Short Batch #15 - Rye IPA
Smuttynose Brewing Company

From BeerAdvocate magazine Issue #67 (August 2012):

LOOK: Thick, frothy white head, with hazy amber liquid beneath

SMELL: Spicy rye, resiny hops, fruity, malty

TASTE: Creamy, smooth, nearly chewy body, warming alcohol, aggressive hops, grapefruit, tangerine, rinds, leaves, resins, aspirin, rye spice, a bit doughy, earthy

Released on June 28th, 2012, exclusively at the brewery—only 240 bottles. Finest Kind IPA was used as a template for this brew. Changes? There’s 30 percent rye malt, aromatic instead of C-60 malt, a lower mash temperature (yielding more fermentables) and four times the dry hopping. This is one well-placed and aggressive hop and rye kick to the palate. Whose coast? East Coast!

 

 

 

22oz bottle poured into a globe. Re-released as "Rhye IPA", with a nifty rhino on the label.

A: Hazy golden-orange. Creamy white head retains well. Creamy lacing looks as if it has been painted onto the glass in rings.

S: A hefty dose of earthy and spicy rye, loads of grapefruit hop aroma. More playful tropical hop notes of mandarin orange. Lemon drop candy. Starfruit and hints of pineapple too. Toast.

T: Ruby red grapefruit is all over the palate in a big way. Mandarin orange and passion fruit begin to pull through. The malt base is dominated by drying, spicy rye but there's a pleasing toasty quality as well. Some of that lemon drop flavor pulls through and offsets the dry, spicy, bitter flavors a bit. Touch of alcohol toward the back end. Finishes very dry with spicy rye and ruby red grapefruit duking it out long after the swallow.

M: Medium bodied, though it feels deceptively light. Somewhat creamy. It does come across as a bit thin, but this adds to the drinkability. Moderate seltzery carbonation. Some hop astringency.

O: A pleasantly drinkable rye IPA with loads of rye character and the same sort of grapefruity hop charge that drives Finest Kind IPA. This was a good beer, but a strange one to roll out as part of the big beer series. The six-pack format would seem to fit it better.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Max's during their IPA fest.

The beer pours a golden amber color with pretty good head retention and considerable lacing. The nose is pretty attractive and about what you'd expect, imparting considerable dry citrus and rye. There's something of a sandlewood aroma as well. Flavor profile is a bit maltier then expected, though I still pick up plenty of rye and some underlying bitterness as well. The finish is dry and the mouthfeel is a bit thin and lean. Alcohol is barely noticeable, but I do pick up a hint of alcohol at the end.

An OK beer, but just not something I'm in love with either.

On tap at the British Beer Company.
Pours a deep amber color with a smallish off white head that displays moderate retention. Smells of spicy rye and resinous hops mostly. Bits of bread and caramel malt peak through to provide a hint of balance. The flavor is heavier on the malt than the aroma suggested. Bready honey like malt sweetness balanced nicely with the spice of the rye and a mildly aggressive pine and resin. Lingering spice and resin left on the palette long after each sip. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a slick resinous mouthfeel. Very nice beer, I really enjoyed it, I wish I would have schlepped over to the brewery when they were selling bottles.

 

 

750mL champagne style bomber poured into a snifter

The body sits a burnt orange with golden yellow highlights around the edges. A fluffy beige cap rises two fingers and falls slowly, settling to a thin layer of foam with extra cling at the edges.

Notes of citrus rind, fresh pine needles, dry, spicy rye with some toffee notes lingering underneath. The citrus is more oranges and tangerines than anything else. A touch of ethanol in the finish.

Orange rind and tangerines up front with dry rye through the middle. The finish is earthy, with toffee before a bittering rush of white grapefruit, orange rind, tangerines.

Medium body, big and chewy in spots. The finish is moderately bitter with just a hint of ethanol. The bitterness builds with each sip.

This is a damn fine rye. Big citrus hops with a solid drying quality from the rye. Moderate bitterness that builds with each sip; the true sign of a winning ipa.