Founders Reds Rye P.A.

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Specialty Grain
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

Bottle to glass mug. Pours a copper / amber color with an off while head, and good lacing. Nice citrus / floral hop scent. Nice hop bite, and that twinge of rye, which is not overpowering, but a great compliment. Well done.

Review from notes 2009. A: Cloudy orange-brown with a nice thick off-white head that leaves nice lacing behind... S: Strong citric hops play off of the more sour rye notes... balanced by malts and grains.. T: The citric notes (mostly grapefruit) power forward as sweet malts, some spice, and sour rye/grain notes keep things in check.. nice interplay.. little to no bitterness M: Medium bodied. Moderate carbonation. Smooth. Crisp finish. O: A solid brew... worthy of another glass.

Bottle/12oz - A Christmas present from my son... Thanks! Pours a hazy reddish-amber in color with a medium off-white head that hangs around to produce some nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is a heady mix of slightly sweet malts, spicy rye and significant amounts of both citrus/grapefruit and spicy hops. Flavor is much more about pine resin hops and spicy malted rye. Finishes fairly bitter with the lingering spiciness of the malted rye. A really good IPA...

Bottle. Even with an aggressive pour, I only got a few milimeters of head that dissipated quickly. Luckily that’s about the only thing wrong with this beer. Color is almost orange. Partially opaque. Aroma is mostly hops with some sweetness. The rye aroma comes in partially, too. The initial flavor is lively carbonation and bracing, spicy bitterness. To me it tastes like most of this comes from the hops and not the rye. This beer is full-bodied and sweet and gives a moderately-clean aftertaste (I.E. no sticky, lingering hop bitterness). To me, the rye really comes through on the aftertaste, giving a spicy warmth also with some dried fruit and alcohol flavors on the end. My first experience with a RyePA (Bluegrass Route 75) was only so-so, but this beer is fantastic. I can see myself brewing a RyePA for myself in the future.

UPDATED: JAN 9, 2012 27/12/2011 355ml bottle from Canal’s Liquors Mt. Ephraim (NJ, USA) @ home - bottled: 7/25/11 (2011-738)

Clear copper red beer, small yellowish head, pretty stable, adhesive. Aroma: very fruity, passion fruits, strawberries, rose water, sweet notes. MF: good carbon, medium to full body. Taste: fruity start, strawberries, passion fruits, bit of pinappel, bitter hops, some dairy, lemony. Aftertaste: bitterness, less fruity, very dry ending.

Bottle. Pours a murky orangish/red with a medium head. The aroma is hoppy and malty. The flavor is complex with grainy flavors followed by some citrusy, piney hop flavor and a lingering roasted malt flavor. The rye seems to make the malt flavor stand out. Excellent all around.

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.

A: Slightly hazy orange/brown color with a tan 2 finger foamy head that dissipates into a rocky messy foam that sticks to the glass.

S: Piney and hoppy, fresh smelling.

T: Piney and hoppy throughout. Slightly malty with grapefruit hints. Very smooth and easy to down.

M: Medium to high carbonation, almost full bodied beer.

O: Good beer. The subtle malts intertwine excellently with hops, grapefruit and piney hints.

Edit: Second bottle on 10-13-2011 and most of my thoughts stay the same. On the tongue I taste a bit more malts than I remember with a nicely balanced piney hop flavor.

Aroma: grains, some hay, and booze, it might just be me, but not much of its hops character comes out it its aroma; Appearance: translucent, borders on brown rather than red (definately not a Killian’s color), medium thick sandy head on pour; Taste: exellent, sharp, and bitter taste, just what I want in my IPAs, the hops could be described as more green and citrus, rather than floral and piney; Palate: overall refreshing as opposed to heavy on the gut, roasty in the aftertaste; Overall: pretty darn great, what else is there to say?