Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Longstaff

Massachusetts

3.33/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Can't believe they ditched Glissade for just a boring version of Torpedo. Kind of pissed at SN right now for taking away my favorite beer for yet another middle of the road crystal malty amber ipa. Last two seasonal changes have been a little too safe imo.

A little earthiness/rubber aroma from the rye. Very sweet maltiness detracts from the earthy/spicy flavor that I would expect from a rye beer. A little slickness left on the lips. Slight peach/apricot esters couple with fruity hops to make this barely interesting.

One 12 pack is enough of this for me - vs. the 10 + 12 packs that I would have bought of Glissade.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2012 21:04:13 | More by Longstaff

fezmeister

California

3.33/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Coppery with some sticky-looking lacing. Nose has the usual hops scents one expects from Sierra Nevada, but with a lot of stinky floral and rye overtones...floral almost the the point of a resinous cannibus bud smell. Hoppy, a little citrus (orange, grapefruit), pepper, and a lot of rye. Drinkable, but a touch of stickiness would leave me to hesitate to drink two in a row. Nice overall, but not the best in the genre, or from the brewery.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2012 06:45:26 | More by fezmeister

FosterJM

California

3.33/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

1102nd Review on BA
Draft to Guinness Pint

On tap @Chaparral300 Chino Hills, CA

App- A good and deep amber with some lighter golden highlights on the bottom. A very panacake on the griddle looking 1/2 in head that feel to a ton of cling and lace.

Smell- It had a nice opening hop bitter note with a fair amount of flaky rye behind it. Smelled a fair thick and malty. Was okay aromatically but not out the world.

Drink- I was fairly let down by this one. The rye seemed to fade off of the nose and was just a fairly malty beer with only a small amount of bitter behind it. Not very layered or balanced IMO.

Mouth- A nice medium body with a good medium low carbonation. A bit creamy and full. Residual rye and bitter were remaining.

Drink- It's a fair offering. A bit thicker than most and a little one sided but it's a valid option for an intro Rye beer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-10-2012 16:22:22 | More by FosterJM

hardy008

Minnesota

3.33/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Copper with a finger off-white head with very good retention and lacing. The aroma has grapefruit, pine, and rye.

The taste has a light amount of sweetness, and a good deal of bitterness. Has the tastes of rye, grapefruit, citrus zest, pine, and bread.

Medium bodied with average carbonation, and a bitter aftertaste with a dry finish. Oily and resinous. If you are in the mood to have a bitter beer, this one will do the job.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 00:28:02 | More by hardy008

MickeyD

Kansas

3.34/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

I poured this from a 12oz bottle into a clean pint glass.

Appearance: Nice and golden brown with a nice head however it dissipates quickly, good carbonation.

Smell: Perfume with floral and pine. Not much malt that I can smell. I am really looking for the rye in this one and am not finding it.

Taste: definite pine from the hops, a crisp bite from hops and carbonation.

Mouth feel: Slight bite more spice and floral hops, a slight malt taste is detected once swirled around the mouth.

Overall: I have had one other rye/IPA and I must tell you that that one was much better balanced. This seems to be an IPA ONLY with very little to no rye. Good beer however and I would buy it again but not often. If I want an IPA I would buy one! I wanted that balance with the rye.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2013 20:56:33 | More by MickeyD

Samuel906

California

3.35/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

My favorite thing about this is how it looks. The color is simply gorgeous, a deep reddish amber, but perfectly transparent. Thick head and sticky lacing top it off. Some very fine particles of sediment can be seen suspended in the brew, likely the rye. Smell is mostly of the resinous hops, but has more bread and grain and less citrus and fruit than most IPAs. Taste is fairly standard for an IPA up front leaving behind some bread and malt on the back of the palate along with some mild rye flavor. As a fan of big bold flavor, my biggest qualm is that there is not enough rye flavor. Caraway seed are one of my favorite spice flavors, and I was really wishing this beer would host some of that flavor. Overall, a good beer, but since the rye is a bit of a letdown, I don't think I would ever choose Ruthless over Sierra's standard IPA, Torpedo.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 04:10:04 | More by Samuel906

