Sunrye Ale
Redhook Brewlab

So this was a weird creation, when you want the mildness of a blonde ale, but then you wanna kick some rye into it and make it a lil more exotic? Rye in blonde ales seems weird at the outset, but lets check it out.

Pours golden 2/3" white head, good clarity, looks like a professional beer. Aroma didn't give me any sense of rye. Rye u do dis? Just a grassy hop note on a mild bed of grain. This is falling into the blonde ale category more than rye for me already.

Taste is easy going kind of if BMC made an ale with 2 row instead of 6 row. Still not getting rye, perhaps it is less than 10% and its just blending in with the barley. You'd think in a beer of this levity, the rye would be more prominent. Mild bitterness. Smallest little grapefruit like citrus hop presence but its pretty much all bitterness of grapefruit and not much beyond that. Carbonation was fine.

I dunno man, this falls into the usual hot weather/girls trappings for time/manner/place restrictions like its a 1st amendment essay.

Flashback #130

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Suggested Glassware: Shaker Glass]

The pour was a clear light amber with just a trace (almost none) of a white frizzy head that virtually was gone in a second or two and produced no lacing to speak of.

The aroma was very faint of a light grain malt, a faint odor of some grassy hops and a mild earthy yeast with a hint of rye and maybe a little citrus (lemon).

Taste was pretty bland yet quite crisp with a slight malty feel and a mild hint of rye, but not much else. The flavor faded from the taste buds almost immediately following the swallow.

Mouthfeel was extremely light in body with a watery texture and a light carbonation.

Overall this was a extremely light beer with a very light flavor and a mild carbonation. That being said it did possess a good smooth and easy drinkability and is ok if what your looking for, is a light beer with a low ABV…

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Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine July 2007.

When we think of Redhook and rye, we have very fond memories of Redhook Rye. It was a cloudy mess of an American Hefe-hybrid rye beer that was perhaps the best in their portfolio to date. We suppose a summer seasonal like this one makes more sense when it comes down to paying the bills.

Crystal clear pale-yellow golden color. A hefty pour produces a quick swelling of foam. The head collapses to a very thin ring of white lace. The light, clean aroma has suggestions of dande- lions, dried lemon peel and spicy rye. Good supply of crispness with a semi-thin body; dry malt flavors induce a soft blanket of spicy rye and bread tones. A touch lemony, with a mild hop bitterness brushing a little herbal and grassy flavor on the palate. Clean and dry finish with a lingering lemon and diminished rye flavor.

A good hot-weather beer? Sure, why not? But putting this one up against the many summer seasonals to choose from, Sunrye sits squarely in the middle of the road. Pair it with a slab of pepper jack cheese and some rye crackers.

Pours to a golden yellow, with a head that coats the glass for most of the drink. Not a lot of aroma to this one, but has some yeasty undertones. Taste is bitter but relatively sweet at the same time. Hops are prevalent in the flavor. Not sure about IBUs, but this one is decent.

I honestly hadn't drank a Red Hook brew in years after I visited their brewery and was disappointed by all the beers on tap. Thought I'd revisit one of them. I don't think I've tried this one before.

It pours a transparent gold, with lots of bubbling action. A minor head dissipates to a light film that stayed for the majority of the time, leaving minor lacing.

Aromas were of rye bread and nuts, and a little lemon.

I thought this was more malty than hoppy - kinda weird. I taste a little adjunct mix of things, and some yeast. Not much else.

I thought this would be crisper than it was, especially with the bubbling action, but no such luck.

Overall, just boring. I'd like to taste more rye.

A: Pour looks pretty BMC, light golden color, white head. The head has a nice structure to it though, a result of the rye, I assume. Little active carbonation though, a result of age, perhaps. Leaves very little, if any lace. There is though, a little haze. Head retention seems to be pretty good.

S: I get a little rye, but also some more adjuncty things, perhaps to balance it out? No hops, no malty sweetness. Overall it's pretty bland and unoffensive, which is what I think they were going for. I think they wanted a summer ale with rye, not a rye summer ale.

