California Sunshine Rye IPA - Devil's Canyon Brewing Company

gleemonger

California

3.75/5  rDev +11.9%

09-07-2012 19:46:07 | More by gleemonger

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.61/5  rDev +37.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The CANQuest (TM) would like to thank the Friendly Greek in Lancaster, PA for making this and a couple of other Devil's CANyon CANs available to me recently.

From the CAN: I have to agree with DoubleJ that the sun on the label looks satiated. It does not mention "Rye" on the CAN, but I am hopeful. I like Rye IPAs.

I am getting MUCH better at executing the Crack, but the Glug is suddenly eluding me! I chalk it up to atmospheric CANditions as it is overcast breezy, slightly humid and not really in keeping with this time of year. What a beautiful two fingers of head resulted from my efforts - rocky, tawny, great retention and dense as all get-out! I signed my name in it with my finger. It looked like tawny meringue. Color was a deep-amber with NE-plus quality clarity, allowing me to once again peer into my future. I will be in Lincoln, NE on 28 February 2015 to co-celebrate my 50th birthday with Val MidWest, who will be celebrating her 21st and ma Petite Abeille (Old Lady) will be joining us. Nose had a characteristic rye black pepperiness and I began salivating uncontrollably. A brewer at Philly Beer Week imparted that they have tried a 40% rye grain bill IPA and that the sparge takes most of the day to drain. Ha! I would love to be a part of that debacle. if Sopor is still on this site, I remember him telling me, in 2006, that he was going to brew an all-rye IPA as his last batch on his original homebrew system and then put the whole thing out on the curb on trash day. Double Ha! Mouthfeel was silky smooth, enveloping my tongue with the softest of touches, and the flavor was Goldilocks/Baby Bear-perfect for an AIPA. Not too bitter, not too malty, but just right with the rye bringing a black pepper bite to the equation. Oh my. Finish was dry, but more peppery dry than hoppy bitter dry. I want MORE of this! Where is Belmont in Cali?

Serving type: can

06-16-2013 18:53:17 | More by woodychandler

GraduatedCashew

California

3/5  rDev -10.4%

06-11-2013 17:05:52 | More by GraduatedCashew

InfernoBoss

California

3/5  rDev -10.4%

06-10-2013 05:23:40 | More by InfernoBoss

RBassSFHOPit2ME

California

2.5/5  rDev -25.4%

06-09-2013 17:49:50 | More by RBassSFHOPit2ME

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

3.44/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

$2.75 tall boy can from Abe's.

Clean amber, hint of haze, no carbonation streams, topped by four fingers of off-white micro-bubbles with a fluffy top. Good stretchy lace.

Rye definitely in the nose. Some citrus, subdued.

Solid semi-sweet foundation with good depth. Earthy hops. Toasted rye. Fast bitter snap. Clean finish.

Smooth medium mouthfeel.

I didn't read the fine print and expected a bright bursting with citrus California IPA. It's actually an amped up English IPA crossed with a Rye IPA. as that it works. I just think it needs a new name.

Serving type: can

06-05-2013 23:20:02 | More by RonfromJersey

Offa

California

3.4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is a fairly good IPA.

Amber, it has a big off-white head steadily shrinking to thin rocky head and tiny bit of lace.

Aroma is dry bread crust, citrus & pine, hints of raisin.

Taste is juicy, jammy yeasty American IPA character, raisiny malty sweetness, piny-juicy spicy bitterness. It's sweeter up front, more bitter in finish, but pretty balanced. Its character definitely leans to the hop side, though, and spicy bitter finish lingers with faint medicinal quality. It's almost too sweet up front and almost too bitter in the finish. Its a simple, standard, but solid West Coast IPA, with nice, full feel.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 20:29:48 | More by Offa

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.53/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Pours copper with a large head.
Nose shows grassy, piny hops along with faint apple characters. Some spicy rye too.
Pretty aggressive flavours. Lots of grapefruit and pine but little else to liven things ups. Not much malt, but some toasty, spicy rye. Sharp metallic finish.
Too much carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 04:29:50 | More by CrazyDavros

2beerdogs

California

3.5/5  rDev +4.5%

05-01-2013 04:29:51 | More by 2beerdogs

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.8/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 22 oz bomber into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a hazy orange color with a one finger white colored head. The head has a great level of retention fading over time to leave a good level of decent on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The aroma of the brew is biggest of sweet tropical fruits of tangerine and a bit of mango mixed with bittering hop smells of a grapefruit and light herbal hop aroma. Mixed with these smells are notes of a bready smells as well as some hints of rye, along with a light amount of a candy like sugary sweet smell.

