Gramarye - Heretic Brewing Company

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.9/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours rich copper with a fading head.
Nose shows lots of malt with bready characters and some spicy, toasty rye. Lovely. Also some soft earthy hops.
Very similar flavours, with powerful toasty and spicy rye alongside a spicy, earthy hop hit. Great length.
Nice moderate carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 01:27:34 | More by CrazyDavros

mhaugo

California

3/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

22 ounce bomber. Decanted into a pint glass.
Appearance: Almost perfectly clear deep amber/copper color. Thin, fleeting head that clings to the side of the glass.
Smell: Extraordinarily faint. Really have to hunt for it. There’s a bit of bready rye in the nose. I also get a bit of mineral water. When I really dig for it, I get a very faint citrus smell. The hops are almost absent in the aroma.
Taste: Very nice. Bready. Dry with a peppery rye finish. Maybe a bit of honey. No bitterness to speak of. Leaves almost no lingering aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Thin. Sharp carbonation.
Overall: Very nice session-able, rye pale. I really want to like it more considering its credentialing, but it seems like someone turned it’s volume down. Muted, I guess. To be fair the label says “Bottled 07.30.12”, so it likely has already passed its prime. I’m going to look for it on draft.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 04:59:47 | More by mhaugo

bnes09

Illinois

4.11/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Transparent copper color. Descent head on the pour with weak retention. Some lacing.

Bready malt and pine scent.

Solid rye bread malt character, grainy and spicy. Assertive hop notes of pine and herbs. Very well balanced.

Light to medium bodied with a sharp carbonation. Feel really compliments the flavor profile.

Good brew. Interesting flavors and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 05:55:13 | More by bnes09

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.1/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

650ml bottle purchased from Slowbeer in Melbourne.

Pours a clear, deep golden colour, almost turning a burnished copper, with a full, frothy and pretty persistent head of off-white. Solid lacing and fine carbonation completes the picture. Good stuff.

Nose is pleasantly clean with bright citrussy hops, mangled with a bit of wine cork. Some light spice and earthiness comes through, possibly from the rye, but equally likely from some slightly brusquer hop characters. Hint of booze and some rich bread dough. Overall, it's a nice aroma.

Taste is clean and clear, with a crisp grainy character on the back. Hops provide a fragrant sweetness throughout, but only moderate bitterness, leaving the palate light and buoyant. Some clementine and pithy orange mid-palate, with a very pleasant crispness on the finish. Feel is very smooth and light, providing some basis without overwhelming anything.

Overall, this is a damn drinkable brew. The rye is subtle, but broadens the palate nicely, which is very nice. Often rye can make a beer sharper and spicier, but here it provides additional width of character. Very nice stuff, probably one of the best of Heretic's I've had.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 06:09:27 | More by lacqueredmouse

ADZA

Australia

3.35/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a golden bronze hazy hue with a creamy three finger head and lacing here and there,the smell is quite light with aromas of spicy rye,herbal hops and a touch of passionfruit,the mouthfeel is just over light bodied with high carbonation and has tastes of passionfruit,peaches,spicy rye and finished with a spicy dryness and overall its abit of a let down and is pretty subdued on all levels but nice for a session ale cheers.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 09:14:09 | More by ADZA

mactrail

California

3.9/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very attractive shade of bright orangey amber in the Affligem chalice. A lot of foam at first, but it settles down to a fine sudsiness. This has a little more body than you would expect, which is nice in a low-alcohol beer.

Pleasant grainy flavor. Not all that bitter, which, heretic that I am, is fine with me. Still, there is a nice hoppy tang to go with the scratchy rye taste. Just a hint of the buckwheat weirdness and some crackers, the Stoned Wheat Thins to be precise. Some perfumey malt notes, though not much aroma. Beery, sudsy, and dry without any drama. Totally drinkable, which is the idea. I'm hoping the Utah four-percenters will check this one out.

From the 22 oz bottle. Bought this at Baron's Marketplace in San Diego, which had several Heretic brews all of a sudden. $6 for the Rye.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2012 03:24:31 | More by mactrail

BryanCarey

Texas

3.45/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Heretic Gramarye rye pale ale is a gold/orange colored beer with a small level of foam that still manages to leave some lace as you drink. The nose on this beer is one of rye and light malt, but it is not very pronounced and much lighter than the other beers in the Heretic lineup.

This beer offers the flavor of rye, as expected, along with flavors of citrus, toasted malt, and earthy notes. The rye and pale malt keep returning to the forefront and the overall taste makes it a very good session beer. It isn’t intimidating in any way, but it is still full flavored enough that most will find it to their liking.

One thing I find interesting about this beer is its tendency to offer a good deal of taste without going to extreme levels in the alcohol department. I was actually surprised when I learned that this product has only 4.4 percent alcohol by volume. It seems fuller in taste than that, which shows that Heretic has done well in the production of this beer, using the basic ingredients to pump up the taste without pumping up the alcohol.