WEBBEER

Pennsylvania

3.36/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

This beer didn't disappoint, it poured a deep copper color with a very rich frothy head, long lasting lace clung for the entire 12 oz. serving.Smell of fresh grass, bread and citrus. Nice alchohol viscosity. Super malted, hoppy flavour with a hint of the rye. This I will try again.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 01:46:31 | More by WEBBEER

creedence

California

3.38/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Am I going crazy? I pick up anything new from SN - well, at least new to me and I have to say I'm not that impressed. I don't have a very deep palette but I can distinguish a crappy beer from a quality beer. I found this to be just 'average' at best. Somebody tell me I'm not going crazy.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 04:49:36 | More by creedence

MasterSki

Illinois

3.38/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Figured I'd do the two Rye Beers back-to-back. Couldn't be bothered figuring out the Julian date code. Thanks to Chris (spycow) for mixing a sixer of oddball wants for me. Served in a Cigar City snifter.

A - A half-finger of yellow-tinged foam settles to a thin cap. Looks very similar to the Widmer's O'Ryely, but with a bit more in the way of lacing.

S - Yep - lots of rye. Spiced bread sort of aroma dominates, and it's supplemented with earthy and spicy hops flavors as well.

T - Taste is again very earthy and peppery, with spicy rye malt dominating the palate. Fairly assertive hop bitterness in the finish.

M - Super dry medium body, with a resinous and oily finish. Moderate carbonation level. No real complaints here.

D - There's a bit too much rye here and not quite enough IPA, at least for my tastes. I think I liked the Widmer a tick better, which came as a surprise.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2012 07:39:22 | More by MasterSki

harrymel

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottled 28DEC11

Pours a nice copper color with a little over a finger of peanut foam. excellent clarity and near web lace. Smells dank, some resin, pine, grapefruit, skunk and a little soil. Interesting, not sure if I dig it.

A bit nutty up front with a good grainy backbone and even some corn. An interesting malt profile I must say. The hops are herbal and theres even a sage flavor in here to me. Some sweetness and nutty flavors, almost a hint of oxidation on the malt. I'm really intrigued by this beer, I can't really say I like it, but I don't really dislike it.

Mouth is a bit heavy with higher carb and a dry finish for the style. This beer is not feeding into any of my expectations.

I really am having a hard time deciding on this beer, but I'm thinking it may be a little too rustic for me. The malts are weird, but the hops match the weirdness, I'm pretty torn on this one. It's above average, but not great. I will likely revisit just to creep the intrigue.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 17:16:02 | More by harrymel

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

3.38/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

$3.50 single from Wegman's.

Slightly hazy orange body, topped by a four fingers plus of just slightly off-white micro-bubbly rocky foam. Excellent lacing quickly evident.

Aroma mixes pine and grapefruit with rye, just as the name implies it would. Not huge, but clean, fresh, and inviting.

Taste begins with rye coming out strong and laying down a dominating foundation. Some citrus, some pine, then a lot more rye as it rides toward the finish.

Medium body with lively, almost prickly mouthfeel.

Overall, a quality beer, but not my personal choice when it comes to SN hoppy beers. If you're looking for a rye IPA though, or just curious, give it a shot.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 18:10:18 | More by RonfromJersey

Danno48

West Virginia

3.38/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

I happened to pour this IPA into a crystal tasting glass at 45 degrees F.
A- It looks great. Lots of the beautiful caramel color that "RyePA's" have. The head was thin and didn't last more than a minute.

S- Smells fantastic. Personally I enjoy the smell of this beer more than anything. You can almost taste it with your nose. Its aroma is light and energetic.

T- The taste I found to be average. It has an ok bitterness factor, I personally like very potent IPAs. I felt as if the maltiness did not come through very much at all. Classic pine notes, floral, a sort of zesty spiciness like cloves.

M-I did not enjoy the mouthfeel of this beer. It was clingy and fuzzy. It left me scraping my tongue against my upper teeth for 30 min. Not what I am used to from IPAs.

