O'Hanlons Organic Rye
Hanlons Brewery

Served at cellar temperature from a stocky 24oz. bottle in a SABL glass.

A - In the SABL glass, it looks like it could almost be Sam Adams Boston Lager. Fiery copper color with an active, large bubbled light tan head. Head retention is excellent, with an obscuring film constantly covering the surface, but lacing is only fair.

S - Very very malty with a honeyed biscuitiness. For a rye beer, there really isn't much of the rye coming through, or hops for that matter. Pleasing, if not one-dimensional.

T - Much dryer and less sweet than the aroma would have you expect. Bready maltiness that's soon overshadowed by a slightly musty tartness in the middle and back. Dry, medium hopped finish. Underwhelming.

M - Very active carbonation gives a touch of tongue tingly numbness. Tames down nicely after an initial rise in volume for a smooth and easy finish.

D - I was hoping for a bit more bravado, but in typical English fashion, this beer delivers stability and gentleness instead of excitement and power. A good, solid session beer for the style, but not necessarily the best example of the style.

Afterthought... upon close inspection of the cap, I noticed a freshness date of 8/2008 -- but in a certain light, it almost looked as if it said 2004. If the latter is the case, I'm very surprised that I actually found a bottle so old, and I'm duly impressed that it's held up so well over time.

A: 2 Finger pour. White head with some piting. No lacing at all.

S: Has that UK bottle conditioned smell which I really do not care for that much. No real hint of the rye.

T: Again more a UK ale than a rye beer. Not bad just very average. Nothing is really popping out at me.

M: Little bit creamy. Very smooth body.

D: Would not seek this one out. Maybe an old bottle. I jus expect a rye beer to taste a little like rye.

Lightly hazed copper pour with a dense head of white that retains and laces nicely.

Aroma is mild and bready, with a bit of caramel, biscuits, and a light earthy note.

Flavor is slightly better, a buttery, pretzl-like malt entry has a bit of caramel sweetness backed by a light fruity note and a dry, lightly peppery finish.

Mouthfeel is pretty thin, though the texture is somewhat creamy. A very average beer overall.

Poured a murky medium copper hue with a three finger creamy white head. There was very good retention and excellent lacing.

The smell featured an earthy floral hop and a mild rye spice.

The taste had that typical bottled British beer green apple element. A decent flowery hop and spicy grain bill were evident. Rather bland overall.

The mouthfeel was creamy and a bit astringent.

Overall not what I look for in a rye beer. Very boring flavor profile.

Carefully poured, O'Hanlon's Organic Rye delivers a clear orangeish-amber body with golden highlights. A more yeasty pour lightens it and throws a good haze. The full, frothy head of bright-white foam drops to a solid, creamy head that holds quite well and leaves nice, thin lace about the first half of the pint.

The nose offers subtly spicy malt backed by lightly grassy and leafy hops.

The body is medium, and it's creamy in the mouth with a very fine-bubbled, natural, moderate carbonation.

The flavor delivers a mild, yeasty fruitiness and some honeyish malt that's tempered with subtle pepperish spiciness (from the rye) and mild grassy hops.

It finishes drying with some slight residual malt and a dusting of delicate spiciness.

Nice fruity and spicey aroma. There is light rye aroma, but it smells like a nice malty and fruity English Pale Ale. Very pleasant aroma.

Amber colored and cludy with a big frothy head. Head lasts throughout.

Sweet malty aroma with a lot of honey notes. Very fruity. I don't get much in the way of rye except for a dryness at the back end. Really nice yeast profile though. I'd like a little more Rye flavor.

Medium bodied and a little low on the carbonation.

Really a nice drinking beer. Good flavor and easily drinkable. I think it's kind of lacking a rye character but I would drink it again.

