Smoked Rye IPA
Brouwerij Emelisse

 

Pours a slightly cloudy, deep, dark amber coloration with a ruby hue and a small, creamy head. Smells of toasted, caramel malt, smoke, citrus and pine, with just a hint of peppery spice. Taste is a great balance of toasted, caramel malt, medium smokiness, citrus hops, with grapefruit really standing out, pine and peppery rye spiciness. Finishes with a strong bitterness and some smoke, grapefruit and peppery spice lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While this may not be for everyone, I personally do think that there's an excellent balance of fruity, smokey, spicy and piney notes going on here that all complement each other incredibly well, although the focus really is on the smokey, spicy character, as it should be for a "Smoked Rye IPA". Still, the sweet malts and piney, citrus hops provide an excellent balance, making for quite a complex and well-balanced beer, even though body and mouthfeel feel just a little light.

 

 

Poured into pint.
Pours slightly hazy orange beer with thick (hard pour)off-white head, looooong retention.
Smell - smoked, yellow fruits, citrusy, rye character.
Taste - fragile balance between smokiness and IPA bouquet, rye imparts oiliness.
Maybe a bit light and lacks of body, but with pleasant floral tones. Goes down soft and easy.

 

Surprisingly good IPA. I was skeptical at first, but the bitter citrusy notes of the IPA go well together with the smokiness. The rye also gives it a very nice, velvety texture.

 

From a 330ml bottle into a tulip.

A: Pours a clear orange/amber with a fat 2 finger white head. Leaves really nice lacing.
A: Strong meaty smoke, bacon-like, with some citrus hops in the background.
T: Some sweet malty character and caramel at the very beginning followed by a heavy smoke flavor and some rye spice. The rye pulls through a little more in the aftertaste, as the smoke dissipates. Unfortunately, the hop flavor, although present, is overpowered by the smoke. The bitterness is pretty on point overall.
M: A smooth, medium body with a nice dry finish. Carbonation is fully appropriate for this beer - a slight tingle on the tongue.

O: I VERY much enjoyed this beer. I'm a fan of smoked beers, and love how they pair with certain foods. However, it didnt really hit the mark as an IPA for me. Too strong on the smoked malt front, with a very nice rye touch... but the hop character is unfortunately lost for the most part (despite the bitterness). I was expecting a more hop forward beer with some smoke, not the other way around. None-the-less, a fantastic beer.

Pours amber with a large lasting head.
Nose shows soft meaty smoked malt along side some spicy and herbal hops.
Flavours pretty much mirror the aroma but with a bit more emphasis on the smoked malt and spicy rye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours hazy orange with a nice finger and a half head, sticky lacing afterwards.
Smell of pine and bitter citrus hops, some caramel, spiciness but very faint smoke.
Taste starts sweet and spicy, some biscuit, some caramel, spicy dry rye and a bit of sweet orchard fruit (plus some mildly sweet oranges and grapefruit). Spruce, pine resin, green leafy hops dominate the bitter finish. Prickly spices here and there, peppercorn, touch of ginger. Faint smoke is felt in the aftertaste, but you can miss it if you're not paying attention.
Medium bodied, a bit oily, low to medium carbonation. Dry finish, aftertaste of hop bitterness and the mentioned faint smoke.
Nice beer, but maybe a bit too pumped full of hops, overshadowing the smoked rye malts.