Kentucky Ryed Chiquen
Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
Beer Geek Stats
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- Style:
- Rye Beer
Ranked #206 - ABV:
- 8.6%
- Score:
- 83
Ranked #40,537 - Avg:
- 3.68 | pDev: 13.59%
- Reviews:
- 58
- Ratings:
- From:
- Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
- Kentucky, United States
- Avail:
- Rotating/Seasonal
- Wants
- 25
- Gots
- 62
SCORE
83
Good
83
Good
Notes:
An amber ale brewed with rye malt and aged in rye whiskey barrels. Our first barrel aged beer here at Against the Grain is the Kentucky Ryed Chiquen. Named so because it was made in Kentucky, has a lot of Rye in it and was aged in rye barrels and it's not Chicken. As we all know (or should know) Chiquen refers to anything that is not chicken.
Now that we have all that straight, we will talk about what is in this beer. Brewed with Maris Otter from the UK and rye malt and caramel rye from Germany, imparting a spicy, fruity and dry flavor. Then hopped with enough English Nugget and Kent Goldings just to balance and fermented with our house ale yeast. After fermentation we moved the entire batch into the AtG private dining room and into used Redemption Rye barrels from our good friends at Strong's Spirits. There it aged for 5 weeks until we felt it had picked up the right amount of residual bourbon character and oak flavors. We then transferred it to our serving tank, carbonated it and the end result is on tap now, a balanced drinkable and complex barrel aged beer.
Now that we have all that straight, we will talk about what is in this beer. Brewed with Maris Otter from the UK and rye malt and caramel rye from Germany, imparting a spicy, fruity and dry flavor. Then hopped with enough English Nugget and Kent Goldings just to balance and fermented with our house ale yeast. After fermentation we moved the entire batch into the AtG private dining room and into used Redemption Rye barrels from our good friends at Strong's Spirits. There it aged for 5 weeks until we felt it had picked up the right amount of residual bourbon character and oak flavors. We then transferred it to our serving tank, carbonated it and the end result is on tap now, a balanced drinkable and complex barrel aged beer.
Reviews: 58
| Ratings: 394
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Reviews by Canada_Dan:
More User Reviews:
dcmchew from Romania
4/5 rDev +8.7%
Dark amber, hazy, small off white head immediately reduced to a poor lace.
Really clear rye in the smell, nuts and caramel. Like spicy, a bit sweetish rye bread with walnuts in it. A small dry hint of whiskey, faint raisin, a bit of wood.
The taste follows the nose to the letter, with a bigger whiskey bite. Rich rye bread, spicy, grainy, with a nice splash of caramel and heavily riddled with sweet nuts (peanut, walnut, faint almond chips), black pepper and a bit of dry fruit, like some bits of dry fig and raisin. A bit of chocolate even, but more toffee. Finish has a touch of barrel stave and some dry, acidic whiskey, spicy on its own, complementing the rest of the flavours and enhancing them with some palate warming booze. A mild hop presence, in the same note.
Medium body and carbonation, really prickly tho. Aftertaste filled with rye bread richness and some light mouth-numbing whiskey.
A quintessential rye beer. Did i say "rye" too much? Rye. Sorry.
Nov 09, 2014
4/5 rDev +8.7%
Dark amber, hazy, small off white head immediately reduced to a poor lace.
Really clear rye in the smell, nuts and caramel. Like spicy, a bit sweetish rye bread with walnuts in it. A small dry hint of whiskey, faint raisin, a bit of wood.
The taste follows the nose to the letter, with a bigger whiskey bite. Rich rye bread, spicy, grainy, with a nice splash of caramel and heavily riddled with sweet nuts (peanut, walnut, faint almond chips), black pepper and a bit of dry fruit, like some bits of dry fig and raisin. A bit of chocolate even, but more toffee. Finish has a touch of barrel stave and some dry, acidic whiskey, spicy on its own, complementing the rest of the flavours and enhancing them with some palate warming booze. A mild hop presence, in the same note.
Medium body and carbonation, really prickly tho. Aftertaste filled with rye bread richness and some light mouth-numbing whiskey.
A quintessential rye beer. Did i say "rye" too much? Rye. Sorry.
Nov 09, 2014
pat61 from Minnesota
4.39/5 rDev +19.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Has a spicy bourbon nose with traces onf rye. Pours brilliant ceep amber to brown with a white finely bubbled head that produces rich lace. The palate is bourbon, anise, vanilla, toffee and rich malt. It is creamy with very finely bubbled carbonation, a medium heavy body and above average carbonation, Very clean and smooth.
Feb 15, 2015
4.39/5 rDev +19.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Has a spicy bourbon nose with traces onf rye. Pours brilliant ceep amber to brown with a white finely bubbled head that produces rich lace. The palate is bourbon, anise, vanilla, toffee and rich malt. It is creamy with very finely bubbled carbonation, a medium heavy body and above average carbonation, Very clean and smooth.