Overall- It is a perfectly and wonderfully vanilla beer that I felt as if I needed to drink colder and colder as I made my way through the six pack over a period of 2 weeks. Over all I would award a 3.5.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2012 03:31:44 | More by Danno48

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.38/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Deep orange with a touch of cardinal tint. A flat buff head quickly turns to a thin skim coating. Small speckled lace. Inside a fine misty effervesce.

S: Small presence of pepper and flowery citrus. Some light dry toasted grains, not much rye spiciness or strength overall.

T: Peppery toasted grains for flavor. Dry bittering citrus, with a strong peppercorn sense. Dry hopped really well, very pronounced, with some caraway seed and solvent alcohol character that seems to distract at times. Pungent bitterness upon the swallow.

M: The mouthful is tight with a bubbly sense of carbonation. Spicy dry peppercorns and alcohol dominate with a medium body.

O: Overall a rye that delivers a strong and pronounced peppery punch, but the other rye aspects seem to be masked by the strong peppery nature and solvent like alcohol tones. Abv% feels a bit higher with a spicy dry drinkability that no doubt will limit this in numbers. 1-2 is fine with me.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2012 00:45:06 | More by beerthulhu

PatDreadful

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a DFH Chalice.

Appearance: Looks great with a nice light brown color that is completely transparent. The egg sheall colored head is large and maintains throughout the session. Very nice.

Smell: There is the typical SN hop bill that I've grown to love. Lush tropical citrus with a touch of piney notes to really keep everything grounded. The rye provides an earthy spice that only serves to enhance the pine notes. Again, very well done.

Taste: Ah, that is what I'm looking for. The citrus hits you up front with grapefruit dominating which gives way to that wonderful piney spice acheived through the hops and the rye and then all of the sudden, it is gone. The flavor loses steam half way through my swallow and I am just left with a lingering taste of mild malt. No spice and certainly no hops. This is a huge dissapointment.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light body with medium carbonation. Very good for the style but I could have used just a bit more in the way of carbonation

I was left underwhelmed by the hops in this beer. It certainly wasn't bad but I think there are much better rye options and certainly much better pale ale options out there.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 15:17:58 | More by PatDreadful

GNWBC

Washington

3.4/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Not a fan of IPA's but they are growing on me slowly, picked this over the SA alpine Spring.
P: pours a sexy reddish copper color with a decent head and nice lacing that lasts all the way down.

S: lots of sweet rye, roasty and sweet

T: you get a awesome citrusy hoppy note up front and as it settles the rye spiyness comes out with the sweet malt

MF: for being so hoppy it goes down clean, almost no resin lasting in the mouth.

OA: a good way to bring in spring, nice and refreshing while enjoying some good weather! and a grilled bbq chicken pizza.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2012 23:11:22 | More by GNWBC

farrago

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev -13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

You get a little over a finger’s worth of very even foam, dense with a few islands of larger bubbles, wispy lacing without much stick, retention is average and unremarkable. Deep bronze hued liquid, clear with an orange to yellow tint at the glass bottom, the bubbles are tiny and spread wide, shines brightly. The rye gives the nose a pleasing rugged to raw feel, scrubs deeply, fairly herbal with grapefruit pith and unprocessed grains, rock salt, you only get the powdered chocolate as it warms, any flowers or fruit muted. Medium-bodied, muscular in feel, flexes more than flows, the carbonation isn’t aggressive nor creamy, just nudges things now and then. The orange, tangerine to pink grapefruit citrus starts out sweet and then yields to the herbaceousness, pine cone and rye. The peach, apricot, pineapple fruit speaks more clearly here. Light toastiness but not doughy nor bready per se. Hard to find a distinct flavor profile to the malts, at most basic milk chocolate. Solidly constructed yet unremarkable, which is not really a slam at all.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 04:34:11 | More by farrago

iabeerbaron

Iowa

3.4/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A nice mix of a doughy, bready beer and an IPA. The rye really stands out in this beer and the mix of hops balances it nicely. A bright amber pour with a small white head. Nice lacing on my glass that sticks throughout. Aroma of malts, rye, and hops. Flavor is citrusy hops and rye bread. A really nice brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 17:42:22 | More by iabeerbaron

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle to Pint.

