Red Rye Returning
Carton Brewing Company

Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Carton Brewing Company
 
New Jersey, United States
Style:
Rye Beer
Ranked #44
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
87
Ranked #16,427
Avg:
3.88 | pDev: 8.25%
Reviews:
37
Ratings:
225
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 16, 2023
Added:
Mar 27, 2012
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  32
There is no doubt variety is the spice of life and we love going off in all kinds of directions looking for new flavors. Like all travel though at some point your heart turns back toward home. Home, robust American ales. This route travels along a path of piney American hops, Simcoe, Cluster, and Horizon their natural course coaxed toward spicy by a touch of rye. Drink Red Rye Returning because home is where the hops is.

IBU: 50
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by abier128:
Photo of abier128
Rated by abier128 from New Jersey

4.24/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Oct 03, 2017
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Jan 16, 2023
Photo of SmashAdams
Reviewed by SmashAdams from New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +16%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Here's a beer that could have been a hop assault with a reddish color but instead Carton delivers a great beer with perfect balance of unique flavors. The hop flavors perfectly accent the slight spice of the rye - we get light tropical fruits behind a slightly spicy pine. As the beer warms really interesting flavors come out. I notice light coffee in the aroma which was really cool. Delicious beer overall. yb
Nov 25, 2019
Photo of AyatollahGold
Reviewed by AyatollahGold from Indiana

4.33/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
16 oz. can into a Willi Becher glass this beer is a brown with copper highlights. It forms two fingers worth of very appealing, light khaki colored crown that has no rush for dissipating.

The smell is beautifully piney mixing with heavily toasted caramel and baked bread. Rye kick lingers.

The rye becomes much more pronounced in the taste. It still delivers on toasted caramels, pine notes, baked bread.

The taste is clean, while delivering a kick from the rye throughout.

Overall, this is very tasty. Nice balance between malt and hops.
Oct 25, 2019
 
Rated: 4.13 by chiefz1 from New York

Oct 13, 2019
 
Rated: 5 by Kwright from North Carolina

Jan 21, 2019
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Carton Brewing Company "Red Rye Returning"
16 fl. oz. can, "START @ 44F JOURNEY BEGAN 11/08/2017" and sampled on 05/24/18
$4.49 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Surprisingly hazy, or is it even cloudy like a hefeweizen? I wasn't prepared for that but OK, yeasty beers are in these days. It's reddish copper in color beneath a 3/4" thick head of densely creamy off-white foam. The aroma is citrusy and spicy with rye - once you've tasted enough rye beers you should be able to pick out the rye fairly readily. The flavor is much fuller than the aroma suggests with some additional fruitiness that might be from hops but is probably from the yeast as it's berry-ish and apple-like. The rye remains but it's not solidly rye so there must be a fair amount of straightforward pale malt and some caramel as well. Light to medium caramel. It's nice. Some breweries over-do the rye in the malt bill but this is right on, just enough so that you clearly get it but not so much that it dominates and becomes too spicy. And on that note, the hops are perfectly balanced as well so that they're at the same level as the rye and everything works well together whereas sometimes it becomes "hops versus rye". A noticeable bitterness balances it but doesn't overwhelm, and it still finishes dry and spicy because of the rye, and there's yeasty fruitiness and citrusy hops lingering as well. In the mouth it feels pretty full, suggesting an IPA rather than a pale ale, but it remains medium bodied; and it's crisp and biting which accentuates the spiciness of the rye and at least partially compensates for the lower level of bitterness in the dry finish - that's a neat trick! Looking back I still have a solid 1/8" of creamy foam covering the surface and some nice clods of lace rising above it along the sides of the glass. It delivers everything a rye beer should, and it has great balance and drinkability. I won't normally drink two rye beers in a row because of the spiciness but I think in this case that wouldn't be an issue at all. I've had a lot of rye beers in my day, and of course this is just one of a wide range, but for this range, the red/amber ale I think it rocks. It's one of only a few that I've really, really enjoyed. Superbly done. Well worth trying.
Review# 6,026
May 25, 2018
Photo of The_Kriek_Freak
Reviewed by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
It pours a very dark amber with a tan head and an aroma that is very typically spicy from the rye. The hops are coming through on the nose but also in the very intensely and almost overwhelmingly bitter taste that lingers.
Apr 15, 2018
Photo of mikeg67
Reviewed by mikeg67 from New Jersey

