Tag Archives: rye ale

BEAR REPUBLIC HOP ROD RYE SEASONAL ALE

Captivating maple sweetness convincingly counters orange rind bitterness and serenading spiced hop slip. So-called “turbo charged alcohol burnin’ monster ale”" may scare pilsner fans, but that’d be a crime since this medium-to-full-bodied “”Hop Rod”" goes down smooth and retains customary organic grain punctuation. Strangely, hints of spruce, beechwood, and macadamia arrive, but not the advertised rye.

BISON REUNION ’08 ORGANIC RED RYE ALE

Busy embossed label of hazy copper amber ale (brewed with caraway seeds) promotes myeloma and cancer research. Bettering blander organic beers that seem more interested in staying natural and earthy than delivering flavor, its glutinous hop-spiced flaked rye inertia picks up pumpernickel, macadamia, raisin, and fig illusions. Brown sugared chocolate-caramel-cocoa malting sweetens enigmatic orange-red fruited backdrop. Dryly vegetal fennel-gourd recess provides added dimension. Barleywine hints come and go.