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.

Fine amber-toned dry rye brew flaunts beautiful honeyed yeast aroma, sweet butterscotch-caramel malt entry, and subtle citric frisk countering pungent hop-roasted bitterness. Maple-sapped mocha-soaked barley-wheat base sweetens dry rye breading. Pleasant Canadian brew similar in style to St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout and unlike most typical water-based Canucks.

Plain Bavarian rye lacks resolve. First reaction to tart, phenol-infested, sourdough-breaded German was it tastes like conflicted Weiss Beer, though not as foamy, yellow-fruited, or wine-y, nor as flavorful. Wispy plum-wined cinnamon apple midst coarsened by astringent rye finish, sealing its unfortunate fate.

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.

Impeccable limited edition brew is truly complex. Fermented in Tennessee whiskey barrels, its toasted rye theme leads the way, informing vanilla bean, black cherry, and oaken bourbon illusions. Brown chocolate-sweetened Black Forest cake midst absorbs pureed cherry jubilee nuance contrasting bitter tobacco chew. Grainy hazelnut-cashew tease and spicy anise tinge heighten pumpernickel bread motif.

Lacking essence of better hop-toasted rye ales, its unspecific berry blur and acrid orange-tangerine center reach lame beechwood-like finish, revealing diacetyl snag along the way.

Dry prune overtones ripen above middling rye influence and herbal hop persistence, fading quickly to grassy-hopped mineral grain earthiness. Mild lemon pucker and nutty bitterness counter tertiary honeyed malt sweetness, but mild acidity and watery consistency obstruct sinewy yeast effervescence indicative of thick rust turbidity and copper penny hue.

Earthy dry-hopped French-breaded barley roast bolsters rye, pecan, and marzipan illusions detected at scantly smoked backend. Caramel-chocolate malts sweeten over time. Emulative of a rich black lager. Brewery defunct: 2010.

Definite overpowering grain presence emerges, though no one strand dominates this foamy rye-influenced ale. Well-balanced malted barley, wheat, and oats fill out splendid sweet cereal finish.