Ryepen
Baxter Brewing Co.

 

 

Can poured into a tulip.

Appearance: Pours a mostly clear brass with lots of carbonation and very little head. Surprisingly transparent.

Aroma: Wheat, pepper, cider, spice, wee bit of funk.

Taste: Apple cider note is there, but it’s not huge. Had a slight apple cider vinegar quality. Some funk. Rye, pepper, some autumnal spice.

Mouthfeel: Little bit on the thin side. Drinkable, not harsh. Not a ton of body for a cold weather beer.

Overall: Had high hopes for this, but it’s a fairly conventional saison. Decent, but doesn’t stand out from the crowd. The ad copy and can design sell big, and it doesn’t quite live up to the promise of a big apple/rye saison, but it’s stkll quite pleasant.

On tap at Sacco's Bowl Haven. Love me a good saison--this was a shot in the dark at apple saison and didn't quite hit. Not too Belgiany. Apple meh.

Pours a tarnished copper, very clear hue, with a two finger off white head that slowly slinks down to a foamy film and clear with some lacing. I see no clear signs of effervescence.

Nose is champagne yeast, tart red apple, light mulling spices that are more nutmeg-forward. A woody rye foundation. It smells sweet over fermented.

Palate is sweet apple and apple pie spices, that immediately shift to a very unappealing astringency that is extremely reminiscent of having orange juice right after brushing your teeth. I'm sorry, this is truly awful. I'm always understanding and forgiving when reviewing new (to me) beers, and try to give credit where credit is due, but this is a flop. It's tacky, cloying, and extremely bitter, and not in a good hoppy way. It's an artificial, astringent, turpentine bitterness, that evokes a sense of drinking something that's harmful to the human body. I honestly think this will be my first drain pour.

Feel is a tacky, semi-sickly, medium body, that's somewhat undercarbonated, but not so much so that it comes across flat. It's hard to focus on the body with how bad the flavor is.

The best thing this has going for it is the look of it, which isn't anything special. It's got a nice color, I suppose, but man, this is terrible. I'm fighting my way through it, trying to warm up to it, but I just can't drink it. It's like brushing your teeth with minty toothpaste, and then trying to enjoy a cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice. Sorry Baxter, this is no bueno.

 

 

A: Pours a burnt orange color with 2 fingers of head that fades down to a thin cap

S: Fruity yeast up front along with a vague blend of spices and some apples. Some rye in there as well. Interesting

T: Starts off with the saison yeast, which brings out some fruitiness and yeasty ester notes and then goes into the spices and rye. Very light apple. Finishes with lingering yeast notes

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation

O: An interesting take on a saison. The apples, rye, and spices all add to the fall feel. Solid

This beer is the spiritual successor to Baxter's experimental Fall seasonal, Hayride. I've been a Hayride fan since the moment it was first released, and have generally found it to be one of the most successful Fall seasonal beers despite it not fitting into any of those traditional categories. Though Baxter seem to have formally retired Hayride, its focus on rye malt and general weird approach seem to live on in Ryepen. This is apparently brewed as a saison-style ale with mulling spices and cider apples added during the brewing process. Very interesting. Makes it somewhat like a graf (apple cider/ale hybrid), I suppose?

Pours a clear golden/light-orange color with a frothy yet thin and demure head of white foam. The surface is rather unspectacular looking and the carbonation seems somewhat sparse, which feels uncharacteristic of a saison-esque ale. Regardless, I do like the color here... though I've always liked this beer's seasonal predecessor, it definitely would never have won any beauty pageants with its ruddy, unfiltered brown color.

The nose is apple-forward, for sure, but I also definitely get cinnamon and nutmeg with a lightly-funky and rustic yeast note that perks up my senses. Has a somewhat "champagne"-like element that definitely livens up the proceedings. Light earthy spice and apricot jump from the glass as well, perplexing me and leaving me curious as to what may be beneath the surface.

Definite earthy and spicy rye with a lot of crisp sweetness from the apples... maybe too much for me, honestly. This drinks more like a funky farmhouse cider than it does an ale with apples added, but I digress. I enjoy the crispness and slight spice notes, but this just doesn't feel hearty enough for an Autumn beer. The way it drinks seems a little too safe and simple for me. The concept here is very cool, and I like the idea of combining dry cider with a farmhouse ale, but it just isn't coming together super well.

The feel is lighter-bodied for the 6.5% ABV, bringing together the rather striking dryness of two totally different kinds of alcoholic beverages within one overarching fermentation profile. That said, though this technically seems to be a success, I wouldn't consider it to be a beer I could see myself reaching for during stereotypical "nights by the fire," and that's unfortunate. It's cool to have a few of these and discuss the underlying techniques and concepts, but it might be better off taken back to the drawing board.