Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Star80

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours out a brownish copper color. Nice thick frothy head. One thing I noticed is that like their Torpedo IPA there is no thin layer of yeast at the bottom of the bottle. The smell is of citric hops, and some tropical fruits. Now the taste is what throws me. Reminds me a heck of a lot of their other IPA Torpedo, and it makes me wish it were more like Celebration in that the dominating flavor profile are these wild tropical hops, some spicyness afforded by the rye and touch of black pepper. I was hoping for more grapefruity, piney hops like in Celebration. Not much pine, but lots of mango! Overall I think it is very good, I just think the choice of hops competes with the rye too much. I wish the rye could have shone through the hops a little more. I noticed on their website that some of the hops are simply described as "experimental". Now that is cool...Bravo hops are the bittering hops?? Anyway, the Citra hops make a grand appearance in this beer like them or not and this beer is complex and interesting from these west coast hops masters. Mouthfeel is pretty smooth. Overall a very good beer just not enough rye for me, i.e. Cane & Ebel. But for the record this is leaps and bounds better than Glissade which it replaces. That one just reminded me of a Euro Lager; light on flavor high on alcohol!

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 00:37:34 | More by Star80

BeerAficionadoMCMXC

California

4.33/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

This beer always gives me the knarliest farts. They fucking stink too. The beer's good, and the 6.6% always leaves my liver working hard to make me sober enough to work the next morning. I like the fact that I can drink a bunch of it, fart enough to make my domain a gas chamber, then wake up and walk out of the room without noticing the deadly smell that the beer gave me. It leaves a chalky hungover taste in your mouth after you drink 10 and wake up without brushing your teeth, but that's the life of a true alcoholic. An alcoholic's beer if the ABV were a touch higher and the farts were a bit stinkier.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 07:33:05 | More by BeerAficionadoMCMXC

nick_asian

Nevada

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

05-19-2013 07:11:41 | More by nick_asian

Budinetz

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-19-2013 06:55:07 | More by Budinetz

bluestar0828

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

05-18-2013 21:10:51 | More by bluestar0828

jbarletto

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%

05-18-2013 15:05:08 | More by jbarletto

mattsucks

Ohio

3/5  rDev -23.3%

05-18-2013 14:10:30 | More by mattsucks

beernads

Florida

3/5  rDev -23.3%

05-18-2013 06:58:11 | More by beernads

anewlanguage

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

05-17-2013 22:31:18 | More by anewlanguage

Newenglandcraftbrew

Maine

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

05-17-2013 21:18:44 | More by Newenglandcraftbrew

BeerRefugee

Oklahoma

3.44/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours a light copper color. Moderate off-white head with good retention and moderate lacing. Medium rye and herbal hops in the aroma. Flavor is mild caramel malt, grassy and piney hops and a moderate dose of rye. The spiciness of the rye and bitterness of the hops predominate--I would have liked a bit more malt for some sweetness and balance. This is a beer that couldn't really decide what it wants to be--it needs more hops and rye to be a really aggressive rye IPA. Or it needs more caramel sweetness to be a more "mainstream" beer. Instead, they split the difference and the result, while good, is not as good as it could have been.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 21:05:43 | More by BeerRefugee

Xzfgiimtsath

Texas

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-17-2013 12:45:38 | More by Xzfgiimtsath

somethingcreative

Indiana

3.25/5  rDev -16.9%

05-17-2013 01:01:53 | More by somethingcreative

AL89BR

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

05-16-2013 23:04:07 | More by AL89BR

mverity

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%

05-16-2013 21:39:40 | More by mverity

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

05-16-2013 21:33:01 | More by InspectorBob

ajtorres311

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -16.9%

05-16-2013 15:38:34 | More by ajtorres311

Achilles811

North Carolina

3/5  rDev -23.3%

05-15-2013 23:41:20 | More by Achilles811

firstlighthiker

Tennessee

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%

05-15-2013 21:45:57 | More by firstlighthiker

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

05-15-2013 18:30:39 | More by twenty5

CoreyClark

New York

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%

05-15-2013 17:39:23 | More by CoreyClark

JG_McNaulty

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

05-15-2013 13:52:59 | More by JG_McNaulty

jburd19

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%

05-14-2013 19:14:27 | More by jburd19

Bustersuess

New York

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-14-2013 19:10:31 | More by Bustersuess

Rob315

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +2.3%

05-14-2013 18:15:19 | More by Rob315