He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. On Rye - Shmaltz Brewing Company

hopheadjuice

Massachusetts

4.85/5  rDev +25.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Lenny's R.I.P.A. aged in six year sazerac rye whiskey barrels, 22 oz bomber, Batch/cases 001/469, bottled on 4/9/2010,

Pours a gorgeous copper/orange hue hazy clarity and a nice 2 finger tan head that is capped and sticky. All in all it looks amazing.

Complexity galore this ale smells so deep. First up is the vanilla and rye spice from the whiskey barrel, second is a well rounded bitterness coming from the aged hops, i am going to assume the regular version of this beer is a bit more hoppy though Ive yet to try... I don't think ill take my nose out ever.

Upon first sip i am greeted with an amazing mix of hops and rye whiskey, i can see someone who doesn't enjoy whiskey being deterred from this. Hops have an earthy citrus quality but are more hidden behind the onslaught of rye whiskey, whiskey has a nice bit of warmth to it. Solid caramel malt backbone helping more this all along.

moderate carbonation with a bit of a syrupy fell to it, what id expect from a brew aged for a bit. Alcohol is well masked for 10%. semi-dry finish.

Amazing beer i absolutely loved it. I recommend you get your ass out their and try to get your hands on this. it says there is only 469 cases produced which means only 5628 22 oz. bombers were produced. GO! RUN!

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2010 18:50:11 | More by hopheadjuice

JavaJoe

Oregon

4.85/5  rDev +25.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Shared a 22oz bottle on a cool Memorial Day weekend.

A--This really is my favorite color of beer. Weird, I know, but I fell in love with a copper ale in 2003, and I've been searching the world for a beer that had that same golden, red, shimmering hue. He'brew's got it.

S--Whiskey, vanilla, almost too intense when nosed directly.

T--All of the flavor features of a whiskey barrel beer, without an overexpression of roast character. The complex hops profile of the RIPA balance surprisingly well with the whiskey barrel flavors. An unexpected match.

M--Body of an IPA, soul of a barrel-aged beer. Could be creamier. Thick and thin at the same time.

O--This is an extraordinary beer, plain and simple. There's nothing simple about it, though. A feast of hops, a complex malt profile, and just the right amount of barrel-aged compounds.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 23:23:03 | More by JavaJoe

ronniebruner

Arizona

4.8/5  rDev +24%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Wow! that is all I have to say about this brew! This is easily one of the best American brews I have ever had! The ABV is really high at 10% and goes down just as smooth as a Belgian or a German would. The beer pours a lighter golden color with perfect carbonation, a decadent aroma of hops, hops, and more hops, and the taste is the same.. Hops! To me, that is a good thin, so I will be searching for more of this beer for sure!

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2011 21:51:18 | More by ronniebruner

aerozeppl

New York

4.65/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Really deep copper color with a touch of red highlights. A half finger of white head with good head retention and lacing. Not bad looking for a barrel aged IPA.

S: The nose is a mix of spiciness from the rye and just a touch of hops. The barrel really brings out the best part of the pre barrel aged beer. Not an explosive nose but really nice.

T: The mix of spiciness from the rye base beer and the barrel and the hops is outstanding. The base beer is not super hoppy itself so it really lends itself to this kind of thing. It is not complex but it is wonderful. This should really be changed to a rye beer as this is not a DIPA. As it warms more of the barrel comes out.

M: Medium body. A little bit syrupy. Carbonation is good.

D: I love this beer. Bottled April of 2010 469 cases and they should have made more. This is the second time I have had this beer and it impressed me more this time. Just a really nice treat.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 01:15:44 | More by aerozeppl

NWer

Washington

4.65/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On the label:
Batch/Cases No. 001/469
Bottling Date 4/9/2010

Poured medium dark copper into a tulip. Cloudy, tiny bubbles - lots of them that dissipate slowly given what a powerful beer this is.
Aroma is overpowering. Easy to get high on the smell alone.
Taste is a combination of sweetness and alcohol. A sipping beer. To be savored. If you like sipping rye whiskey, you will love this beer simply because it possesses all the pleasure and you get to enjoy more of it. High alcohol for beer, low for a whiskey with all the flavor - best of both worlds.
I love this beer and wish I had more of it. I bought it on close out at my local Central Market and wish I had cleaned them out.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2011 22:23:48 | More by NWer