Ruthless Rye goes in the Sierra Nevada Tulip easy with not any cap or nothing. There is just the smallest bits of white bubbles towards the edge of the glass that die when on the surface, lifeless beer, no stick. smell is rye malt to the max with some faint caramel and a spicy sense. Some piney resins come up to with more whiffs. Taste is even between the rye and the IPA. Rye comes first than a small hit of pined hops. Small traces of caramel throughout. feel is a bit thin, I would say bordering on thin. Carb comes and goes off of the tounge, leaving a resinous effect afterwards. Bitterness is not that large, the rye malt takes care of that. I can say that while this was a noble attempt, it just misses the mark for me. I will try more bottles and a draft to see what's what though.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 00:45:59 | More by onix1agr

keanex

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Duvel tulip from a 2012 bottle with no freshness date.

A: Beautiful, clear dark amber with a towering light tan foam head. This is a beer that looks like it wants to be drunk!

S: Slight rye spice with earthy notes and slight citrus.

T: Really spicey from the rye from start to finish they really are ruthless with the rye. It sort of overpowers the flavor sadly, there's a slight grapefruit bite at the end, but this is very one-dimensional. I'm not liking this very much.

M: Medium bodied with sharp carbonation.

O: I was expecting more from this, it's not very well balanced, but thankfully it is priced decently. Even so, I won't be buying it again, Hop Rod is a much better option.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2012 03:50:37 | More by keanex

tlazaroff

Virginia

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Aroma is nice and malty with a little bit of pepperiness. It actually smells like hot cereal, or a mash when making beer. Very fresh, very raw, it does not smell like an IPA though, and that is what I would expect.

This is a great looking beer, it's a really nice amber color with a very fluffy light tan head that hangs around indefinitely. Visible carbonation streaming from the bottom of the etched glass just adds to the gorgeous look. This is how beer should look.

Ruthless Rye is very floral on the palate which adds to that distinct rye flavor that accompanies it. The maltiness from the nose comes out as bread and biscuits. The bitterness is well hidden, and I didn't really feel it until the finish.

Overall this is an above average beer. The carbonation comes out on the moderate side, and the body is medium-light. It is actually extremely drinkable, though I still wouldn't call it session able. A nice beer though.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 01:26:46 | More by tlazaroff

vkv822

Oregon

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into tulip snifter.

Pours a dark orange with a foamy, craggy off white head with decent lacing.

The aroma is of piney, peppery hops, with a very faint earthiness perhaps?

Taste follows the nose, piney and spicey notes. Decent, but nothing too exciting.

A medium body, a good bit of prickly carbonation.

A decent beer. I probably wouldn't have guessed that rye was used. I feel it did add a slight peppery spice, but it could also be written off as hops I would think.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 10:03:37 | More by vkv822

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This poured out as a nice looking amber color with a white head on top. The smell of the beer has some nice hop aromas with the addition of the rye in there too. The taste of the beer had a pretty good balance of spicy rye with the fresh hop flavors. The mouthfeel of the beer was good, nice carbonation and drinkablity to it. Overall this beer wasn't too bad, I'd drink it again if I came across it and was in the mood to have it again.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 04:00:04 | More by Knapp85

Dodt

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

the box art work caught my eye thought what the heck. poured from the bottle into a pint glass.
with a nice bouncy head and a nice amber color it isn't to hoppy in smell. i was expecting more rye flavor but this beer doesn't dissapoint . for me this is another wonderful beer from the people at sierra nevada.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 02:04:38 | More by Dodt

mjpolzin

Wisconsin

3.43/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I didn't really care for this beer. The only reason I gave it slightly respectable marks is that I do like IPAs over a lot of other styles of beer.

The rye was definitely present in the taste so they did get that right in making an IPA with rye malts. The hop taste just wasn't strong enough for me and the beer even had a bit of a watery aftertaste.

I do enjoy some other beers by Sierra Nevada but I don't think I will be buying this one again.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2012 21:25:52 | More by mjpolzin

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