Founders Reds Rye P.A.

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Specialty Grain
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Cloudy, ruby-colored pour. Smells of hops, pine, and sweet caramel. Definitely has a hoppy kick in the taste, with maybe some grass/pine wood and rye. Sweet undertones of caramel.

Much hoppier than I expected (both in aroma and appearance). Also malty with a decent reddish color. Not exactly what I was expecting but then again, what the hell do I know?

I’ve been looking forward to this one for some time, and was a little let down that I didn’t like it more than I did. The only thing that really stood out about this one was the GIGANTIC head that forms after pouring. A good 6 inches. After it settles down, I was treated to what I thought was an average brew. Nothing bad about it, just nothing outstanding either. The hops seemed to have faded from the aroma and the flavor, and the rye wasn’t enough to hold the beer up on its own. Maybe I will try this one again when I can get it fresher.

The infamous Founder’s cascade hops. This has the grand grapefruit taste and balance. Head is slightly creamy and laced. Excellent spring/summer. Must be a fan of bitter to appreciate. Get this in your system.

Pours a very dark brown in color with ruby highlights. Off white head sits atop. More hops than I was expecting in the taste, but that’s a pleasant surprise. You don’t get the rye until midway through the drink. It stays around on the finish as well. This is a very well done beer. There are some hop notes coming through on the finish as well. This beer is getting better and better with each sip. Cheers to Founders.

Pours a slightly hazy dark amber with orange tints. The head is massive and dense and hardly recedes at all leaving gobs of clumpy lacing. This is a damn fine looking beer. Smell starts with a decent kick of citrus hops with grapefruit leading the way, but the rye presence is very evident in the nose on top of the sweet caramel malt backbone. Taste also starts with citrus hops, and gives way to the sweet malts and rye. The finish actually has a pine hop bitterness that was not as evident in the aroma. The mouthfeel is super smooth and creamy with really strong carbonation that brings out the hops and spices on the palate. This is probably the best rye beer I’ve had and an extremely unique and tasty brew from Founders. Highly recommended.

Dark coppery in color with minimal white head. Aroma is nicely hopped with more than a hint of caramel popcorn. Very grapefruity taste with the above element of popcorn (which I will assume is the rye). Nicely carbonated with a viscous mouthfeel, and smooth, lingering bitterness. $2/12oz

From the NEPA case split club and wow: pine needle, flowers, citrus, bitter rye and some nice bitter oily hops (centennials?). Aroma has some yeast and banana/citrus in addition to the garden bouquet that comes with the flavor. The body has some dryness and delivers some carbonation with the spicy kicks reminding me of needles on a pine tree.