Ritual Brewing Co. Single Rye IPA Citra American IPA at 7% ABV | 87 IBU (C$12.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 4-Aug-2017, reviewed 5-Aug-2017)
Appearance: clear deep gold with three fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: spicy rye, citrus, caramel, dank pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter, mild peppery spice. (7/10) Palate: medium-full slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter and mildly spicy finish. (4/5)
Decently well-balanced, in that the rye, malt, and hops are pretty much in a three-way tie for the pole. However, I don’t buy a Citra beer in the hopes that the Citra shares the spotlight with malt, or even rye. I mean, look at the label: “Rye” is, what, half an inch high, while “Citra” is an inch and a half? It’s not shared billing, so why is it shared spotlight? Don’t get me wrong: I love me a spicy rye beer, and this is certainly that. But I get cranky when I don’t get a promised blast of Citra. Could be age, I guess, because there’s no date on the bottle – but then as I always say, if you ain’t gonna date your bottle, I’m just gonna assume you meant it to taste like this. Decent overall, but falls short. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
