Rock Chuck Rye
Lander Brewing Company

On tap at the brewery’s Cowfish restaurant, served in a shaker pint glass.

Look: Dark brown with a tiny light brown head that dissipated to a foam ring with plenty of finely-bubbled lacing.

Nose: Sweet, dark-roasted malt, rye.

Attack: Follows the nose, but not in as deeply flavored a way as I might have wished.

Finish: This is where the rye flavor comes through.

Mouthfeel: Medium, but too much carbonation.

Overall: It’s described on the menu as a “Brown Ale with Rye,“ and it’s drinkable, but perhaps because of the carbonation, it doesn’t carry the depth of flavor I anticipate in a brown or a rye ale. I’d actually like to try this beer with a reduced carbonation level — I enjoyed the rye taste in the finish as the carbonation “wore off.”

Addendum: After reading several of the other reviews, I’m wondering if perhaps something like too much CO2 was in the tap line tonite, but I honestly don’t know enough about that kind of thing to do more than speculate.

 

this is a brilliant beer from a random brewery i had never heard of before this brew. an excellent use of a few different rye malts, and overall an excellent malt driven, somewhat dry amber type, maybe not really fitting to well into any single style range, but it doesnt matter because its delicious. good clarity, deep copper in color, almost an inch of yellowish tan head, creamy looking and lasting. it smells and tastes really good, the rye is way out in front, balanced a little by some sweeter amber type malts, but the spice comes though for sure, and the chocolate rye is an amazing addition, the roast there is fantastic, and it layers out really nicely on the palate. the bready pils malt first, then the spicy rye, followed by the caramelized red malts, and lastly the roasted rye aspect, distinct and big on the palate. fuller body, creamy, decent carbonation, dry for how malty it is, a little bit of bittering hops, great balance. not a style of beer i usually gravitate towards, malt driven red stuff, but this is really lovely with the rye, wish i had more of it. liquid bready, almost healthful feeling. are all their beers this good? not much information on here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From my notes June 12, 2010

It poured a deep deep dark amber colour, with a 1 finger head of foam, some lacing.

The smell was not very noticeable. Light spicy hint from the rye, maybe some malt sweetness. Going by the smell, you'd think this would be a blah beer.

The taste had good spicy notes, malt sweetness, a light hop bitterness and an overall good balance. The rye is an obvious flavour here but it isn't over the top hence the balance. Very tasty.

Medium bodied with medium carbonation= god mouthfeel.

Drinkability? The flavours all mesh well together so it was a very easy brew to drink. I thoroughly recommend trying it if you get the chance.

This is my favorite brew at the Lander Bar/Snake River Brewing Lander/Cowfish/whatever you want to call this place.

A: Amber with low carbonation, a nice head and good retention.

S: Minimalist (that's the positive way of saying that there's not much of a bouquet at all). There are no florals and only the slightest hint of toffee.

T: Good bready start with a sweet middle and very peppery finish. Exactly the flavor progression that I'd like in a summery rye brew.

M: Fluffy mouthfeel at first, followed by a very dry finish, that is almost seltzer like. The rye has a great 'scrubbing' effect for the palate and makes this a very intriguing beer.

D: A great lunch beer. Light-to-medium in weight and very refreshing.

No wonder it's a gold medal winner...