rye ale aged in rye barrels" category. Not a lot in that category, honestly, but this is like a less refined version of Boulevard's masterwork. It's still really good, and I like the complex flavors, but this is a bit brutal to be honest. It loses some points for its harsh and semi-acidic feel, though this could definitely improve a bit with age as far as I can tell... the hops are already buried by the barrel-aging and, although this is about 8 months old already, I feel it would only smooth out over, say, another 6 or 7. Perhaps I'll buy another one and lay it down now that I know it to be worth its salt.
Reviewed by efrankmcguire from Virginia
4.06/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.06/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is the 2010 vintage. The age has definitely silenced the hops. However, that is not the case for the Rye Whiskey...smells, tastes, and warms like you were sipping on a Whiskey and water. Overall, this exceeded my expectations.
Sep 18, 2016
He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. On Rye from Shmaltz Brewing Company
Beer rating:
88 out of
100 with
384 ratings
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