mobyviacheslov

Washington

4.55/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

A - caramel colored and vibrant. A thin but creamy, cinnamon tinted head sticks around for a minute or two. Very clean and un-hazy (word?)
S - Sweet candy malts dominate. Cinnamon and rhubarb, and burnt sugar. While some of the sweet smells may be originating from the alcohol notes of the whiskey barrels, it is a little disappointing that I'm not picking up and wood or true rye whiskey notes, nor am I getting much hop in this "obscene amount of hops" brew. However, the nose is still tremendous and complex, much more on the british IPA side.
T - Vanilla and pepper, right off the bat, smack you in the face. An amazingly well balanced beer. The vanilla dominated malts are strong and complex, but not overpowering in any way, thanks to the hop, peppery backbone (less bitter, more spicy), that combats the malts. Neither dominates, though both are dominating. Finish is a bit tangy, with a little residual sugar.
M - It almost seems like I'm drinking from 2 different bottles at the same time. I'm getting the crisp, pop of an IPA, with a super creamy and velvety barley wine...both distinct...truly seems like I'm pouring 2 incredibly well balanced beers into my mouth from 2 separate bottles.
D - Even at 10%, the alcohol flavor and impact is not very noticable. This one may be dangerous. Delicious, not too heavy, not too light, and super strong alcohol hiding in the shadows.
I must say, many of the reviews below had me worried, but my bottle was fantastic. The date stamp is only 2.5 months old, so I can't immagine age/time had anything to do with it. Mine is a 2010 release...

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2010 22:07:18 | More by mobyviacheslov

gabrielsyme

Virginia

4.55/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bomber served in a tulip. Deep amber color, bordering on brown. Plenty of head, lingers nicely around the glass. A lot of hops in the aroma - floral smelling. The taste however is a malt bomb - caramel and maybe cinnamon; the hops are there however in the aftertaste. A very good beer, although it was quite pricey so no guarantees I will buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2010 01:18:04 | More by gabrielsyme

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.55/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Purchased at Ledgers Liquors in Berkeley, brought back to Sydney and cracked open with my bro @LaitueGonflable.

Pours a very thick and heavy deep reddish amber, with a yellowish white head of creamy foam. Good lacing, and the body looks incredibly heavy. Lovely static carbonation. Really quite wonderful. Head could be fuller, but otherwise, it's practically perfect.

Nose is lovely - big and rich hoppy notes, almost as though they've been compressed to a singularity and then smashed into a galaxy of flavour. But there are big sweet other notes, oak and coconut come through in abundance.

Taste is excellent as well. Big and sweet wood and coconut characters, with a huge welling of delicious fragrant hops that give a finishing bite to cleanse the palate. Slight spice on the back, with a slight alcohol heat. Mouthfeel is superb, slick and heavy without being too prickly. It's got such a weird bent on the heavy and aggressive DIPA style - masses of coconut and a really odd sweetness to balance everything.

Oh hell yes. This is what I love about American craft beer. There are such classic flavours all over this, but they are also twisted and battered into such original and unique forms. Superb.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2010 07:46:44 | More by lacqueredmouse

enfield249

Michigan

4.53/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A - Dark copper red in color, almost no head to speak of and only a small layer of tan foam.

S - Lots of biscuit, sweet malt, caramel, and a slight medicinal hop aroma.

T - So very good. All of the aromas are in here, biscuit, malt, caramel and what hop flavor is there is medicinal.

M - Full to very full. This the thickest IPA I have ever had, and if I was blindfolded I would have said this was a Imperial stout from the mouth feel. Thick and rich, velvety, with a strong amount of hop bitterness.

O - A truly great beer. Surprising flavors and textures.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2011 00:19:16 | More by enfield249

eclaycamp

Kansas

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 ounce bomber. Batch #1, case #469. Whoo hoo! Batch 1! I'm excited to try this one. Was in the mood for a Hop Head Rye but saw this and decided to pick it up instead. I'm using a snifter glass. Pours a deep ruby red with a full head that has great retention. Incredible aroma on this beer, with the the rye whiskey from the aging process lending to lots of alcohol in the nose. Taste is incredible, very complex. I get huge amounts of malt with a huge alcohol finish. Also yields molasses, vanilla, maybe even some roasted malt flavors somewhere. It's called a Rye IPA but there's no hops to speak of, and this is a relatively young beer, bottled 3 months ago to the day. It could honestly probably use a little more time to mellow out. Though the longer you drink it the more you get hops, particularly in the background. This is a pretty amazing beer, very well put together. A sipping beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2010 23:59:39 | More by eclaycamp

JohnnyHopps

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

I fear that many beer lovers do not take the He'Brew line of beers seriously because of the playful name. This is a beer that deserves serious consideration.