Appearance: Although almost two years behind the "best by" date, the pear pours a slightly hazy copper colored body with a nice head that leaves a good bit of lacing

Smell: Grainy aroma (which I presume is from the rye) with some caramel malt underneath

Taste: Starts out with a nice biscuit malt flavor, just a touch sweet; mid-palate, the roasted grainy and citrus flavors start to emerge and provide good balance through to the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with modest carbonation

Drinkability: Still drinking nicely two years too late; wonder what this would have been like in its prime

Beer is a beautiful new copper color with two fingers frothy white head. Lots of tiny carbonation bubbles dancing for the top. Good head retention, fair lacing. Nose is very sugary, sweet caramel, slight brown sugar, and just the slightest hint of rye. If I wasn't looking for it I wouldn't have smelled the rye I'm sure.

Taste starts out with a splash of bitterness that has a bit of sting, but is quickly soothed by ale fruitiness and then the spectors of muddled rye come out and can get mean in the aftertaste, turning rather metallic, but for the most part are peasent. Caramel /toffee flavor lingers in the background the whole time.

Lots of carbonation in this thick beer make for a chewy mouthfeel, this probably isn't considered "to style" but you know what? it works and it feels good, so I don't care.

This brewery has a reputation for high-priced, mediocre beer. Perhaps this one is no different, being admittedly odd for the style. However this is one of my favorite ryes, certainly O'Hanlon's best offering, and its orgasmic with a ruben, pastrami sandwich, or wood oven pizza. Give it a try.

A - Hazy amber with a hefty bubbly beige head. The cabonation is quite intense, no lacing.

S - Odor is mostly of floral hops and some unusual malt notes, which I would suspect is the rye.

T - The rye dominates the flavor, at least I assume it is the rye. It give a pleasant tasty spice, perhaps a mixture of more traditional grain flavors with a bit of apricot, sweet onion and fennel. It sounds weird, but tastes alright.

M - Thinner than I hoped. Refreshing though.

D - No trouble with this one. It was an easy beer to drink. I can't see myself seeking it out in the future though.

Hazy orange-honey, with off white head that's a mix of small and moderate bubbles. Head starts two finger, quickly becomes one.

Smell is fresh grain and yeast, banana and apricot, and paint thinner. Better then it sounds, but could be much better.

Not as flavourful as I'd hoped. The introductory smell is better than what goes in your mouth. Has an odd thin-ness in the flavour, that I also experienced with their ruby. There's some grain up front, some sweetness in the middle, the a bit of woody grain at end.

The mouthfeel is wetter than I;d expected, and the carbonation more up front than I'd expected. Not overbearing, but present.

It goes down pretty easy, so the drinkability score is higher than expected. I doubt I'd make a session out of it, though.

Be well
-UF

Served in the trusty Unibroue tasting glass at just over fridge temperature. Label reads "Best before: 02 20 2004"... let's see how this one held up 21 months later...

Appearance- A nice hazy orange/amber that showcases an unbelievable, outstanding light bisque colored head. The foamy crown condenses near the top and drops slowly, leaving behind gobs of sticky lacing. With a quick swirl the mat resurges, then mellows again.

Smell- Notes of grassy hops intermingle with the pale malts wonderfully, with neither dominating. Nicely subdued, and quite simple.

Taste- Earthy, mineraly notes (I would assume this would be from the well water at the brewery), with barely a trace of the rye and bready character you might expect from this style of beer. The balance of ingredients is superb, especially noting that this beer is 21 months past its "drink by" date! I had my doubts...

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Soft and vivacious in the mouth, truly sublime. The quiet carbonation elegantly flows over the tongue and down the throat, leaving a path for the next graceful sip.

Who would have guessed a year-and-a-half old, past-its-prime rye beer from England could inspire such poetry? Highly recommended.

