Ryeot On Rye
La Cumbre Brewing Co.

 

 

Ryeot on Rye pours a slightly hazed amber-red color with a half finger of off-white head. It has a deeply malty, red-ale aroma with creamy whiskey behind, just as advertised. But there's just a hint of the spiciness often associated with rye ales and rye whiskey.

The rye flavor definitely shines in the taste though, right up front. Again, there's big malt flavors here -- molasses, dark bread, that sort of thing -- and a lot more of the rye barrel, too. It's full-bodied, with a viscous, creamy mouthfeel that has just a small amount of prickliness and little carbonation.

I've never had the base beer in this one, but can't imagine it's anywhere as near as the malt bomb in this one. This has got to be reformulated for barrel aging, no?

Overall, this is pretty damn tasty. I like big, West Coast hop bombs every once in a while, and I see this as the malt equivalent. Wish I had a second bottle to age a while longer, but I've got to say the rye whiskey in this seems relatively perfect right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 ounce pour in a tulip-shaped glass at the brewery.

Frothy oatmeal head a finger thick. Glowing brown and amber body with some signs of clarity close to the stem of the glass. Lace circles the glass in a wall as the head recedes. 5

Caramel, vanilla, sweet maltiness. Got that grape sucker thing going on like an Old Ale or barleywine. Not getting much barrel quality or rye. 3.75

Sweet silky caramel stands out in a big and awesome way. Floral hops or yeasty notes before a solvent-heavy, grape-mixture on the finish. With warmth I get an earthy hop flavor and some of the rye component. 4

As mentioned this starts as rich and creamy as they come. Outstanding. It does get a good dose of alcohol mid-palate, but by then, I'm lulled into a pleasant state anyway. Spicy notes and earthiness round out the feel in positive ways. 4.25

Okay, so I like this beer. But it isn't exactly bursting with barrel character or rye.