Taste – The taste begins with some of the tropical fruit flavors that were detected in the nose as well as some grapefruit citrus hop. A rye flavor is absent at first being hidden by a more bready and caramel malt flavor initially. The bready flavor loses ground thought as the taste advances and the rye becomes a little stronger allowing it to be detected. While this occurs, so too does the sweetness dry out a little with the grapefruit citrus growing stronger as the flavor advances to the end. In the end a bit of a pine hop comes to the tongue as well finishing off the flavor transitions and leaving a citrusy hoped flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the medium to slightly thicker and creamier side with it beginning more smooth and developing crisper in the mouth as the taste moves from the start to the finish. This is rather nice of the hoppy nature of the brew although not perfect for the sweeter fruit. While the creamier body was not as good for the fruit , the prickly carbonation was quite nice for fruit as well as helped enhance the spiciness of the hop.

Overall- A nice and tasty IPA. On the smoother side with a big grapefruit flavor complimented with some lighter pine and a sweeter fruit flavors. Quite drinkable and well worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 08:08:41 | More by Darkmagus82

reverbking

California

3.25/5  rDev -3%

04-26-2013 04:42:39 | More by reverbking

DoubleJ

California

3.26/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

Devil's Canyon, from a can. The sun on its label looks like it has had enough beer for the day, so this must be good. 16 ounce can on hand, and once again, on to the beer:

A little murky inside. Its color is murky orange and on the verge of becoming light brown. A small head forms on top, droppng to a lace shortly after the pour. Not much to say about that. You can say that again; despite its 85 IBU claim, I'm not getting a lot of hop love. It smells like tree sap, veggies, and a kiss of raw pine.

Well, its taste does have some resemblance of an IPA. It's woodsy, resiny, grassy, with a touch of orange. There is a good hit of bitterness coming out of the beer, which becomes noticed about midway through each sip. The beer is medium bodied with smooth carbanation, which helps this beer make up some lost ground.

The IPA field is a competitive one. On its own, Sunshine IPA is an okay choice. Compared with the style, there are many better ones out there.

Serving type: can

03-19-2013 05:37:00 | More by DoubleJ

JacobGumina

California

4.25/5  rDev +26.9%

03-12-2013 00:24:29 | More by JacobGumina

GaryMarkle84

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +26.9%

03-09-2013 00:46:50 | More by GaryMarkle84

justinbrown

California

2.75/5  rDev -17.9%

02-21-2013 16:44:19 | More by justinbrown

flexabull

California

2.54/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a light and hazy gold color with a small white head.

Aromas are odd, light funk (infection?) that isn't overpowering, but it's there. Some light citrus and floral hoppiness, but it's hard to find.

Taste doesn't show the possible infection as much as the nose did. Lightly sweet, slight butter flavors, with a crisp and faintly bitter hop finish. All in all, the taste of this beer is really light with not much going on. Doesn't taste bad, but doesn't taste like much of anything.

Mouthfeel is light, but too light, definitely feels watered down.

While this beer wasn't a complete train wreck (I finished my half of the bottle), it certainly wasn't very good either. Boring, with not much flavor at all.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 16:19:49 | More by flexabull

Uncle_Jimmy

California

3.74/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Appearance slightly hazy orange color 3 fingers of yellowish white fine foam. lacing and the foam lingers and turns into a fluffy pillow for the whole experience.

Aroma- citrus, almond, pepper, and melon

Taste- some carb bite at the beginning, peppery and woody on the front from the rye. It gives way to a toasty grain, like whole grain bread. and a lingering piney finish. It can come off a bit plastic-y but I am assuming that is a rye thing as well.

Mouthfeel- a little too fizzy but I like the head on this one. hops linger on the palette and it has what I would describe as a medium body.

Overall- I was in Half Moon Bay, CA and someone suggested I check this place out. It was closed and so I was stoked when I found a bottle at the local shop. I would definitely suggest this one if I had a friend into IPA's and Rye. Personally I like Rye in beer. Maybe not IPA's I think that the Rye and the extra hop bitterness can get out of balance quickly. I definitely like rye as a distilled spirit. But that is something else entirely. This beer straddles the line. That being said I would order another !