In the barrel aged craze, it take something special to stand apart. This Rye Double IPA aged in whiskey barrels has an aroma that blends whiskey aroma with hints of vanilla. A murky dark brown catches the eyes before the first sip. The vanilla is very potent in the initial taste. The vanilla gives way to whiskey, tobacco, and molasses. The sweetness balance against the whiskey backbone creates a winner.

Though stylized as a double IPA, the beer does not pack much hop. But in the overall scope of the product, it is forgivable.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2011 21:15:28 | More by JohnnyHopps

maximum12

Minnesota

4.47/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Hadn't seen this at all around the Twin Cities until recently & picked up a bottle since it has two of my favorite ingredients: rye & rye. Sounds like a winner before the cap pops. Neck notes "Case 1 of 469". Interesting. Shared with my wife after my third softball game in two nights. I can feel that in a variety of places.

Before I even take a sip my wife makes an obscene exclamation of delight; guess she likes it. Pours on the amber end of the IIPA spectrum, fairly clear but not see-through. In the nose one can pick out distinctly both the rye barrel & rye malts, which is really cool. Both pack a good-Indian restaurant kind of spicey-vibe. Nice. The hops are subdued in the rye whirlpool.

R.I.P.A. should get more respect than it does, IMHO. Is this nationally distributed? With the barrel-aged craze, one would think this would be getting a lot of air play. THIS is what I thought I was getting with Boulevard's Rye-on-Rye, which proved good but a touch bland. Let this one warm a bit for full 3-D.

This beer is ryed all the way into my third eye, reaching up into my throat. Spicy rye burns all the way down my throat, the sensation ending right in my sternum. Yeehaa! There's nothing standard about the barrel-aging here, it's subtle, sweet, oak-laced vanilla that tries & fails to stop the lava tracks of the rye malts. The hops, or what's left of them two-plus months after brewing, are plunged into the background, providing a flare of bitterness that twines really nicely around the spiciness, giving it a depth of character one usually only sees in Asia Carrera's performances.

And after all that gushing, this is a drinker. I could have happily & easily done 22 oz. & then some by myself. My half is well over half gone in the past few minutes I've been writing this; it might take me fifty minutes to put away the average big beer, this one'll be lucky to see fifteen.

Excellent beer. That's two fantastic, unexpected surprises from a brewery that I know next to nothing about. I will be making a trip in the next couple of days (on my wife's orders, I'm sure) to secure another couple bottles of this &, while I'm at it, I'll grab another bomber or two of their lineup. I'm sold.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2010 03:06:16 | More by maximum12

massshortage

California

4.47/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Having never tried the original R.I.P.A. I didn't know what to expect. In fact, having little experience with rye beer in general, and the brewer, made this one all the more exceptional for me.

Looked sexy in a snifter, dark amber/brown with a creamy foam. Sticky and lacy.

The smell! It made me dream of sitting in front of a fireplace while it snows outside, the scent was so warm and inviting. Like sweet fruit and candy with a bourbon burn. I had to just warm this in my hands and sniff a while...

Most of the typical IPA hop flavor is gone with the sweetness of the rye and the bourbon, though the bitterness still comes through in the finish, after the whiskey burn. Very complex and full bodied. The rye and bourbon hits very strong up front, then coats the tongue with a pleasant sweetness (toffee, maybe vanilla) that sticks in your mouth after each sip. Definitely picks up more flavor as it warms. It is one for savoring.

This is a powerful beer. It doesn't necessarily feel like an exceptionally high ABV level (which it is), but for me it was a slow drinking beer. Though I loved every moment of it, I'd say this is one for sharing; I didn't feel any particular desire to finish a whole bottle myself.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2010 18:13:06 | More by massshortage

Fatehunter

Oregon

4.47/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out of a 22oz bomber into a tulip glass. Copper, almost transparent with a nice inch and a half of dirty white head.

S - A lot going on here: toffee, honeysuckle, brown sugar and charred maple-wood.

T - Spicy, slight hop bitterness, wood and alcohol.

M - Medium body but kind of soft too. Light carbonation.

D - Very good. The 10% ABV is hidden very well. It is very smooth. Probably one of the best barrel aged beers I have had. It has a great balance; meaning it isn't obscenely sweet.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2010 00:18:12 | More by Fatehunter

soze47

Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Drank from a 22 Oz bomber. This is a unique beer that, in a way, defies normal characterization. It isn't a pure Rye beer, Rye PA, or a barrel aged beer. It is a mix of all three.

Appearance: Just on the brown side of amber. Not too much head on a gentle pour. Sticky on the swirl, leaves lacing behind that somewhat slides back down the glass as you drink, but some remnants remain.