I seriously considered having a pastrami on rye with mustard and a big dill pickle with this beer but then figured that would be cheating as it would have to be pretty bad for the beer not to score perfect 5s on that measure.
So instead I pour this beer and observe a copper color with a thin head and a good deal of carbonation bubbles. I sense mostly malt and alcohol in the nose.
The taste is properly thick, and does indeed have a nutty, malty flavor that could easily be associated with fresh bread. An interesting taste, but not my favorite. A bit of smokiness lends depth but I could have dealt with a little less carbonation, after all, this is a malty ale, so why all the bubbles?
A decent effort but this isn't really my type..I like the organics and originality but I won't be having this one again.

Red and hazy with a light beige foam that falls after a few minutes. Nose is bread and fruit with the odd malt odor that should be rye but I couldn't quite place it. Taste is similar to the nose, chewy bread, with a spicy alcohol hop bite. The mouthfeel is watery, and the finish is medium. Rye burps? Drinkable. Excellent sandwich accompaniment.

This beer was from a pint .9 bottle it was served in a pub glass.

Appearance: It started with a promising coppery amber pour with a nice inch high head. The head quickly resolved itself to a scant little finger high ring around the glass. No lacing in evidence. There was a moderate amount of yeasty sediment at the bottom of the glass. So far no worries.

Smell: An average blend of lemony citrus goodness and maltyness.

Taste: Nothing offensive. Just nothing particularly good. The Rye did not impart any unusual taste to the beer.

Mouthfeel: Nothing offensive just nothing that you could figuratively take a bite out of.

Drinkability: This is an average beer. It is still a cut above most average beers. I think this is not an outstanding beer. This will work if nothing better is available but dont go out of your way.

Pours a clear red colored ale with an off white head.

Smell is malt and rye and a herbal hop scent. Mildly fruity and a bit of roasted malt scent.

Taste is a little sweet with a good stiff hop level. Tasty herbal hop flavor dominates this beer. After the first few tastes the rye flavor shows up. There is a metallic flavor here that throws off the flavor a bit.

Mouthfeel is good.

Tasty brew but it is a bit expensive too. I can't see buying this again unless someone else is buying. It is quite drinkable despite the price.

Pours a very nice,somewhat coppery color with a very decent head. This is what I envision a British beer to look like. Dont know why but I do. Perfect looking pint. Sulfur like-slightly phenolic aroma. Trace of banana and cloves-very weiss beer like actually. Malty and crisp flavor. Somewhat toasted. Bready and yeasty. Very bright on the tongue. Crisp and clean finishing. A very drinkable beer indeed. I had marked it lower overall in drinkability but raised it during my review as it has really grown on me.

Pours a clouded golden color with very large white head and medium lacing. Floral and hoppy aroma with a twist of underlying grainy rye bitterness. Flavor is not as complex as the smell. Largely sweet and malty, with an edge of rye spiciness in the finish. Not much fruitiness or depth, however.

Medium-boded and easy-drinking, but a bit too sweet overall. Not sufficiently drying or refreshing in in the end

A good beer! First of all, cool because this is an organic beer. Comes in a bottle-conditioned, 1 pint, .9 fl. oz bottle. Pours a hazy, dark yellow color. Head is off-white, light but persistent. Taste is good. The rye makes the beer have an unusual taste, but in no means a bad one. I can definitely distinguish elements of rye bread in there. Other than that, sweet and subtly hoppy, spicy on the aftertaste. A recommended beer to try, at least to get a feel for the style.

This was an odd beer, but honestly not all that great. I don't think the rye imparted anything too tasty into this beer and could've been used alot better. It had a very dry, yeasty flavor to it that was ok, but again didn't live up to it's potential. I was hoping for better from O'Hanlon's, but sadly i was let down.

I gave this one 4.0's across the board. It poured a slightly cloudy copper colour with quite a lot of debris floating in it. Presumably rye flakes. It had about a finger and a half thick slightly off white head that subsided to a spotty white haze in about 40 seconds. Smell is sweet with some mild hoppy notes hiding in the back ground. Taste is a little sweet as well with some malt on the finish. Nice. The mouthfeel is smooth and soft on the palate with a low amount of carbonation. Great brew.