Mash Brewing Rye the Hop Not

Brewed by Mash Brewing
Style: Specialty Grain
Perth, Australia

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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Pours dark amber with a small head. Nose shows restrained hops, mainly spicy, herbal and earthy in character. The rye is probably responsibly for some of the spicy notes though. A fair bit of rich caramel and bready malt underneath. Much hoppier flavours, lots of spicy herbal notes along with an assertive, piny bitterness. Again, plenty of caramel underneath, however there seems to be a bit of a gap between the initial hops/malt and the bitterness. Could use a bit more carbonation. A little disjointed but otherwise pretty decent stuff.

Draught @ Mash Bunbury.
Wonderful to look at; a compact and tight beige pad of cream atop a deep, tawny copper body that’s translucent and shimmers in the light. The head holds well for the length to frost over the glass in rings, minute, streaming bubbles quick to feed it. Weedy and herbal raw hops meet Ry-vita™ crackers and Weet Bix™ cereal on the nose with licks of bitter herbs and caramelised plum. Quite spicy and controlled in the mouth. Lovely fresh and raw flavours just like the nose. The rye is well pronounced as is the herbal and bitter hops giving it a nice and spicy peak on the swallow. Rich, toasted malt base and hints of burnt sugar and plum give adequate sweetness, a little roasted nuts in there too. Finish a continuation of the palate with the hops drawing in and dominating. Very juicy stuff. Firm body, good rounded mouthfeel with soft carbonation. Gets better as it warms. A solid, session ale. (5.2% ABV)

I’ve traveled all over the world, tried LOTS of beer and this has easily slipped into my top 10 favorites. Classic ESB aroma gets a pleasant malty kick from caramel and rye. The color is a wonderful deep gold. Tasting begins with a spicy, malt that is very smooth and gets accented but a well-placed bitter that closes everything off in a perfect little knot. Drinking this beer makes me sad that I don’t live anywhere near a Mash Brewery. Truly an excellent take on an ESB!

Tried on tap at Mash Swan Valley and Rockingham. An American pale ale that drank real well, looked good in the glass, hop flavour and bitterness prominent.