Berkley Red Rye Ale

After a rough night/day following the turmoil of this country’s political process it’s nice to be back writing about beer. I won’t share any election thoughts, this is strictly a beer blog and I’d like to keep it that way. I think we all could use a couple of beers with friends, or even invite some people with different views out for beers and try to find some common ground. While pumpkin and marzen/Oktoberfest beers dominate the fall seasonal market I’ve found a few other styles that fit well with the crisp fall weather. One style is rye beers, the spicy grain adds body and lots of flavor that works well with a variety of other malts, hops and yeast strains. An interesting rye beer that I tried recently was Red Rye Ale from Berkley Brewing Company. Berkley uses a liberal amount of rye malt and then ferments with an expressive Belgian yeast strain. Berkley brewing Red Rye Ale is available on a rotating basis on draft and in 750 mL bombers.

berkley-red-rye-aleBerkley Red Rye Ale pours deep amber with a minimal off-white head. The scent is mostly fruity esters from the Belgian yeast. The yeast leads the flavor, notes of pear, green apple and bubblegum. The malts add a touches of bread crust and honey along with a noticeable hit of spicy rye. A hint of earthy and grassy hops round out the flavor. Berkley Red Rye Ale has a medium body and drinks smooth, not too boozy at 5.4% ABV. The finish is dry with some lingering yeasty esters. This is a solid beer nice mixture of flavors from the yeast and malts, although I would have liked a little more assertive rye character. Hoppy Boston score: 4.0/5.

Previous Berkley Reviews:

Berkley Coffee Porter

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