Feb 15, 2015
BeerAdvocate from Massachusetts
3.85/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From BeerAdvocate Magazine #81 (Oct 2013):
A very well-executed barrel-aged ale—loads of barrel character without a massive alcoholic sting. The rye seems to be at a perfect level, as it never leaves the palate but does not become a nuisance. Sip after sip, this one really grew on us.
STYLE: Rye Amber Ale
ABV: 8.6%
AVAILABILITY: Rotating
LOOK: Dissipating lace, warm copper hue
SMELL: Big-time rye, toasty, slightly sweet, wood, faint caramel, mild booze
TASTE: Full rye jacket, wood tannin, mild barrel booziness, warming alcohol, raisins, light hopping, rustic, husky, smooth; long malty and woody finish
Mar 26, 2015
3.85/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From BeerAdvocate Magazine #81 (Oct 2013):
A very well-executed barrel-aged ale—loads of barrel character without a massive alcoholic sting. The rye seems to be at a perfect level, as it never leaves the palate but does not become a nuisance. Sip after sip, this one really grew on us.
STYLE: Rye Amber Ale
ABV: 8.6%
AVAILABILITY: Rotating
LOOK: Dissipating lace, warm copper hue
SMELL: Big-time rye, toasty, slightly sweet, wood, faint caramel, mild booze
TASTE: Full rye jacket, wood tannin, mild barrel booziness, warming alcohol, raisins, light hopping, rustic, husky, smooth; long malty and woody finish
Mar 26, 2015
emerge077 from Illinois
2.94/5 rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Probably the weirdest visual gimmick on a bottle I've seen.
Hazy copper in the light, dark brown otherwise. Two fingers of light tan foam, settles to a thin skim and collar around the edges. Skim is fairly unbroken for a few minutes until sipped, leaving behind a little spotty lace.
Smells weird, like decaying wet grain, minor yeast and bread notes. Not very appetizing.
Thin and astringent, noticeable alcohol heat, taste seems almost secondary. Woody and grainy like rye whiskey, some vague dried fruit but not at all sweet. The harshness seems to strip away the flavors. Dry and fully attenuated. Not something I'll be revisiting.
Thanks to Howard for this one!
Jan 01, 2014
2.94/5 rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Probably the weirdest visual gimmick on a bottle I've seen.
Hazy copper in the light, dark brown otherwise. Two fingers of light tan foam, settles to a thin skim and collar around the edges. Skim is fairly unbroken for a few minutes until sipped, leaving behind a little spotty lace.
Smells weird, like decaying wet grain, minor yeast and bread notes. Not very appetizing.
Thin and astringent, noticeable alcohol heat, taste seems almost secondary. Woody and grainy like rye whiskey, some vague dried fruit but not at all sweet. The harshness seems to strip away the flavors. Dry and fully attenuated. Not something I'll be revisiting.
Thanks to Howard for this one!
Jan 01, 2014
RCLOHR267 from Indiana
4.04/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Mar 23, 2015
4.04/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Mar 23, 2015
bluejacket74 from Ohio
4.09/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle. Served in a Great Lakes Brewing chalice, the beer pours a hazy ruby red/brown color with about an inch off-white head. Head retention is good, and there's a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like caramel, rye bread, rye whiskey, and some dark fruit. It tastes like spicy rye, rye whiskey, caramel, dark fruit, wood, and some earthiness. It's mostly a sweet, malty tasting brew, but there's also a good amount of bitterness. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's a bit coating with low/moderate carbonation. I liked this brew, I wouldn't mind picking up a bottle of this again soon. $12.00 a bottle purchased at the brewpub.
Jun 28, 2014
4.09/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle. Served in a Great Lakes Brewing chalice, the beer pours a hazy ruby red/brown color with about an inch off-white head. Head retention is good, and there's a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like caramel, rye bread, rye whiskey, and some dark fruit. It tastes like spicy rye, rye whiskey, caramel, dark fruit, wood, and some earthiness. It's mostly a sweet, malty tasting brew, but there's also a good amount of bitterness. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's a bit coating with low/moderate carbonation. I liked this brew, I wouldn't mind picking up a bottle of this again soon. $12.00 a bottle purchased at the brewpub.
Jun 28, 2014
the_beerist from Massachusetts
2.33/5 rDev -36.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25
Mar 21, 2014
2.33/5 rDev -36.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25
Mar 21, 2014
rydev24 from Pennsylvania
3.85/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Apr 07, 2017
3.85/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Apr 07, 2017
heytomcat from Minnesota
4.03/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Aug 29, 2015
4.03/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Aug 29, 2015
nickfl from Florida
3.69/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pretty standard brown ale with a hint of barrel character. Surprisingly mild for the description and the ABV.
Dec 26, 2014
3.69/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pretty standard brown ale with a hint of barrel character. Surprisingly mild for the description and the ABV.
Dec 26, 2014
VinceMig from Georgia
3.63/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Jul 12, 2015
3.63/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Jul 12, 2015
moarmare from Missouri
3.58/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Feb 05, 2016
3.58/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Feb 05, 2016
Kentucky Ryed Chiquen from Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
Beer rating:
83 out of
100 with
394 ratings
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