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 06:40:23 | More by Uncle_Jimmy

BeerSingh

India

4/5  rDev +19.4%

01-24-2013 06:08:31 | More by BeerSingh

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A - slightly hazy copper, two fingers of creamy light tan head, solid retention
S - fairly strong spicy rye grain, some earthy and butter biscuit undertones
T - much like the nose with the rye really taking over, some resin, light toffee, mild biscuit malt
M - slightly meatier than medium body, prominent rye peppery spice kick, solid bitter finish
O - the rye-based IPA is a style that i've seen more and more recently and its starting to grow on me, this is fairly in your face yet a relatively easy drinking 7.1%

Serving type: can

01-17-2013 03:22:01 | More by joemcgrath27

WestCoastLibations

California

4.38/5  rDev +30.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

In the cold snow of Korea, the I was smitten for the smiling Sun on the bottle of this particular brew, from the Sunny shores of California. I decided then, on a Wednesday morning (happy hour in California) to go ahead and warm up my day, with this aptly named California Sunshine IPA.

Poured out of the deuce-deuce, much to my chagrin, the foam was superfluous, probably due to the international travel stress on the bottle. However, one of my new year's resolutions for 2013, is to practice patience and feel the joy that it brings, so with that, I let the beer settle nicely before moving on to smell, taste, and mouthfeel tests.

The smell went to validate my choice, with hearty notes of Rye breaking though the cloud of foam, while at the same time, leaving enough behind to trace the taste of the beer as well. It settled nicely onto the palate, dancing along the ridgeline of the taste buds, before working its magic, streaming to other arenas of the head, namely the mind.

I would be amiss if I did not say that I was impressed with this beer. Initially taken in by appearance (a fool's choice, usually), I became skeptical when I encountered the foam situation. Careful though to not place blame, and to welcome patience, in the end, I came away more than satisfied with what was delivered. My day was turned around, supplying hope that here in Korea, the Sun will soon enough, bestow its warmth through other means than a delicious IPA...

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 02:35:20 | More by WestCoastLibations

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.69/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

473ml can poured into tulip 7/1/13

A hazed dark amber with enough clarity to see lots of suspended particles and a few bubbles, I know there's some bubbles hiding in there somewhere because there's a solid thumbs width of cream colored foam that retains very well leaving some random lace

S orange creamsicle with some grapefruit rind, lots of bread and biscuit with some soft caramel, I expected more of a hop kick at 85 IBU's I suppose balance can be a good thing

T now I'm picking up the rye malt, spicy notes work well and there's some pine hiding in there too, still a fair amount of malt and more rind

M the bitterness is there with a little kick, quite creamy in the mouth with a spicy citrus rind finish, pretty solid in this department

O decent brew but there's room for improvement, I like RyePA's but this one could use a stronger hop profile

I think a few tweaks and they would have something great, their on the right track and I'm looking forward to trying some more brews from these guys

Serving type: can

01-08-2013 19:06:02 | More by wordemupg

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

16oz can, a new offering, from the Golden State to the, er, currently white Province of Alberta.

This beer pours a clear, bright bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of bubbly, tightly foamy pale beige head, which leaves some nice multi-tiered limestone cliff lace around the glass as it steadily sinks away.

It smells of bittersweet, muddled tropical fruit, a bit more pedestrian orange and grapefruit flesh, robustly grainy rye bread, further herbal, floral hops, and a whiff of acrid alcohol. The taste is more somewhat bitter grapefruit, musty orange, a bit of pine tips, some caramel-tinged bready malt, the rye quite hard to discern at this juncture, a bit of untethered meaty essence, a few nips of metallic booze, and loitering weedy, herbal hops.

The bubbles are a tad sassy, but play nice at the same rate, the body a wavering medium weight, a wee bit pithy, and starting offer smooth. It finishes off-dry, the fruitiness still well in play, the malt still mostly caramel and German bread oriented, and the bitterness trying in vain to reach for that top shelf.

An agreeable enough IPA, overall, however, the rye base causes confusion, more than anything, as the spicy, earthy character one might expect from employment of this grain actually manifests in a kludgy mishmash of malt flavours. This calls into question the performance of the hops, by unfair association, but they are quite beyond reproach, even if the malt unfortunately masks this way too often. Worth a try, but I don't think I'll be hitting this one up again.

Serving type: can

12-31-2012 05:49:30 | More by biboergosum

sandiego67

California

3.5/5  rDev +4.5%

12-30-2012 01:22:27 | More by sandiego67

UCLABrewN84

California

3.18/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

On tap at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank, CA.

Pours a hazy orange with a foamy khaki bone colored that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, rye, citrus zest, and alcohol. Taste is much the same with a slight herbal hop flavor on the finish. There is a fairly high hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty average beer with a pretty good smell but the flavors don't meld together all that well.

Serving type: on-tap

11-22-2012 06:56:39 | More by UCLABrewN84

terence

California

2.5/5  rDev -25.4%

10-26-2012 23:14:58 | More by terence