Palo Alto Brewing Co. Rye-C Citra-Hopped Rye IPA
Palo Alto Brewing Company

 

Would you put fruit jam on rye toast? Or would you apply a more savory spread to the dark and spicy flavors of the rye? If you chose the fruit jam, then you would probably agree with the choices made by the brewer of Rye-C.

This beer clearly displays the tropical fruits of Citra hops and the warm spices of rye. But I don't believe these flavors were meant to be together. There aren't any food dishes that show the same marriage of flavors, and for good reason. Would you add caraway or sage to a fruit salad of mangoes and passion fruit? No way.

Rye-C also has the nearly-suffocating imbalance of too many American IPAs -- so much hop bitterness that the single-minded caramel malt is only present in the finish.

Rye-C is a fair hop showcase, and some may find the rye's spiciness to help out the caramel malt in a desperate attempt to bring balance to this beer. It is an excellent beer for showcasing Citra hops, but one could also refer to Sierra Nevada's Torpedo.

For those seeking a Rye IPA, I would point you toward Fifty/Fifty's Rye P.A., which makes for a far tastier marriage of rye to pungent earthy hops like Chinook.

The beer's color is a medium amber, with a decent beige head and nice lacing. Smell is sweet and fruity, like mangoes, melons, and other light fruits with a citric base. Body is medium and drinkable. Tropical fruits dominate the beginning, with citric and resinous American hops commingling with savory rye in the middle. The caramel sweetness is delayed to the end, where it sends off the beer with a dim pop compared to the salvo of rye and hops.