4.4/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
16 oz can. Pours hazy orange with tall, long-lasting, fluffy white head and nice lacing. Aroma is off citrusy hops, tropical fruit, spices and caramel malt. Body is full and tangy. Citrusy, spicy hopes dominate the flavor with caramel malt and oranges provide support. Finish is long and very hoppy. Delicious brew.
Apr 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.68 by Mikexw from New York

Mar 06, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by jschott75 from Illinois

Feb 04, 2018
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

3.79/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Appearance: Pours a hazy burnished auburn color with an ecru head that builds to two fingers; a few strands linger

Smell: Pine resin, caramel and spicy rye tones

Taste: Caramel forward with the pine resin building, the spicy rye tones emerge as the earthy hop bitterness builds; while the spicy, resinous bitterness lingers, into the finish, the sweet tones never fade

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: One of the maltier bitter beers I have tasted in a long time; this beer returns home to a style that was very popular 10 years ago

Thanks, Nichols33, for the opportunity
Feb 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Walleybeer from New Jersey

Jan 30, 2018
Photo of farrago
Reviewed by farrago from New Jersey

3.84/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a nice big head, three fingers and can easily foam over if you’re not careful, light tan color, good density and retention, the lacing forms as long, thin trails. Amber to reddish-brown colored liquid, very pretty with full clarity, the tiny bubbles are dispersed and seem only visible near the surface. The rye bite comes through well in the nose, softened a great deal by bready notes and cocoa powder, has a sort of salt and pepper thing going on too, faint touch of white grapefruit, not all that complex but the elements which are there have breadth and staying power. Full-bodied, the carbonation is steady in a background manner so the texture is solid and can be bottom heavy at times. More floral here and spicier as well, peppery support of the rye. Tar resin and gets earthier as it warms. The cocoa, chocolate accents more present through the finish. Less citrus and hard to peg any distinct fruit flavors, washed out tropical flavors. Doesn’t seem concerned with harmonious choral activity as playing solos off each other. Good stuff, don’t think it would be easy to have more than two in a sitting though.
Jan 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4.34 by gabrielcolom from New York

Jan 10, 2018
 
Rated: 3.92 by mattreitz49 from Florida

Jan 08, 2018
Photo of jzeilinger
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

3.77/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap.

A - Deep Amber red color with sticky cream colored lacing.

S - Light roasted toffee with some faint citrus.

T - Toffee malt, resiny citrus, and a lingering pine bite on the back end.

M - Medium body, the sides of the mouth waters and the top of tongue is bone dry.

O - A solid red ale.
Nov 15, 2017
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

4.15/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Acquired via trade from tzieser so a big “Thank You” goes out to him. Poured from a 16oz can into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep coppery brown color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is faint but contains caramelized rye malts, earthy hops, citrus and some other fruits.

T: The taste starts out with a nice burst of earthy hops bitterness that is quickly followed by sweet flavors of caramel, rye spice, citrus and other fruits. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly hoppy.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down quite easily, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style, this is a very solid beer to drink for a long time.
Nov 11, 2017
Photo of Jacobier10
Reviewed by Jacobier10 from New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16 oz can.

Ruby color and clear with a large, frothy, light tan head. Good retention and lacing.

Biscuit and grainy malt pair up nicely with sharp, piney hops. There's a bit of spice in the flavor from the rye, along with some caramel sweetness and mild grapefruit.

Medium bodied and sticky. Nice balance throughout. The rye make its presence known but complements the beer instead of overpowering it. A great offering for the Fall.
Nov 10, 2017
 
Rated: 3.69 by Big_V from Maryland

Nov 06, 2017
Red Rye Returning from Carton Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 225 ratings