Red RyeDer
Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

One of the handful of 12 oz. bottles that returned with us from our pilgrimage to Anchorage, AK & the Midnight Sun brewpub. Rye + barleywine? Take my money.

The pour is akin to the utisols of Arkansas with a small but persistent white head. The nose spins off plenty of rye, toffee, & rust.

Red RyeDer is a mouthful of earthy, gritty rye. Unfortunately I vastly prefer the spicy version of the grain; it’s been a lot of years since I ate dirt on purpose (I shed diapers soon after). The b-wine peeks out from underneath via a caramel/toffee mixture, moderate alcohol presence, Bagley slough & some dying hops that have seen better days. Very dry. Drinks easy. Glad they didn’t have this on tap while I was haunting the place, I might not have been able to operate any heavy Uber apps.

My description doesn’t sound very appealing but this works on a basic level. I hate to see rye stuffed into anything that’s less than sterling, but at least the drinkability is high. Good, solid brew.

Bottle. Off white head with lace. Burnt caramel orange. Sediment.

Caramel, toffee, dark fruits, molasses, and then a lot of hops. Dank and resin hops. Weedy. Medium bodied. Strong with some abv showing in the finish. Notes of vanilla too. The rye isn’t too dominant.