Resurrection Roggenbier

Resurrection Roggenbier from Oakville, Ontario's Cameron's Brewing Co. is my first brush with the roggenbier style. In fact, I'd never heard of it before I saw this 650mL bottle emblazoned with a phoenix at my local liquor retailer. According to the label, roggenbiers were outlawed with the passage of the German Purity Law of 1516, the legendary Reinheitsgebot, since it forbade the use of rye in brewing. Other than the fact that it contains rye and that this one has 5.2% alcohol, that's all I really had to go on.

Resurrection is a gloomy dark ruby ale topped with a dapper cream head. It has a somewhat sweet nose with a bit of cranberry notes. Flavour is also sweetish, and solidly malty. There is a touch of tartness and very little of the rye spiciness that I anticipated. The finish continues to be malty, in a fashion more typical of Belgian ales than German ones.

A neat little brew from a top notch Ontario brewer. Not the kind of beer I'm inclined to purchase on any but rare occasions, but one I'm certainly glad to have experienced.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.