French Broad Rye Hopper

Brewed by French Broad Brewing Co.
Style: Specialty Grain
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Bottle. Oily-looking, hazy copper pour produces a steady ecru froth and seafoam lace. Attractive nose of sweet toasty malt, tart citric hops, oregano and parsley spiciness, and a touch of butter. It just keeps getting better… toasty malt and sharp lemony hops compliment the peppery rye flavor. Intense and perfectly balanced. Wow! Smooth, substantial mouthfeel, fruity finish, and a mild but deep bitter afterglow. Now this is beer, and probably the finest rye ale I’ve sampled. Very, very nice.

Bottled shared by Paul. Super-grainy, rye and pumpernickel aroma, with a czech hop finish. Some milk chocolate notes. Crispy, murky, medium bodied, with a gentle carbonation. Fairly drinkable, with some bitter hoppy notes and spent, old grain.

This is the first French Broad (love the name) beer I have ever picked up. The Rye Hopper was poured into a standard pint glass, and it looked darker than I was expecting. The body was a deep shade of copper and clear, and the head atop was foamy. I did not see any carbonation streamers. The smell was sweet and fruity, which is odd for a beer named Rye Hopper. The taste was also sweet and mildly bitter. The bready taste was followed by a bit of spiciness. The body was soft, but this beer lacked the carbonation to make it feel creamy. Easy to drink for sure, but not the most memorable beer made with Rye.

Burnt orange pour with medium head. Aroma of strong hops and bitter citrus. Very bitter in the flavor, yet oddly light. So so, especially since the drinkability is not so high.

Nice dark caramel brown. It says that this is their interpretation of a Rye Ale. I hope Terrapin is better. Nice deep dark caramel brown in color with a lovely head sitting on top. Looks pretty good to me. Subtle hop aroma with a pretty big rye aroma. Mouthfeel is a bit strange i.e. a bit too watery for me. Flavoring hop and bittering hop are decent. As I said there is no body on this thing to carry the flavor(s). Leaves a dry feeling in your mouth; I believe this is due to the hops. As SSSteve said, "there is no sweetness at all." I couldn’t agree more. Overall, fairly hoppy beer, with some rye flavors, but not a good malt presence if you ask me.

clear black tea color under a small frothy white head. bready and spicy hop aroma of pine and citrus. bitter with piney hops, sawdust, peppery rye, black tea . lightly astringent with a dry finish. no sweetness at all.

Bottle shared by wagenvolks. Thanks Drew! Pours a clear reddish color with a short lived beige head. Smell is rye and earthy hops. Taste is dry, thin rye and pretty tasty. Lightly hoppy with a medium body. Dry crackery and rye malt character. Nice.

Dark ruby red with a thick beige head. Aroma is citrus hop and roast. The rye compliments the hop very well I think. Dry finish.