First Rye
Simpleton Craft Ales

On-tap, served to me in a shaker pint.

A: Clear caramel color with thin tan head. Sheets of sticky lace left down the glass. Looks like this has a ton of hop oil in it.
S: Not a huge nose but I definitely can detect the rye. Hops are herbal with maybe a hint of pine.
T: Tons of spice rye and toasted grains dominate the mouth followed by caramel, mild toffee, and finally a solid punch of herbal and bitter leafy hops in the finish. Spicy overall, and bready. Tons of rye. Hops are spicy and leafy and herbal but pack a solid bitter punch. The aftertaste is much the same with lingering spicy rye, a clean, slightly oily bitterness, and grainy dark bread quality. I get hints of powdery chocolate or maybe chocolate malt, but I think it's just the rye playing tricks.
M: Medium-full body, fairly thick and chewy mouthfeel from the greasy hop oils, fairly soft carbonation. The spicy rye lingers but the mouth isn't overly tingly or rough.
O: Definitely a rye lovers IPA. Spicy rye bomb, almost like a hoppy brown.

This is a beautiful beer, but I would NOT catagorize this as an IPA. The bottle says 90 ibus, but we all know how arbitrary that measure can be. There is scant information on their website, but I could swear this beer is barrel aged. If not, then I am dumbfounded as to how it delivers these boozy, caramel, vanilla notes. Tasting notes on the bottle say: fig, toffee, black currant, nutmeg, etc. and I would concur. It pours a gorgeous red rye color with a silky head. The aromas are enticing you with sweetness - brown sugar and dark fruit, and the taste delivers on those fronts. This is a unique and enjoyable beer, but you might be better off approaching it as something other than an IPA.

Pours a murky dark orange-brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of roasted malt, rye, cocoa powder, dark fruit, and earth aromas. Taste is much the same with rye, caramel, brown sugar, earth, and char flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of earth and hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a high level of carbonation with a crisp and prickly mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with solid rye, cocoa, and sugary qualities all around.

Serving type: bottle.