Ale Industries’ Rye’d Piper American Amber

Ale Industries Brewery (Concord, CA) puts out some fantastic barrel aged brews (Grand Cru…hello!), so I thought I’d try out their Rye-based amber for something different. The 22oz cost me $7 at my local beer purveyor.

Appearance

Dirty, dirty brown in color with a very handsome 1/2″ of tan head dolloped on top. The head dissipated, but a gorgeous lacing was left on the glass.

Smell

Definite caramel and pine and I got some sweet potato in there somewhere.

Taste

The rye aspect wasn’t too strong, but it was definitely there. Smells like an IPA and could probably be mistaken for one.  Bitter, but not hoppy. Interesting. More pine. Pretty boozy for a 5.8%ABV beer.

I enjoyed this moderately but didn’t finish the bottle. A bit too bitter for my liking. Would I drink it again? Yeah, I’d split a bottle but would be reluctant to pay again.