T: Hmm, there's something there, but I can't put my finger on it. It seems the rye flavor is about all that differentiates this from a standard macro "summer ale" but then at the end, it boots you a little in the top of the mouth. Not bitter, but actually very close to cooked rye, which I use often. Well, at least the post-cooking rye water. Sorry, not doing enough for me. Really not much more than a lawnmower beer.

M: Thin, watery, but has a taste that makes itself known in the swallow.

D: Good, about what it should be for a summer beer of this ABV

This poured from the bottle to a light pale, just slightly hazy yellow, with thin white head that dissipated quickly to little lacing. Nose was faint but still caught a hint of honey, apples and lemony hops, with no alcohol (swhich at only 4.7% is not surprising. Mouthfeel is light and a tad on the thin side, and the taste carries over the fruits of the nose.

Fairly long lasting, thrist quenching finish. Not a bad summer ale.

Enjoyed from the bottle on a trip from Boston to Maine. The trip was much better than the beer. Sunrye was bland with little to no rye flavour. Slight yeast smell with some hoppiness but faint at best. The carbonation was good but, other than that the beer seemed bland and as some of the other reviewers said this is reminiscent of a macro with an inadequate amount of flavour in any category. Having tried a few Redhook beers this was similar in style but did not live up to expectations at all.

12 oz bottle poured into a Sprecher weiss glass. 080109 stamped in the label.

A - Sunrye poured a brilliant clear and effervescent gold with a moderate white and foamy head that disappeared quite quickly and left nothing but a ring.

S - Dry rye and wheat overwhelm the nose with a roasted corn sweetness following up. A drop of orange citrus with a dab of cream finishes off the aroma to this so-far mediocre summer beer.

T - Roasted corn adjunct flavor with dry wheat and a light grassiness on the finish. A very small citrus drop and no hops to be found. The flavor is mediocre at best and more like a BMC. While it doesn't offend, its horribly sub-par.

M - Light, crisp, and refreshing but watery and slick with a carbonation bite to the finish.

D - As the first Red Hook offering I've had, I'm not happy. I could substitute a BMC in for this and I wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference. Drinkibility is good but it's just a standard beer. And from a "good" brewery I've only heard good things about, the outlook is sub-par thus far.

Had this on tap today at the Old Chicago in St. Cloud.

Served to me in a 10 oz mug.

Served with a 1/2 finger white head. Not the best retention, but it did leave some lace. Color was a clear light gold.

Aroma and taste were pretty much the same. Very boring. Reminded me more like a macro than anythings. Grain, very minimal rye, slight hops. A very light beer.

Mouthfeel was fairly crisp. Light bodied with a high amount of carbonation. Left a similar aftertaste, to that of a macro. Dry and grainy.

Overall, I thought this beer would be ok, because of the rye portion of it, but the rye was hardly there at all. Not something I will ever buy again. However, a person could drink a few of these without being filled up.

Pours a clear, golden color. 1/4 inch head of a white color. Slight retention and poor lacing. Smells of yeast, pale malt, rye, slight hop, and slight sweet malt. Fits the style of a Rye Beer. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp with an high carbonation level. Tastes of yeast, slight hops, slight citrus, pale malt, and slight rye. Overall, a rather poor body with only slight complexity. There is an easy drinkability, though.

Serving glass: Poured from bottle into tall glass.

Appearance: Light gold with a quickly forming but rapidly receding head. Ultimately, looks like a very flat macro (at least those usually aren't flat).

Smell: Sweet, some citrus and light floral character. I smell no rye or spiciness.

Taste: Where is the rye? Some light citrus and wheaty malt. Not sure if there is wheat or not, but seems more likely than rye to me. Funny, sticky sweet aftertaste.

Feel: Pretty high carbonation (especially considering the zero sustained head) and light body.

Drinkability: This aftertaste is killing me; I need an American Adjunct to wipe this taste away (and I don't care for that style either). Seriously, where is the rye?