Month: August 2014

Double Trouble Brewing Co. Fire In The Rye Rye Beer at 6.1% ABV

Pours a clear deep copper with a fat finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and moderate lacing. Nose is dominated by rye and caramel malt, with little hop profile to speak of. Taste follows the nose, with spicy rye dominating the flavour, though there does seem to be a faint hop bitter in the finish. Moderate body and decent sustained carbonation, with no significant warming.

Probably one of the better offerings currently available from NLLC. Well, except for Duvel, obviously. And Leffe. And Mad Tom. And La Fin du Monde. OK, maybe it’s being generous to say it’s in the top ten, but it’s not bad. I like rye beers, generally, and there’s no overwhelming reason not to like this one. There’s not a lot of hop character, but the rye almost stands in for the hops, doing double duty as both the grain and the bittering agent.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel Abbey Tripel at 8.1% ABV

Pours a clear hold with a fat two fingers of frothy white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and no head. Nose is spice, pepper, candy sugar. Taste is sweet and slightly spicy, coriander and grass. Full bodied and sticky, with a spicy finish.

Not really what I was expecting and not really what I would characterise as a tripel – not dry and light the way I’d expect, but instead sweet and tending to heavy. A nice beer, no doubt, but a bit more of a Belgian strong ale, than a tripel.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com