Lancaster Rare Rooster Summer Rye Ale

Brewed by Lancaster Brewing Co.
Style: Specialty Grain
Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA

(draft) Crystal clear apple juice body topped by a white head that leaves nice lacing. Aroma is medium sweet, grain/cereal, some berry. Taste is moderately sweet, berry, some rye, toasted caramel, light bread. Watery light-medium body.

On tap. Poured a medium amber color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of toasted grains, caramel, and some citrus. Tastes of toasted grains, caramel, and a trace of rye. Thinner body.

12oz bottle-pours a foamy white head and amber color. Aroma is grain-caramelized, rye, some musty. Taste is somewhat sweet rye malt bomb and dryness which balances nicely. Slight amount of bittering hops, maybe some spicy hops. Mild carbonation.

Transparent deep golden bronze with a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of toasty grainy rye and lightly sweet pale malts. Starts with average fullness some light sweetness and decent bittering hoppiness with good rye character. Finishes crisp and bittersweet with some light citrusy hop notes. A decent rye ale.

Bottle courtesy of beerman6686. Pours copper with a white creamy head. Smells of rye, spice, yeasty, some citrus, fruity. Tastes of rye, some sweet caramel, earthy, some bitterness. Nice spicy finish. I’m not sure why this has such low marks as it is a good beer.

Tap at the brewpub. Aroma is very light, pale malt, some very faint rye spiciness, but it’s pretty subtle. Similar combination of floral/spicy hops as appears in all of their pale beer. Bland and watery and fairly uninteresting.

Draft @ Frisco Grille. Pours crystal clear light amber. Faint sweetness to the nose, but overall it smells very plain and empty, with a light dusting of toast, some light rye, and some light, clean yeast, whatever is left. Flavor is moderately thick, a little “chunky” on the palate, with a really, really faint and subtle flavor of rye grain, cracked barley and toast. There’s not a lot of flavor showing up overall, and after a pint I was tired of the subtle coarseness that seemed to creep up. Nothing special.

Draft at Capone’s. Clear dark straw pour with small off-white head. Aroma is pale malt, tannins, hopcitrus, slight fruit. Tastes pale malty, tart in the British bitter sense, with hints of light syrupy apricot, but it gets very tannic at mid-palate, and stays that way, providing a lack of complexity or flavor. Not the best effort from these guys.