Drier than our flagship IPA, Centennial IPA, Rye IPA bites back thanks to generous additions of Simcoe and Nugget hops.

Why rye?

Necessity is not always the mother of invention. This is especially true at Barley’s, where the spirit of inquiry and the pursuit of new and different styles and flavors has inspired many styles over the years.

Enter rye. This grain has a distinctive flavor, imparting a dryness and biscuit-like quality. Our first brew with rye was Angelo’s Crooked Sky Rye. Now, Rye IPA.

Rye’s ability to thrive under poor soil conditions and cold temperatures has long made it a staple in the diets of Northern and Central Europeans. Although perhaps best known for its use in baked goods, rye also has a history of use in the production of whiskey, gin, and even beer. This scrappy, nutritious grain has over the years made its way into the hearts and beers of Germans, among others, and is rapidly making headway among brewers in the United States.

"Why rye?" you may ask, and not without good reason. Mention rye and the average person thinks of dense, flavorful breads and crisp crackers. Beer does not immediately leap to most minds. Yet rye makes for an interesting recipe component, contributing a distinctive, refreshing flavor; its growing presence on the beer frontier is well justified in light of its unique contributions to the taste and quality of beer.

Rye’s main contribution as an ingredient is its enhancement of the overall complexity of the beer’s flavor. Although the crisp, slightly spicy rye flavor does emerge somewhat distinctly (usually at the finish), at the proportions generally used it is neither too forceful nor overpowering. The subtlety of the rye flavor is due to a variety of factors, including the amount of rye used in the recipe, the form of rye used, the hopping level, the type of yeast used in the recipe, and the other ingredients involved in the brew.

In many ways, the flavor of rye beer is reminiscent of wheat beers. Light bodied and somewhat dry, rye beers tend to have a nice head and an interesting grainy, slightly spicy flavor.

Why rye? Why not?