Having recently indulged in (and enjoyed) a rye beer, we thought it fitting to invite others in on the experience. So this week on Saturday treat yourself to a Founders Red’s Rye IPA. To be honest, I am surprised that rye beers seem to get so little attention, given a trend that favors rich malts and crisp hop flavors. Personally speaking, the addition of a peppery rye enhances both of these flavors. Nevertheless, I lovingly embrace the subjectivity of taste in the beer community.
Red’s Rye is not an extremely intimidating beer with an ABV of 6.6% and an IBU (international bitterness units) of 70. It features Belgium caramel malts, and finishes clean with rye malts. The rye malt in this beer is not the only ingredient that sets it apart, as it utilizizes Amarillo hops, a more obscure variety amongst US craft brewers.
Besides the unique build of this beer, the bottle label art carries a unique story. (it is my juvenile experience that every beer has a story linked to it). Founders Brewery, located in Grand Rapids, MI, chose the artwork of a Kalamazoo artist to represent this beer. After searching for a fitting image to represent Red’s, Founders came across the painting done by a local, of a local and found it’s personality fitting for the beer. Did you really think lable artwork was arbitrary? The original artwork is still for sale.
This is a must try, especially if you enjoy more complex flavors, hops, and India Pale Ales, or if you want to test the sensitivity of your palate in distinguishing malts.
Cheers!
Here is a rare case where Mike and Nate disagree on a beer. Mike reviewed this beer a while back on the site and had some different thoughts.
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Andrea,
Somehow I forgot that Mike had already reviewed this…sort of ironic that I picked a “thumbs up/down” pic for the post of the review. Did you try the beer?
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