Aroma: Alcohol/whiskey smell is very much the strongest smell. There is also a sweetness that isn't quite vanilla and not quite coconut present.

Taste: Booziness is first to the party, in a malty sweet kind of way. Second comes a bitterness, piney and somewhat woody, that decides to sit down on your tongue and stay for a while. As the bitterness settles, the rye maltiness arrives fashionable late to subdue the earlier, more prominent flavors.

Mouthfeel: Really thick and hot in the mouth, but isn't sticky by any means. It goes down like beers of much lesser viscosity and is certainly deceiving on the palette.

Drinkability: Not a repeat customer for a one night session. While very tasty, this one is high ABV thick beer that plays the robust part.

Overall: I enjoyed this beer very much and will gladly pick it up again when the occasion calls for it. Not a beer for sitting around watching a game or to beat the heat. This one is best enjoyed after dinner or as a night cap on a cold evening. It will definitely warm you up.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2010 22:58:01 | More by soze47

JizackFH

New York

4.43/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a nice dark amber color that had a small head that left nice lacing as it fell.

S - There is a definite alcohol/bourbon smell that stands out. There is also a nice presence of hops and some caramel sweetness.

T - Right up front is the booze. A lot of hops follow up the booze taste. There are also nice sweet notes like caramel and vanilla. The finish is bitter and it sticks to your mouth for quite a while.

M - The mouthfeel was medium, but more on the heavier side of medium. Nice carbonation. Also, it is a little warming on the mouth.

D - I think this beer is surprisingly drinkable. I went through a bomber of this faster than I expected to. I would definitely pick this beer up again. Its very good for cold nights. They did a good job on this brew. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2010 02:54:18 | More by JizackFH

BigBossMan

Iowa

4.43/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This really is a completely different beer than the original. The hops are still evident but in more of a supporting role - similar to how hops are present in some hoppy imperial stouts but somewhat masked by the malts. In this beer, the hops are masked by the forward flavors of bourbon and smoke.

The appearance is lighter than I would have expected, while the head is more than I would have guessed - good lacing. The smell is of bourbon, but sweet caramel is present. The flavor is bourbon and hops - very smooth and drinkable for what it is.

Serving type: on-tap

01-04-2011 16:55:27 | More by BigBossMan

laituegonflable

Australia

4.4/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice golden amber colour, clear in body with a stunning head, nice and generous, medium bubbles with lace that would stop a lorry. I don't know what that means, but fuck it's good. This beer has a better body than Angelina Jolie in beer form. Nice, slow bead. Pretty goddamn nice indeed.

Nose is quite delicious. Hugely malty with massive fresh coconut notes all over that, lots of caramel and toffee and a slight dessert wine character as well. Very slight lime juice touch just adds a hint of acidity. Somehow this is at once toasty and sweet like a hearty, warm English pub, yet tropical like a sunkissed Belizean beach. Just staggeringly good.

Taste is quite strong and malty, but yeah very boozey on the mid. Lots of caramel on the front with a slight fruity edge, touch of citrus and maybe some plum as well. Coconut comes to the fore on the mid and dominates a slightly nutty flavour overall, with hints of roasted peanut and sesame as well. Finish has a real boozey strength to it though, gets even more heated at the back with a cognacy oomph! just bashing it down the throat. It's a nice warmth, but it really does have the ethanol-style strength, and would be nicer if the malt sweet stickiness continued for longer, or had more powerful hopping to counteract the effect. But an impressive and beautiful beer, I'd say it would be orgasmic with a bit more age on it.

Good body, the beer coats the mouth well with its texture, but doesn't go overboard with stickinesss. Warmth is great for Winter, which it still is.

Overly strong on the back - without the heat this would be more drinkable, but it is still a very nice, tasty sipping beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2010 06:41:15 | More by laituegonflable

treehouse

California

4.4/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

first of all...hell of a beer...chewy...deep..rye-y....

nose of figs, hazelnut...creamy chocolate...

mouthed...thick sweet ..but no too sweet..tamed by the bitter hops....creamy as heck...the rye is quite forward..if you ever had old overholt in your mouth or maybe pappy van winkle family reserve...this is it...the alcohol is hidden..sneaks up on you like a welcome but unexpected...handjob...the bitterness stays in your cheeks...

i will drink this as much and as often as possible....

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2011 18:39:56 | More by treehouse

TheHoppiest

Ohio

4.38/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into an oversized snifter. Pours a ruby brown with a generous tan head that reduces to a 1/4" head.

Smells fruity, grapes, apricots and citrus. There's a slight hop smell to balance the sweet fruity smell.

