Saranac Rye Pilsener

Brewed by Matt Brewing Company
Style: Specialty Grain
Utica, New York USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

I am ever increasingly finding rye beers to be my favorite style and Saranac actually did a good job with this one. Sometimes their flavors can be a little overdone but this was subtle and refreshing.

24-Sep-10 (12-oz bottle, Bottled on 28-Feb-10: Purchased 17-Sep-10 at BevMo in Solana Beach, CA) Beer #2 of the "12 Beers of Summer" 12 pack, Rye Pilsener, pours a hazy golden body with half an inch of white head. The mildly aromatic nose is grassy, grainy and slightly sweet, and actually smells like this might be a decent beer. The slightly sweet malt base offers grain-based flavors of bread and breakfast cereal and a hint of nuttiness, while the hops adds a delicate grassiness and light bitterness as a reasonable balance to the maltiness, though the hop flavor disappears quickly, leaving a stale, bready, somewhat cardboardy aftertaste. Dry on the palate, light-medium in body, medium carbonation, the beer starts out somewhat crisp and refreshing, but doesn’t finish that way. The aroma and initial sip was encouraging, but in the end, this is an average pilsener at best.

Part of the Saranac Beers of Summer Box - $13.48 at Sherlock’s in Marietta, Georgia. Appearance: Pours a clear, yellow body with a fairly small, fizzy, white head Smell: Lightly sweet-scented pils malts in the nose, with a growing but gentle graininess as it warms. Soft notes of lemon peel and spiciness from German-like if not exactly German-born hops. Taste: Sweetish, lightly honey-tasting pilsner maltiness with a slight grainy undertone. Touch of zesty rye malt aided by the spicy, grassy, lemon-hinting hops with their gentle bitterness and still further aided by the carbonic bite of the crisp finish. Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation. Drinkability: A simple, tidy, if average pilsner with a hint of rye which goes well enough with the light inclusion of Vanguard hops. Paired with the TCM television premiere of Metropolis.

Bouteille de 12 oz provenant d’un mix pack acheté dans une station service Sunoco de Lake Placid (NY). Arôme: Légère odeur de céréales et d’houblons. Apparence: La couleur est dorée avec une faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de céréales avec une pointe fruitée. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement aqueuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de céréales en arrière goût. (Rating #3221)

My second specialty grain! Poured a clear yellow with a white foamy head. Not much aroma, but mostly pale malts. Taste is malty with some good rye flavors. A good amount of spices and hops. The balance is very good. Very crisp and refreshing. Aftertaste is a little too skunky.

Pours gold with small white foamy head. Aroma is caramel malty, notes of wheat. Taste is bready with some light spice.

12 oz bottle. Pours light gold with offwhite head. The aroma is spicy with notes of pepper, ginger, and hay, as well as a strong metallic note and a little bit of lemon cookie. The flavor is that disappointing cheap lager deal with a little bit more of a cookie-ish malt backbone. The hops are metallic and slightly earthy. Bland finish. Meh.

Clear light golden with a fizzy white head. Strong earthy black tea, grain, and tobacco aroma and taste with some leather notes. Points for being interesting.