All great artists much branch out into the fields of variety, man the ego is in overdrive tonight. There is a meaning behind my words, for this blog I will be reviewing two beers. Both a Rye IPA, and both done by accomplished breweries from very different areas. A little background information on Rye IPAs, which are made Rye added to the mix of barley during the brewing process. And to get even more basic Rye is simply another type of grain. Typically Rye IPAs have a very hoppy flavor that leaves a nice bitter aftertaste that is typically dry in feel. After about one beer I've had times where I'm tettering on cotton mouth with these types of beers. I guess is doesn't hurt that both are typically higher on the alcohol scale. Now let's get this blood match started and measure out the competitors. First we have Laughing Dog (Pendorey, ID) which does a ton of IPA varieties, and usually does them very strong, extemely sharp and very hoppy. The competitor is He'Brew (Conney Island, NY) which does a variety of strong unique flavored beers across the spectrum.
The He'Brew R.I.P.A. is listed in at about 10% alcohol, and it has the sweeter taste to back it up. The full description on the bottle calls it a rye double ipa aged in rye whiskey barrels. This beer definitely has the smooth, wet finish that typically comes with barrel aged ales. It had the sweeter flavor and nice finish that come with some stronger IPAs which fit right in line with description of the ale. If you let it linger in your mouth it eventually starts to let some stronger hoppy flavors in, but barrel aging is to smooth to let the strong flavor of the rye really grab ahold of the drinker.
That is where Rocket Dog's area to shine lies. This has the full bitter, extremely dry, hoppy taste that are typical of many of these west coast style rye IPAs. Now for my part I'm sure a bias is in here given these were the initial style rye IPAs I grew to become familiar with. But this beer dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts. It gave me the real dry taste, that almost feels like you simply dumped the bushel of hops right in your mouth and skipped the whole brewing process. Although it doesn't say the strength, the was a very raw, dry, style IPA and I would say it to is probably close to 10% alcohol area. The one thing I was really looking for with R.I.P.A. hit me immediately with the Rocket Dog. That rye grain aftertaste that lingers on the tongue after you drink it. The R.I.P.A. was simply to smooth, while the Rocket Dog wanted to stick to each and every taste bud possible all the way down. It lingers till the last possible minute within the confines of your mouth. It's that combination of these that make me declare it the truer version of an intense, raw, hoppy, dry IPA. It is in my opinion the definition of what this ale should taste like. Don't get me wrong though R.I.P.A. is also a wonderful ale, but just in a completely different way. I fully recommend it in fact, just be aware it's not going to have that raw nature to it, the beer is simply to classy for it. So either way you can't lose, but if you want that truly intense IPA taste of a Rye IPA stick with the Rocket Dog!
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