Battersea Rye
Sambrook's Brewery

#1695. Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Mid chestnut-red, clear, pours with a 5mm cream coloured creamy textured head. ps 10mins later, holds well, forms long-lasting lacing on the way down.
S- It has that distinctive toasty Schwarzbrot (rye bread) smell to it, nice.
T- Very rye in style, toasty quite pungent and distinctive, then the hops rise in counter-balance into a mildly zingy finish.
F- Quite pungent^ and yet good meaty malts too, yielding a distinctively different brew that's ideal for winter.
O- The last beer I reviewed (a German Helles) was a suprising disappointment; I'm pleased to say this is the precise reverse. I found this in a local wine merchant... 'locally brewed, rye beer eh? Well, it's worth a go then'. I wasn't expecting much TBH, from a beer brewed in a relatively new and small operation in humble Battersea. QED, as often I'm glad I took a punt on it. A very nice beer, different/interesting, zero to dislike for me, brewed local and 2-thumbs up.
Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed! => Nope no surprises, basic trad ingredients and nothing else of note there. The beer speaks for itself.
440ml can 'BBE 05.22' on base of can. £3.50 Bought from Nicolas Wines, London W11.

A 330ml bottle with a BB of March 2018. Purchased a little while back from M&S. The label describes it as a rye beer brewed with all British ingredients.

A: Poured into a tulip. A deep coppery-brown hue with good clarity and moderate carbonation. Yields a large head of creamy tan foam that lasts for a few minutes before reducing to a patchy surface layer. Slight lacing.

S: Aroma of rich grainy malt with hints of spicy rye, caramel, barley sugar, ale yeast, herbal hops, stewed leaves and faint husks. Sweet and moreish - very nice.

T: Tastes of sweet, grainy malt with notes of rye, caramel, bread, barley sugar, ale yeast, spicy hops, hay, stewed leaves and a vague earthiness. Decidedly malty, followed by a restrained hoppy bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with soft carbonation and good body. Some light hop action on the palate. Aftertaste of sweet caramel malt, grainy rye, bitter hops and ale yeast.

O: Lovely - a rich, malty brew with great rye character coming through. Looks OK, while the aroma and flavour are sweet, malty and rye-laden. Spicy hops and yeast bring up the rear. Good body; could perhaps be a shade livelier. Delicious - every mouthful makes you want more. Well worth sampling.

Pours clear brown, small tan head

toffee, tablet, fresh brown bready aroma.

bittersweet toffee, fairly full body and good level of carb. Bitterness carries through to the finish. Slightly soapy on the end. The bitterness is a bit odd, it' not big in any way but it is not entirely pleasant

Bottle at Flying Chariot- Heathrow. Rich mahogany pour with small, soft soapy head. Big funky rye aroma, taste follows with some savory spice on top of the rye sourness. Some wood, some peat. Much better than anticipated.

A 330ml bottle from Marks & Spenser. Pours nice deep mahogany color with a thin white head. Aromas of rye, caramel & hints of toffee. Flavor is on the sweet side, with caramel, rye, toffee, vanilla & hints of chocolate present. Mildly bitterness in the finish. Overall very good, better than the average M & S beer.

Deep brown.
Aroma of roasted malt and caramel.
Taste start with bit, and finish with sweetness.
Moderate carbonation.
Overall a good rye beer.

 

 

33cl bottle from Marks&Spencer, a pleasant surprise. Pours a clear ruby, with just a hint of tan head. Smells of roasted malts, smoke, dark cherries. Tastes bittersweet, with notes of dried fruit, prunes, raisins and caramel.

330ml bottle from Marks & Spencer:
An okay first offering from Sambrook's but nothing special. Bitter & earthy with some medium strength sugars but not enough sweetness. There's a subtle hop presence & it was easy enough to drink without being too memorable.

 

 

330ml bottle served into a tulip glass

Look: Clear, mahogany brown with a fingers-width of off-white head which settles back to some surface foam and ringing fairly quickly. No lacing evident.

Smell: Plenty of malt and dark fruits evident - not a great deal else.

Taste: Interesting. Very interesting. Whilst the smell is a bit one-dimensional the taste has a surprising amount of depth to it - there's malt, obviously, but definite hints of dark chocolate and cocoa with a peppery spiciness as well as a hint of sweetness as well. Aftertaste is quite dry and stringent, almost hoppy.

Feel: Quite a full mouthfeel, decent amount of carbonation - for something that's quite malt-forward it's surprisingly refreshing.

Overall: My first encounter with rye-based beer, at least that I'm aware of, and on the strength of this it won't be my last. Whilst my preferences are more to the hop/IPA end of the spectrum these days, this one left me pleasantly surprised despite being maltier than I generally like - what it lacks in the hop department it more than makes up for in depth of flavour in other ways. Definitely worth a try.

I really like this
A good looking mid brown beer with some off white heads
tempting aroma
nicely balanced flavours only slightly sweet
get some if you can

Bought from M+S.
Deep copper brown. Light foaming head that dissipates.
Aroma of roasted malt and fruits.
Taste the malt again, bitter chocolate, some spice and sweetness.
Moderate carbonation.
Really refreshing for a malty brew.