Smarch Weather

On thing that the Stout Man will always buy is a rye IPA. Every time. So, when I caught wind of Smarch Weather from Toronto’s Rainhard Brewing, I snapped up six of the 7.2% beauties post haste. Sold in 473mL cans, the beer’s name plays homage to a quality Simpsons bit. The beer, itself, is bright copper in colour and pours with a thin covering of off-white suds.

Smarch Weather has a lovely aroma that blends malty caramel notes with sticky pine and a dose of grapefruit rind. The flavour has a sweet, malty base, but it is the hoppy, citrus and evergreen elements that really drive things. Throw in a little bit of spicy rye and you’ve got something cooking.

Smarch Weather is a wee bit sweeter than I’d like, but it’s otherwise delightful. Great strength, bold flavour, and a 90s TV reference? Sign me up! Make it year round.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Speakeasy Red

Speakeasy Red was my first foray into the catalogue from Waller St. Brewing in Ottawa. A rye session IPA, the beer in the 500mL bottles of Speakeasy contains just 4.3% alcohol and 30 IBUs. It’s a rusty red beer with a durable fog of creamy head.

Speakeasy has aromatics that are both spicy and coppery. The flavour is extremely mild, with malt character and a dose of rye spiciness, with a metallic, grapefruity finish.

An enjoyable and flavourful session beer, Speakeasy left me thirsty to try more brews from Waller St.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Petitcoudiac Rye IPA

Listening to Alan Maitland's rendition of Frederick Forsyth's short story “The Shepherd” on Christmas Eve, I wanted something with a little heft. Petitcoudiac Rye IPA is a bit low in alcohol for the style (6%), but it’s got a robust 60 IBUs and that’s what I was after. It’s a slightly hazy, bronze ale that pours with a thin layer of creamy head that comes from Dieppe, New Brunswick’s Cavok Brewing Co. The beer is sold in 473mL cans that have a pretty spiffy texture.

Petitcoudiac has substantial piney aromatics, as well as a whiff of caramel sweetness. The flavour combines a sweet, biscuity front end with caramel notes, and a rich, evergreen finish. Some rye spiciness adds a bit of subtext. 

Other than a lower than ideal percentage, there wasn’t much not to like about this li’l rye IPA. I’d eagerly down another can of this stuff.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Rainbow in the Dark

Billed as a “winter rye I.P.A.”, Redline Brewhouse’s Rainbow in the Dark came highly recommended by my server at Pinkerton’s, a little snack bar with a beer list that could in Toronto’s east end. Sold in lovely northern lights-themed 473mL cans, this Barrie, Ontario offering clocked in at 6.6% alcohol and a pretty rowdy 61 IBUs.

Cloudy and orange-gold, RITD poured under a luscious layer of off-white head. It had a potent citrus aroma, rich in lime notes. The flavour was somewhat unusual, with a combo that blended floral hops, spicy rye, and tangy citrus. The fairly enthusiastic IBU count was evident toward the finish, which was both bitter and thirst-quenching.

This little brew from Barrie had some game. I’d have liked to see the alcohol percentage tick up a few levels into the 7+ range to warm this brew up a bit, but the citrus/hops/rye combo lended a very interesting flavour that I found pretty engrossing—were I pairing, I’d have allied this beer with a spicy Thai prawn dish.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Cutaway IPA

A rye India Pale Ale from Nashville's Tennessee Brew Works, Cutaway IPA comes in 12oz bottles. The percentage isn't listed on the label, but the TBW website told me that the beer contained 6% and 55 IBUs.

 The beer was hazy orange-gold with a little bit of yeasty sediment. It poured with a decent covering of off-white head, through which wafted a burly aroma rich in spicy rye, dank hops, and a tropical fruit edge. Cutaway proved to be a full-flavoured ale, with a nice blend of warm rye notes and bitter citrus stank.

I found Cutout to be a really enjoyable rye ale. Well made and sassy.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Full Moon Rye IPA

Full Moon Rye IPA comes from the Real Ale Brewing Co. out of Blanco, TX. It's sold in 12 oz bottles and packs an unlisted alcoholic kick (according to the Real Ale website it's 6.2% alcohol and contains 50 IBUs).

The beer poured a clear and bright copper colour under a lush off-white head. It had an assertively bitter aroma, backed with a nice spicy rye note. The taste proved comfortably hoppy, with some citrus vibes, metallic notes, and some whisky-stained rye warmth.

