Brought to you by:
BrewTools Homebrewing iPhone App

Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.
Spaceman
Brewfist

Recent Articles

Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. Our Take on the Lagunitas-Heineken Deal
Fuck Lagunitas. archives »

Beer Reviews

Rye Stout

Bell’s Brewery, Inc.
Galesburg, MI
USA
http://www.bellsbeer.com/

Style: Dry Stout

Eddie’s Rating:
   (Outstanding within its style.)


Comments:
Rye is an old, hardy grain native to northern climes. It’s been used on and off in beer for a couple millennia at least, but usually only when barley was scarce. It’s not a fun grain to brew with—in the mash it gets pretty damn goopy—but it has a lot to offer a brewer whose willing to deal with it. Rye dries a beer out, sucking away the body and playing against a brew’s maltiness. When enough rye is used—say, 20 percent or more of the grist—it’ll add sharp peppery aromas and flavors that can give an otherwise straightforward beer a distinctive twist.

Like, for instance, a stout such as Bell’s Rye Stout. The rye really keeps things dry and crisp, in essence creating a dry stout à la Guinness (although not nearly as watery as Arthur’s 250-year-old world classic) but with a spicy snap only rye can impart to a beer.

Rye Stout pours a warm mocha color with a perfect but short-lived sepia-colored head. The nose is sweet chocolate maltiness with tiny anise notes popping here and there. For a stout, its body is decidedly medium—dried out and lightened up by the rye—with a fairly neutral mouthfeel, not sharp like I was expecting. The sip starts out malty, with dark toastiness, even a tiny bit of smoke flavor. The middle is ale-like light fruitiness with more of the anise notes coming in, this time a bit stronger. The finish is only medium—extremely short for a stout—but here is where we get the spicy, peppery character indicative of a big rye presence in the brewing process. This also dries the finish out, lickety-split, making me immediately want to take another sip.

Yet another strong, complex entry from Bell’s. If you like your stouts and you like your rye, you will love this beer.

Reviewed by Eddie Glick on November 16, 2009.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting... New Green Flash owners tab former AB exec to lead "turnaround". Gosh, wonder what his plan is...