Brains The Rev James Rye
Brains

500 ml clear bottle, from Ales By Mail. ABV is 4.3%. Deep chestnut colour, moderate off-white head. Aroma of malts, nuts, caramel, dust and rye bread. Pleasant malty flavour, not too sweet, again notes of nuts and rye bread, also a little caramel, very moderate hops.

Dark copper color with a thick beige head with medium retention.
Malty aroma with notes of rye, caramels, English earthy and tangy hops, toffee and slightly toasted malts.
Flavor with predominant notes of tangy, earthy and citrusy English hops, rye, toasted and grainy malts, dark fruits, musk, tea leaves and spices. Dry and bitter aftertaste.
Medium body with appropriate carbonation.
Pleasant English Rye; this grain matches perfectly with English hops and yeast. Great complexity and well balanced.

A 500ml clear bottle with a BB of April 2017. Acquired from Home Bargains not too long back. Brains seem to have expanded their 'Reverand James' ale into a brand in its own right, of which this is the rye version.

A: Poured into a pint mug. A deep ruby-brown hue with good clarity and plentiful carbonation. Yields a smallish head of creamy off-white foam that lasts for a minute or so before reducing to a surface layer.

S: Aroma of grainy malt with a slightly bready quality. Hints of husk, mild caramel, stewed hops and a twinge of rye. Unexciting.

T: Tastes of grainy malt with a hint of spicy rye. Notes of husks, caramel, stewed leaves, faint sweetness and a harsh bitterness upon swallowing. Meh.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth enough, with excessive carbonation and a rather thin body. Astringent, while the overcarbonation is distracting. Aftertaste of acrid stewed leaves and grainy malt.

O: Pretty average. Looks OK, while the aroma and flavour are decent but lacking depth. So-so body. Rye MIA. The thing is, it's not hard to imagine that this could be a better beer. If the carbonation and bitterness were tweaked and the character improved with live yeast, I think it would be a much more rounded and balanced ale. Oh well - drinkable but no need to seek it out.

Pours clear ruby brown into a tulip from a bottle. The fawn head starts at two fingers high, is creamy and foamy with moderate retention, although it recedes to surface froth after a quick moment. Moderate lacing is left behind.

The nose is sweet malts - toffee, caramel - fresh brown bread, and hint of hops in the back. The flavour follows suit with more of those initial malts up front, before languidly turning to freshly baked seeded brown bread, some wheatiness - and that rye coming through - and then turning to hops and grain on the back end. There is a mild fleeting bitterness on the finish that pleasantly balances out the malts; also a hint of some poppy seeds in the aftertaste. The entire thing hints at a peppery spice which never truly manifests and just a touch of blood orange which sits in the aether.

Mouthfeel is light-medium bodied, low carbonation, and a little wet for the style; would've liked something a bit more robust.

Haven't had many rye beers before but I'm liking this one, albeit not for its body - which could've been improved. Very easy drinking, some lovely bready, seedy flavours in there.

Bottled and part of the Aldi beer festival
Light brown body with decent enough white head
Smells of seeded brown bread
Tastes like a lacklustre bitter
Just barely getting some rye
Getting no incentive to drink this again

Pours a finger of head on a dark straw body.
The aroma is mild and malty.
The taste is malty, balanced with a dry bitterness.
The texture is smooth.
It's fine enough.

From the cask at an Ember Inn.
Not really a Rye but difficult to categorise. Perhaps closer to a brown ale.
Dark oak colour. Clear with a very tight head produced by a sprinkler.
Aroma of hops and caramel malt.
Chalky on the palate with rich malt flavour. Tangy rye. Some sweetness.
Smooth feel.