“Born out of our love of the water and a passion for riding the rapids, River Ryed IPA is a class-five rush of flavor. This hop-forward beer features intense citrus and herbal hop flavor balanced by the peppery spice of rye for a dry and delicious end to a rafting journey.”
Off the back of Sierra Nevada’s success with their previous rye IPA (Ruthless) is this brand new brew that we’ve been looking forward to cracking since we heard about it online. Poured from the short, stubby can into an IPA glass. The only slightly hazy amber pour is capped off by a fluffy two finger head that persists well. Gradually shedding off a centimeter or so and settling to a thick coating over the top, leaving some thick, blotchy lace trails clinging to the glass. We’d have to admit we’re a little let down by the lack of spicy rye malt on the nose. We actually don’t get one iota of anything that remotely resembles rye. Disappointing. What we can pick up is a nutty and almost earthy malt aroma with traces of light floral hops, pine needle, fresh herbs and a hint of wood chips. Really bummed out. The feel of it in the mouth is moderately dry, nicely carbonated with mild-medium body. Nothing overly exciting going on at all. The 6% ABV is hidden well and the 50 IBU is probably a smidge under what it should be. Upfront a restrained bitterness cuts through the earthy/woody malts. Subtle bready characters form midway as a slightly sharp touch of pine carries through to a soft, bitter finish. Length is pretty good but again, no rye spiciness to round it all off. After a bit of a look around on Rate beer and Beer Advocate this RIPA scored quite well which leads us to think that we got an old or stale beer. Don’t know, but what we do know is this was average and at best could be classed as a crap English IPA. Not at all happy with this.