Rye Ryerish
Berryessa Brewing Co

A good Irish stout. First impressions: dry. Dry and toasty - and light. That’s good. Rye in the batch mixture. Okay - an interesting idea. Would anyone detect it in the flavor if they didn’t know it was there? Only a superstar palette, I think. So, I decided to pour a glass of Bulleit rye whiskey into a separate glass and I then proceeded to take sips back and forth. Hmmm, yes, this does enable one to pick out a detectable rye note in the beer profile - they paired well with each other and enhanced the experience. Summing up, it remains a perfectly fine example of Irish stout. For interested parties, there is rye there, only it takes a bit of craft to tease it out. Well worth trying on it’s own merits, however.

 

Served from the can in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Waiting for "Rye, Rye, Rye, Delilah?" Who am I kidding, that prolly already exists. Anyway, this stuff pours a straight onyx topped by a finger of dark sandstone foam. The nose comprises roasted malts, toasted rye bread, mild toasted caraway, and a bit of coffee. The taste brings in more of the same, the roast and toast doing much more heavy lifting than anything the rye could bring to the table. Almost makes you wonder why rye was so forward in the marketing. The body is a stolid medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fairly dry finish. Overall, a nice stout, one that can't quite live up to its own marketing, but one that still tastes good enough on its own.

 

 

a decent glass of beer here, but i thought it was a little conservative on the rye malt, which is supposed to make this distinct. its definitely a stout on the lighter side of the spectrum, as brown as it is black, with some red edges in the light and a fading inch of air tan head. good clarity. smells like irish stout, dry and bitter, earthy with some coffee, i hardly smell the rye at all, maybe just a pinch, and that mellowness on the key ingredient carries over to the flavor. i taste the dark malt and the yeast well out in front of it. fortunately its all balanced up and tastes great, maybe too dry to appreciate the rye, that could be the issue, but its impact here overall is only slight. i really like the lighter feel though, this is a real easy drinking dark beer. the carbonation is relaxed but it has a smoothness about it thats attractive. still, i think its too light to be a stout, more brown ale here than anything, with some chocolate malt showing up later as well. in the end its another tasty beer from these guys, but a little less rye than i think would set it off. a nice companion to some cured olives as a late night snack...

3.27.15. The Half Orange. Oakland, CA. Tap.