Roggenbier
Ribstone Creek Brewery

 

650ml bottle - wow, this brewery seems to be rocking the old-school German styles of late, ja?

This beer pours a mostly clear, medium copper amber colour, with one thick finger of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat fizzy ecru head, which leaves a few instances of ocean spume lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of damp banana chips, bready and doughy caramel malt, some clove and white ground pepper spice, a further mild rye graininess, and very subtle earthy, musty, and floral hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, a lesser edgy rye thing, banana pudding, some retreating clove and generic peppercorn spiciness, and more faint earthy, weedy, and musky floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is quite tame in its palate-boring frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and generally smooth, with perhaps a touch of spice making some small, unwanted waves here. It finishes off-dry, the mixed malt, banana, and clove essences locked in a lingering embrace.

Overall - this comes across very much like a rye-infused Dunkelweizen, with the big banana and clove characters ceding no quarter. Lots of robust flavour, and rather refreshing on an afternoon when it's supposed to hit +20C! In April! Anyways, seriously, check this one out.