Rye Patch Pale Ale
The Blue Ridge Brewing Co.

On tap at the brewpub, May 2011:

The beer had a nice amber color to it with a nice white head. The beer had some nice retention of the head and left some lacing. The beer had a light rye aroma, but that was about it. The beer had a decent rye taste, no hops to really note. The beer had a lighter feel to it, perhaps a little low on the carbonation. Overall, the beer is average at best, as there are a lot better Rye Pale Ales out there.

On tap at the brewpub in a shaker pint. In fact, I had the Rye immediately after the regular pale ale. Unfortunately, the former does little to distinguish itself from the latter. It looks, tastes and feels very much like Colonel Paris, but with the addition of some very gentle rye flavor that hardly seems worth the trouble of brewing a new beer. It also seems to blunt what little juiciness exists in the base beer.

Colonel Paris Pale Ale review for reference:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/802/2517/?ba=PDXHops

Overall impression: Pretty boring stuff here. The base pale ale is forgettable, but as a rye beer, this really misses the mark.

Served from tap into a standard pint. Poured a nice red-orange color with minimal white head. It had very nice lacing throughout. The aroma consisted of mild hops. The flavor was of light hops with an organic rye flavor mixed in. It was light on the palate with low carbonation. Overall this was an okay brew. I would compare it to your typical light beer only with a nicer hoppy/rye flavor to it. It is crazy how drinkable this one is though.

So I strolled my way down to Blue Ridge last night and there it was, the Rye Patch Ale. Freshly brewed and only been on tap for about 2 days. Thrilled to see this as I love hoppy ales and this was right up my alley. I was on my way home so I decided to grab a growler to go...

A - Poured a very murky orange amber. No head at all. I tried hard to get one to form, but only managed about a quarter inch. Copious amounts of side glass lace were streaming all down the glass. Lots of carbonation visible all the way up from the bottom. Looking pretty decent for sure.

S - Aroma was light and crisp, full of hops and a touch of rye grain. Very summer like aroma and very quick to take it. Did not linger and had that fresh cut off to it. Very pleasing. Needed to be a tad bit stronger, but very very nice none the less.

T - Wow, this really was a quality brew. Lots of bitter hops were evident right from the start. Huge almost pine like bite and dry finish left you thirsty at the end of it. Some nice malts mixed in as well as a decent amount of sugar. Super light and crisp, absolutly perfect for a summer day. Really impressed with the taste here.

M - Really good, and quite suprised actually. This one really had quite a smooth feel to it. Lots of carbonation rippled through nicely and a somewhat slick, but not that bad of a feeling. It was just light enough to really be a good drinker.

D - Awesome. I could pound through this all night long. I was really thrilled to have a growler, and cracked it open in the afternoon, and probably will finish it tonight, just a super good drinker.

Overall this was easily a favorite of mine. Probably my favorite brew to come out of blue ridge for sure. Just a great quality summer session beer. I really enjoyed this and look forward to filling up again next time I am downtown!

Consumed vom Fass at Blue Ridge Brewing Company on August 9, 2007... Slightly richer than golden in colour, the head retention went from a light pillowy head to a stern lace along the side of the glass. Aromas of good hoppy goodness bakanced with some malt made this one a pleaser from word-one. Smooth on the palate, the hops tell the tale here. A nice residual clinging bitterness finishes this one off. At 6%, this is the kind of brew that can be sessioned -okay, perhaps a pretty short session... Still, a well-balanced and gifted offering, to be sure.

The beer arrived on the table lightly hazy copper with a white well lasting head.

The aroma was nice with a rye malt presence and a light spicy character. The hop presence was also nice and the malt had a light caramel nature.

The flavor was mainly hop centered with some rye malt spice and lasting bittering. The hops came off as earthy and woodsy but were also piney.

The finish was dry with lasting piney and woodsy hops into the aftertaste. The body was medium with a nice creamy mouthfeel. A good beer, but lacking in complexity.

5.2% ABV, 50 IBU. Name is really "Rye Patch Pale Ale".

This beer was tasted in pint glass from a growler picked up from Blue Ridge Brewery on June 8th.

This beer pours a hazy golden hardly any head at all despite forcing it with all my might. The smell is full of rye and hops but isn't that strong overall. The tast is nice. Full of bitterness from the hops, but not really full of very much aroma hops. The rye spiciness really dominates this beer and that comes across and a really nice flavor. The mouthfeel is nice, above average. Overall very drinkable, especially for a local beer.