I thought that Full Moon was a really well-crafted Rye IPA. It wasn't memorable, exactly, but it left a lingering sensation of quality. This good beer made me curious about Real Ale's other offerings and feeling sorry that I wasn't in Texas long enough to investigate.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Guilford Mover and Quaker Ale

I got a 7.8% rye IPA aged in bourbon soaked wood chips while in Greensboro--a gift from an awesome dude named Greg that I met during a trip to Davidson. Greg and his wife Jenn brewed this stuff as a wedding gift for a family member and Greg said that this charming ale was selected as the grand champ at a home brewing competition in Iowa. I asked Greg what he was calling their ale, and he responded that he wasn't much good at names, so I'm unilaterally calling  the heretofore unnamed beer a Guilford Mover and Quaker Ale. Hope that's OK ...

The "Mover and Quaker" is a swampy brown grog. It's a very sweet-smelling brew, with pleasant oaky notes. The flavour is quite powerful, sweet, and woodsy. There are vanilla-soaked bourbon elements and a beefy hops finish. What's missing is the promised rye heat and IPA bitterness. For me, this beer was closer to a dark ale or maybe a brown porter. 

Especially since this is a home brew effort, Greg and Jenn's beer was a pretty seriously impressive, but I'd have been pretty darn pleased if it were a commercial offering. It was boozy, flavourful, and well-made. I'm not going to assign it a rating, since it feels wrong to put a number on a gifted home brew, but it would have done well.

Another Way To Rye IPA

Another Way To Rye IPA comes from Franklin, Tennessee, where it is lovingly crafted by the oddly named Turtle Anarchy Brewing Company. During a trip to Nashville, I picked up a growler of this good stuff at an amazing beer seller called Craft Brewed Bottle Shop & Tasting Room. According to the Turtle Anarchy website, this stuff contains 6.2% alcohol and a pretty solid 62 IBUs.

We lugged the growler up to a friend's place but only drank half (she had lots of other beers to contend with). Finished it off a couple of days later--it had gone a bit flat, but still tasted pretty nice. It was a clear, copper coloured ale that had a hoppy, citrusy aroma. There was a healthy hop profile, bolstered by some high flying rye character.

My first impression of this brew was really favourable. The second experience drinking flat beer was less so, but I'd never hold that against them, since it was my fault I didn't finish the growler while it was fresh.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

New Scotland Brews--Propeller Rye IPA

I'm a damn sucker for rye beers. They're spicy and sexy and I love them. So when I visited Halifax, Nova Scotia's Propeller Brewing Company and saw their Propeller Rye IPA, I needed it.

At 6.8%, it's got some heat. I bought a 650mL bottle, and dumped out an elegant, honey-hued brew topped with a fuzzy off-white head. It has a sweet, syrupy fragrance with only a modicum of bitterness. The flavour is also quite sweet--unexpectedly so--and not necessarily ideally. Behind the wall of sweetness, there is some tangy rye and a nice measure of bitterness, but these are a bit downplayed.

Propeller Rye IPA is nice enough, but doesn't hold up compared to their flagship brews like the ESB and the IPA. It's just too sweet.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Grimross Rye IPA

I was home in Fredericton, New Brunswick over Christmas 2013, and I was pumped to learn that there is a new brewery in town--Grimross Brewing. More than than, I was fired up when I stepped into a new beer bar to watch a football game and found Grimross on tap. And then, I was ecstatic when I saw that one of the offerings on tap was a rye I.P.A., one of my very favourite styles.

The Grimross Rye IPA clocks in at 6% alcohol, according to the Grimross website. I had myself a pint on tap while I enjoyed a little pigskin. It arrived a swampy brown grog, topped with a healthy off-white head.  Its aroma straddles a divide between hoppy and yeasty. The flavour is likewise yeasty, particularly at the front end.  It isn't nearly as bitter or as spicy as some of the more pungent rye I.P.A.s that I have sampled--this stuff prefers to be subtly flavourful. This stuff flows from yeasty/malty to bitter, encompassing a faint but worthy rye spiciness. In finishes with some mild bitterness.

If you're in the mood for a jumbo, bitter rye I.P.A., then Grimross' version might leave you a touch disappointed. However, if you're down for a tasty, well crafted ale, this stuff might well be your speed. I definitely liked it.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Rocketdog Rye I.P.A.

Another entry from Ponderay, Idaho's Laughing Dog Brewing Company, Rocketdog Rye I.P.A. pours a clear, moderately carbonated golden colour. There is an off-white head made up of thick rolling hills of foam. It contains 6.9% alcohol and comes in a 22oz bottle. According to the cool looking label, it clocks in at 62 IBUs.

 Rocketdog has a mild, citrus-y hops aroma, with some bready notes. It isn't wildly flavourful, but is tasty and interesting. It's a bit bitter, with some citrus character--notably some grapefruit notes. It has a short, hoppy aftertaste.

I spent an unusual amount of time considering Rocketdog, trying to decide whether I liked it or not. Ultimately, I concluded that I did.  It's mild tasting, but interesting. There's considerable alcohol content, but without tasting too strong. Plus, I'm always quite interested in rye brews.  I'd drink it again.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.