Beer of the Weekend #204: Rye Porter
Not that I hate it or anything, but it is that time of the month again: LV recommendation pondering time.
Tonight I received my official budgeting confirmation from the editor. Though I was thinking about recommending a dry stout alternative to Guinness, he threw a wrench in my plans by saying the March issue will have a “rock and roll,” “low brow,” “trashy” current running through much of the content.
“If ever there were a month to compare the finer points between PBR and Hamm’s,” he wrote, “this might be the month!”
Maybe my Great Adjunct Adventure will start sooner than I thought.
However, after informing him of my original plan, he has told me to channel my inner Irishman. That should be no problem.
ANYWAY. I picked up a couple bottles of black stuff today and will be sampling them for dessert the next couple nights. The first in line is Rye Porter, brewed by the Peace Tree Brewing Company of Knoxville, Iowa.
I feel really bad for not drinking more Peace Tree or native Iowa beer besides the heavenly brew from Middle Amana. One thing I may do over the summer is take a week vacation and tour some of Iowa and Wisconsin’s microbreweries.
Serving type: One 12-ounce bottle. There is no freshness date or batch code on the bottle.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is black, but it is not opaque; light from my lamp passed through to give the beer a ruby hue. Three fingers of thick, cappuccino-colored head developed and dissipated slowly to leave a thin lacing and then a ring around the edge.
Smell: At first it gave off an unpleasant adjunct corn aroma, but it soon faded. The action from the smell is mostly chocolate. There is also a little caramel and candy sugar sweetness in there, and the rye gives it the scent of marbled bread. Though pleasing after all, the aroma is really weak.
Taste: Much bitterer than the smell lets on. Roasted chocolate malts dominate; there may even be little roasted coffee in there, too. The rye provides a nice sharpness, and there is a little spiciness, too. The roasted bitterness (I am not getting much hops) leaves a nice tingling aftertaste. The tail end, though reminds me of Peace Tree’s saison, Cornucopia, which I did not like.
Drinkability: This is good stuff. It is a little awkward for a porter, but I do like the rye presence a lot. In actuality, it is more like a rye/porter hybrid.
Fun facts about Rye Porter:
-Style: BA classifies it as an American Porter.
-Price: $1.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: The label on the bottle says to “serve at 8ºC (48ºF).” Metrication — catch the fever!
-Alcohol content: 6 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, buttery cheeses (Brie, Gouda, Havarti, Swiss), chocolate dessert, beef, smoked meat, and grilled meat.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
Tonight I received my official budgeting confirmation from the editor. Though I was thinking about recommending a dry stout alternative to Guinness, he threw a wrench in my plans by saying the March issue will have a “rock and roll,” “low brow,” “trashy” current running through much of the content.
“If ever there were a month to compare the finer points between PBR and Hamm’s,” he wrote, “this might be the month!”
Maybe my Great Adjunct Adventure will start sooner than I thought.
However, after informing him of my original plan, he has told me to channel my inner Irishman. That should be no problem.
ANYWAY. I picked up a couple bottles of black stuff today and will be sampling them for dessert the next couple nights. The first in line is Rye Porter, brewed by the Peace Tree Brewing Company of Knoxville, Iowa.
I feel really bad for not drinking more Peace Tree or native Iowa beer besides the heavenly brew from Middle Amana. One thing I may do over the summer is take a week vacation and tour some of Iowa and Wisconsin’s microbreweries.
Serving type: One 12-ounce bottle. There is no freshness date or batch code on the bottle.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is black, but it is not opaque; light from my lamp passed through to give the beer a ruby hue. Three fingers of thick, cappuccino-colored head developed and dissipated slowly to leave a thin lacing and then a ring around the edge.
Smell: At first it gave off an unpleasant adjunct corn aroma, but it soon faded. The action from the smell is mostly chocolate. There is also a little caramel and candy sugar sweetness in there, and the rye gives it the scent of marbled bread. Though pleasing after all, the aroma is really weak.
Taste: Much bitterer than the smell lets on. Roasted chocolate malts dominate; there may even be little roasted coffee in there, too. The rye provides a nice sharpness, and there is a little spiciness, too. The roasted bitterness (I am not getting much hops) leaves a nice tingling aftertaste. The tail end, though reminds me of Peace Tree’s saison, Cornucopia, which I did not like.
Drinkability: This is good stuff. It is a little awkward for a porter, but I do like the rye presence a lot. In actuality, it is more like a rye/porter hybrid.
Fun facts about Rye Porter:
-Style: BA classifies it as an American Porter.
-Price: $1.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: The label on the bottle says to “serve at 8ºC (48ºF).” Metrication — catch the fever!
-Alcohol content: 6 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, buttery cheeses (Brie, Gouda, Havarti, Swiss), chocolate dessert, beef, smoked meat, and grilled meat.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
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