SN Ruthless Rye 2012

Oh man. This stuff is good. Deliciously clear with a dank, dank hoppyness. Great aroma and a very clean hop flavor/bitterness. This coupled with the spicyness of the rye… awesome. Great hop choice to compliment the rye. No to be a douchey hop head, but it’s way better than the mai bock they replaced (Glissade) as their late winter seasonal.

According to the bottle date, the 12 pack I bought got from the brewery in California to my VT bottle shop in three weeks.

I think I may just like it more than Celebration which (when fresh) is my favorite IPA.

Good to hear, can’t wait to try this one.

didn’t even know this existed. gotta keep my eyes open

I had it last week on draft . It’s VERY good

Picked up a 6-pack of this at Winco last night. I really liked the rye spiciness. Seems more pronounced than in other rye IPAs I’ve had.

also got a 6 pack of this today. gonna crack one open tonight

Same here, I’ve already had two, though. Say, didn’t Denny spend a week there this summer? Coincidence, or positive influence?

[quote=“mrv”]
Same here, I’ve already had two, though. Say, didn’t Denny spend a week there this summer? Coincidence, or positive influence?[/quote]

i drank a few last night. very good, might have to buy another 6 pack tonight

Went back tonight to the bar at Whole Foods for another pint. It’s soooo good.

Your Whole Foods has a bar inside of it?

^ must mean a 22oz?

this beer is very impressive. id like to hear denny’s input?

Your Whole Foods has a bar inside of it?[/quote]
Yep a wine and beer bar in the front of the store . They had Ruthless rye, Yazoo Sue, and Terrapin So fresh and so green. On tap

[quote=“S.Scoggin”]^ must mean a 22oz?

this beer is very impressive. id like to hear denny’s input?[/quote]

I tried it when I was at the brewery for Beer Camp. It might not have been the final recipe, but I think it was close. My immediate comment to the sensory analysis people was that it needed more rye. I think it’s only about 10%, well below what I consider the threshold for rye flavor. I was told that they can’t lauter more than 10% without a stuck runoff. That’s too bad. Other than a lack of rye character (for my tastes), I thought it was a pretty good beer.

Clearly they need to invest in new red Igloo mash tuns to avoid this problem.

Finally found this in New Jersey today, looking forward to popping one open tonight.

I tried one for the first time last night. the aroma was fantastic and I was expecting more of a hop kick upon tasting, didn’t tast much there. I did taste a very pronounced spicy rye flavor.
Perhaps i’m coming down with a cold…or maybe that Surly Furious I had first shocked my tastebuds???

I’ll give it another go this evening for a fair reference.

That is very likely. I find it difficult to be 100% confident with how a beer tastes unless it’s my first beer of the evening or my first in a few hours, etc.

I’m glad to hear the good reviews. Stopped off last night and picked up a 12-pack of 'er. Was warm, so I won’t try it until tonight. Wasn’t sure if I should have gone with the 6, but now no regrets.
:cheers:

I found it quite delicous. It is not in in your face IPA at all. It is on the mellow side for an IPA but very refreshing. It does not taste like a 6.6% beer either. It makes for easy drinking and is quite nice.

I thought it was pretty good, but it had a little bit of that sulfur character that I do not like in SN pale ale (smells like a ladies home perm.) I will probably give it another try though. Some bottles have that character, and some do not.

Personally, I thought it was great, if a little harsh. Very nice mouthfeel, great lasting white head, beautiful red color, excellent clarity. The hop presence is strong - I have a hard time discerning varieties in beer, but I was picking up Centennial. To me it just has a bit of an edge that I don’t find in my homebrewed RIPA. Of course, it could be something like water chemistry that’s making the difference. Overall, a great beer. Go get some!

On the other hand, it kind of made me think, “I could have brewed a whole keg of this for about the same price as this 12-pack.”

:cheers: to Denny!