RCE - FedoraDave and MrBandGuy

[FedoraDave]

I kegged this on Sunday, and had to take a sample taste yesterday. Even though it had only been four or five days in the keg, it was carbed pretty well. Maybe 2.5 gallon batches take less time to get fully charged.

Our experiment took an established recipe (a red from MrBandGuy's stable) and added some rye malt and changed the hops bill to a pair of New Zealand strains, Pacific Jade and Motueka. I've used Pacific Jade before; in fact, it's the single hop in my PacTiki Pale Ale, and I like the soft flavors it imparts. I get melon from it, and just a hint of pepper. The description of Motueka made us think they would work well together.

While I'm unfamiliar with the original red recipe, I can say I'll be brewing this one (which I call Red-Eye Rye) again. The rye malt brings an earthiness of its own, but doesn't overshadow the sweeter malts. They blend nicely. The hops bring floral, melon, and something else I can't pin down, but the intrigue is very pleasing. And I very much enjoy the finish; there's a slight lingering bitterness in the back of the throat, while the sweetness stays on the tongue.

I'm glad MrBandGuy and I got paired up in this go-round. It was fun and informative to correspond with him, and the couple of modifications we made to an already-established recipe turned out a beer that is very pleasing; an especially good autumn beer, but one that I would be happy to drink any time!

[MrBandGuy]

Thumbs up! The original recipe is pretty tasty as is, so I'm looking forward to brewing this one up. The ingredients, at least for me, are a bit harder to source, but can be done. It should be making its way into the pipeline soon!

[FedoraDave]

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I certainly wasn't.

[Yankeedag]

A friend of mine once said, if it taste good to you, then you did it right. Or something like that.

[FedoraDave]

A friend of mine once said, if it taste good to you, then you did it right. Or something like that.

I see what you did there.

Yeah, I don't know if this even fits into any kind of established BJCP style, but it tastes good, so who cares?

[MrBandGuy]

I'd guess 21B. Specialty IPA, Red Rye

However, it's probably not hoppy enough to do well and may be better in American Amber.

[FedoraDave]

It's not hopped like an IPA, though. It might have a better chance as an American Amber.

[MrBandGuy]

Ha ha! I'm not entering it anyway. But hey, we need labels, right?

[FedoraDave]

The labels would say, "Mutt Brew."

[MrBandGuy]

I've finally tapped this keg and am now enjoying this beer. And I get resurrect this old thread!

After three days, I'm getting lots of the notes Dave mentioned, floral, melon, and some maybe white grape. Good long finish that is slightly dry. Nice, bright clean aroma, good head with awesome lacing. Goes down super easy.

At this point, I'm a bit surprised how unclear this beer is. It presents a pretty golden amber, but cloudy. I'm hoping to see some clarity develop soon. I wonder how much of this is the rye and how much is the yeast, both of which are first uses for me.