Overall, this is a good session beer with nice rye and malt notes and a good deal of balance. It isn’t as heavy as many of the other Heretic products, but it is still good and flavorful in its own way and it’s a product worth trying if you like the taste of rye.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 03:40:04 | More by BryanCarey

Philousa

California

3.75/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Perfectly clear deep amber, like the color of cedar bark. Aroma is distinctly rye influenced. Sour lemon followed by spicy rye, some oak and earth aroma. Some grassy hops finish it out. Taste starts with very little crystal malt, mostly an absence of flavor. You can tell this is a session beer. I get some bitterness after the lull, with some pungent herbs such as tarragon. I take back the lack of flavor. As the beer warms the flavor opens up. The rye earthiness carries this over to the aforementioned bitterness. Some barky, peppery flavor with a steel/metal tinge. Feel is a bit thin, very drinkable. Finish is balanced, if a hair sweet.

This is a great example of a session beer. The rye flavor really fills in the gap most session beers have due to a lack of grain/malt. There is a good amount of hop flavor and aroma without being too bitter.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 20:59:55 | More by Philousa

FosterJM

California

3.85/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

1567th Review on BA
Bottle to Nonic Pint
22oz

Bottle on 7/06/2012
Purchased at Mission Liquors, Fremont, CA

App- In the glass this poured out more like a deeper sunset orange like an IPA vs. a pale ale. Was very deep like a wood stain. Had a big and frothy 2 finger head with some good cling. Head did fade rather quickly though.

Smell- This was very light. I can imagine why at only being a session pale with tinges of rye. It was there but just needed more. A bit of caramel malts with a spicy rye and a little bit of the bitter from the hops. Clean.

Taste- A very nice small session beer. A lot of flavor packed into a little beer. The rye was a nice addition to a pleasant small hoppy beer with some good flavors. It did have just a bit of dish soap flavor behind it, but was okay. Didnt affect it too much.

Mouth- A thicker medium for a small session beer. A little too thick. It was okay on the feel. Taste made up for it. The carbonation is a good medium with some slick malts and a bit of a lush rye flavor. Residual bitter hop/rye combo.

Drink- A nice beer. I like rye and have been looking for new rye beers when I can. This was a good beer to unwind on a Sunday with.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 15:13:26 | More by FosterJM

popery

California

4.28/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This is a very nice lower abv beer. Packs a good amount of flavor into that 4.4% abv. Pours a pretty orangey amber. Quite clear, minimal haze. Aroma is mild but juicy citrus hops on top of some rye spice and some caramel maltiness. A little bit of a floral quality in there somewhere. Very tasty stuff. For me, this has perfect balance for this sort of low abv amber ale. It starts with rye-spicy caramel sweetness and sweet orange hop flavor and then dries out and finishes with a refreshing bitterness, packed with pine resin and rye bread. Very easy to drink. Mouthfeel is light, creamy and smooth. It compliments the flavor very well and is surprisingly full-bodied for the beer's strength. Great stuff. I've been a bit disappointed in Heretic, so far (to be clear, I had my expectations very high), but this beer is excellent. Also, I'm happy to see another tasty, low abv beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2012 03:19:38 | More by popery

ngeunit1

California

4.43/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a clear amber-orange with a finger of frothy white head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of grapefruit and pine hops with some sweet caramel malts, spicy rye, and a touch of bready malts.

T - Starts off with a mix of grapefruit and citrus hops with some bitterness and some sweet caramel malts. Through the middle, some pine and floral hops come through with some more bitterness and some spicy and earthy rye. The finish is a mix of grapefruit and pine hops, bitterness, spicy rye notes, and some sweet, lightly bready malts.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a dry, bitter, and earthy finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice hopp rye pale ale. Great overall balance with some good rye character.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2012 06:02:23 | More by ngeunit1

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.93/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Picked up at the COOP Sunday night... poured into my slip tulip tonight... the brew is very clear orange/amber... decent white head... 1/2" head.. spotty lacing.

Nose is very promising.. toasty malt... rye is there and my buddies will give me shit, but honestly a bit of a dry "spicy" note... very dry brew with a bunch of malty background essence.. no real "caramel"... very malt centric with just enough citrus to balance.

Flavor mirrors the nose with some dry toasty elements.. citrus hops... the rye is present and helps to add some structure to the maltiness... rye malt is above present and the citric hops finish forever.... with warmth, a bit of perfumy floral hoppiness...

Surprised this one has a great finish for such a low ABV.. very VERY drinkable.. Loving it.

3.5/4/4/3.5/4

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2012 05:30:51 | More by JohnGalt1

Zorro

California

3.5/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From the Brewery Website:

"Gramarye (GRAM-uh-ree)

Gramarye is the practice of learning magic. For thousands of years, people have used a grimoire (book of magic) to cast spells and summon spirits. Of course, magic fell out of favor over the centuries, the same as brewing with rye. Interest in magic seems to be on the upswing these days and so is the interest in brewing with rye. A coincidence? This is our take on session pale ale made with a dose of rye malt to give it that luscious feel and snappy finish. We think it is magical.

abv: 4.4%
ibu: 28
srm: 10"

Dark amber colored beer with a small white colored head. The color borders on being brown.

Smell is rye with that slightly sour scent that rye has. Mild hops that are mostly citrus with an little pine to it. Toasted bread, tea and some woody scent.

Starts out dry with a mostly woody flavor and a slight rye after taste. Dry and slightly bitter this is a solid pale ale. Rye flavor is there and very user friendly.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a good pale ale made with Rye. No faults, a good easy drinking ale.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 23:50:55 | More by Zorro