Has an excellent taste, creamy to start, nicely hopped, slightly sweet, with a sharp bitter end. Complex, and tasty!

Has a smooth mouthfeel, which is surprising considering it's sharp bitter finish.

This is the last of my 4 pack, and I can tell you I will happily pick up another 4 pack. Highly drinkable!

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2010 02:25:16 | More by TheHoppiest

BrlyHpsWtrYst

California

4.38/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Wow! this is a big beer... I guess I wasn't expecting it. Pours a deep red with a thin white head, dissapating with no lacing. The nose is incredible, vanillin, carmel malts and rye. lots if rye. On a second drag i sense the rye instantly with massive barrel quailities. More like a fine BA Barleywine, but a big DIPA should not be that dissimilar. Starts off sweet like a BW, but hops assert themselves quickly, provacative amounts of chinook, simcoe, amarillo and C hops. well balanced and nicely hopped. It is a bit heavy for the style... but not surprising at 10%abv. Slightly cloying but not in a negative sense. diminutive carbonation. Overall this beer treads the very thin line between Barleywine and DIPA, mostly because of the barrel aging, a very well done offering. consider me a prostelyte of He'Brew...L'Chaim!

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2011 02:29:30 | More by BrlyHpsWtrYst

tpd975

Florida

4.35/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this one one draft at Dunderback's in Tampa.

A: Nice amber hue with average head. Nice cap with beautiful lacing.

S: Tons of spicey rye with definite notes of whiskey barrel ageing. Oak, vanilla, on whiskey goodness. A brew that really makes you wanna drink it.

T: Wow what a beer. Think wonderful spicy rye IPA with just a perfect amount of whiskey. There is pleny of malt pushing thru as well. Perfect balance betwwen hops malt, and barrel ageing.

M: Medium body and ohh soo smooth.

D: Very nice. I really enjoyed it.

Overall: A once in a lifetime beer. I am glad to have had a chance to sample it. They started wtih a wonderful IPA and the barrel ageing put it out of this world. Very good!

Serving type: on-tap

06-25-2008 16:27:55 | More by tpd975

jera1350

Minnesota

4.35/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Amber in color with a massive head of fluffy tan foam. Nice sheets of lacing around the glass.

Outstanding complexity in the nose. Some light citrus hops, vanilla, whiskey, brown sugar, toffee, and oak can all be picked out.

The first thing that pops into my head upon tasting this: Backwoods Bastard. There are a lot of similarities. Very, very, sweet with some alcohol heat. The alcohol and sweetness drown out most if not all of the hop characteristics. Getting the whiskey and oak along with dense layers of caramel and brown sugar along with some vanilla bean. Fairly spicy as well. Outstanding.

Extremely dry finishing. I would call this close to full bodied but not quite. Warm alcohol feel all the way down. Feels just slightly over-carbonated, but that may change with some more warming.

Drinks really well despite the booze presence and 10% abv. I loved the original Lenny's and this just adds another dimension. Tough to run across a really well done barrel aged DIPA, but this is an outstanding example.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2010 01:07:00 | More by jera1350

wisrarebeer

Wisconsin

4.35/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch 001, brewed 9 April 2010.

A: deep copper/brown color
S: great nose!, deep rye barrel with strong caramel, toffee, and woodiness
T: very unusual combination, I liked how the rye toned down the hops of the IPA, good balance, great combination of malt, hops and barrel aging, not one to be missed
M: very nice mouthfeel, caramel and malt up front with somewhat subdued hop bitterness in finish, warming from EtOH
D: very drinkable but not a beer to have a lot of due to EtOH

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2010 01:28:31 | More by wisrarebeer

glid02

Georgia

4.33/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Not 100% sure I shouldn't start a new listing but let's go with it. Lenny's aged in rye whiskey barrels for quite a while (three years I believe I was told).

Pours a cloudy brownish-red color with a half-finger tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of tart fruits - currants and apricots - with a solid earthiness backed by sticky caramel malts. Very unexpected.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Well-integrated caramel malt flavors segue seamlessly into sugar-coated tart fruit flavors. It's got the sourness that I would expect from a mix of a mildly tart American Wild and a normal Lenny's, however it tastes so much better than that description would indicate. The tart fruit flavors stick around before fading away into a clean ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It has a solid thickness with smooth carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could have a few more.

Overall I was planning on sampling this but after being handed a sip I ordered one right away. I'm not sure how the extended aging on rye had this effect on the beer but I'm impressed nonetheless. A sour IPA if ever there was.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2009 02:51:23 | More by glid02