Ruthless Rye

SittingDuck said:

Just drink Belgians for a while until it gets better.

Click to expand...

Now that sounds like a good way to handle it.

Metzger22 said:

Now that sounds like a good way to handle it.

Click to expand...

I've essentially done the same. I love hop bombs but balance that love with various Belgians.

It's here in Hawai`i now. Bought a 6er Thursday a Sack n Save for $8. Pretty good. May go back for a 12pack.

Pretty damn great.Danky catpiss sweet onion and the classic SN bittering. I dont know if a 12er is enough,ive shure seen it sprout up everywhere,and seen emptied slots quickly.the thing i like about rye ipa's is the added texture and depth of flavor to an already great ipa. I cant get into the belgian ipa's really they just seem awkward sometimes,for some reason i tend to not like the american belgian beers either they seem to lack authenciity,but what do i know im an average amature conneseir that cant even spell that correctly. Im pretty confident this brewery knows what its doing they have been around for the most part the beginning of commercial craft beer,although i wasnt that impressed with their belgian series comparable(maybe i should age them?)I see why they arnt in regular rotation - customer response i guess, although i see they are putting out the double? in 4 packs- i think it was. I was glad to be able to try the pale ale on tap somewhat locally also,seems New Belgium Fat tire has made its way on tap everywhere also.No idea why seems entry level so thats a probability.

Finally had it today. It's OK but not special. More bittering than flavoring to me. Some rye in aroma while the head is present but hard to detect in taste. Probably won't buy it again.

Love this beer... drank a 6 fast... may need to get more...

Had a bottle in a mixed sixer from the fridge here in lancaster pa. i loved it! i will be looking for a case asap.

Finally tried one! Straight out of the fridge it was pretty straightforward SNIPA hopping, nothing special about the body. The rye didn't really pop out in the malt until it warmed up a bit, but it was delicious when it did. Far from mediocre--would definitely pick up some of this on sale!

picked up my second 12er last night!

scottland said:

A little research turned up that the experimental hops are HBC 366. Steve Dresler said it's a huge oil bomb, much like Citra, with some tropical fruit aromas, but with more of a citrus and grapefruit character. Sounds like a great hop!

Click to expand...

It is a great hop. I brought a few pounds back from Beer Camp and brewed and APA that used 366 exclusively. Kinda a combo of Columbus, Citra and Amarillo to my tastes.

I was kinda disappointed in the Ruthless. Just not enough rye character for me. 10% is the max they can use because of lautering issues.

scottland said:

A little research turned up that the experimental hops are HBC 366. Steve Dresler said it's a huge oil bomb, much like Citra, with some tropical fruit aromas, but with more of a citrus and grapefruit character. Sounds like a great hop!

Click to expand...

They were calling it X-366 when I was there. Here's a pic of a bale of it that we used for our Beer Camp beer....

Bought a six-pack.

Gotta say I'm disappointed, it's kind of boring.

Much prefer Bear Republic's Hop Rod Rye over Ruthless Rye.

Denny, that sounds pretty awesome! I assumed it was an HBC hop due to the number chosen. Dresler referred to it as only '366'.

Was beer camp as cool as it sounds?

builderguy said:

Got a case in the fridge right now

Wasn't sure I liked it when I had the first one....never and a Rye Ale before so it caught me off guard.

Now I've had a few and I have to say it's very good.

Click to expand...

Same thing happened to me. I drank one and wasn't impressed and figured I'd just finish the 6 and move on. I was hooked by number three and have since drank nearly a case over the last couple week.

Agree with the cover art comments. Top-notch!

I hate IPAs but I liked it. I was many beers in for the night so maybe the bitterness was a little lost but I enjoyed the flavor a lot.

I just got some this weekend. I only had two. It's a good beer, but I was hoping for a better hop aroma from it. I hardly noticed any. Also, it was extremely carbonated! HUGE head!

scottland said:

Denny, that sounds pretty awesome! I assumed it was an HBC hop due to the number chosen. Dresler referred to it as only '366'.

Was beer camp as cool as it sounds?

Click to expand...

Beer Camp is EVEN COOLER than it sounds! I just tapped a keg of the beer we made there and it's incredible.

Denny said:

Beer Camp is EVEN COOLER than it sounds! I just tapped a keg of the beer we made there and it's incredible.

Click to expand...

how did you get an invite?

Found it on tap at a bar in north liberty, ia. Really good beer. I've had better ryepas but this was really good. If I were to nitpick, I'd say both the rye and the hop flavor are a bit too mellow. I'd like it to be a bit bigger. Denny's recipe I think is a little better

I agree that the rye character was mild, it seemed more of a big hoppy ipa with rye pretty noticable but i just think it will be more noticable as the hops subside,this was a pretty hoppy ipa with rye.I think with time it will be more noticable.Not like a founders or bear republic but definatly a good solid classic rye ipa. It should be good with time i would suspect.

chemman14 said:

how did you get an invite?

Click to expand...

There was a contest on the AHA discussion forum where homebrewers could ask questions of the SN staff. I took issue with some of SN's answers as being not homebrewer oriented enough. After that, I was invited to attend.

biestie said:

If I were to nitpick, I'd say both the rye... flavor [is] a bit too mellow. I'd like it to be a bit bigger

Click to expand...

jonmohno said:

I agree that the rye character was mild

Click to expand...

Man I don't know. It's like we drank different beers with the same label. I got a lot of late rye flavor. A lot. I wonder if I'm more "sensitive" to the flavor, or if there could be batch differences. Odd.

Denny said:

There was a contest on the AHA discussion forum where homebrewers could ask questions of the SN staff. I took issue with some of SN's answers as being not homebrewer oriented enough. After that, I was invited to attend.

Click to expand...

damn, super jealous!!!

I think it is my new favorite from Sierra Nevada. We have it here in MN. Still a little tough to find though.

I had a sixer over the weekend and it was just OK. I didn't care for the first couple, but I drank the last 4 on a different day and thought they were decent. I may get it again.

Got a six-pack last night in central Missouri. Good beer, not great, IMO. Hard to believe it made it here from Chico before it hit the shelves in California.

Took the kids to the zoo and stopped at a cart selling "domestic" for 6.5 and "premium" for 7. Look over thier selection and they had the Ruthless, so grabbed it and it was actually kind of tasty! Plus for 50 cents more was a way better value than the typical BMC line up.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this tonight when I went looking for a little more Celebration Ale. I had two and really enjoyed it. Coincidentally, I had just been playing around, for the first time, with a Rye IPA idea on Beersmith at the office.

My lovely and talented wife sent me a picture of a case of Ruthless from the Costco. I replied with a, "yes, please," as I was planning a RyePA for my next batch, and I trust Sierra Nevada.

Awesome beer. Bold, spicy, hoppy. More than enough inspiration.

For a guy thats still pretty new to trying different styles, I like it when I try something and my palate can pick out a specific flavor or ingrediant, in this case the rye. Oh and btw I like it.

Am I the only one who thought the hops went a bit too far in this beer and totally overshadowed the rye?? I love everything from Sierra Nevada, but this one just didn't seem quite right...

Got a sixer last night; I've got a rye IPA of my own on hand so I had a fresh picture in my mind regarding the rye impact on the flavor --

I feel you can definitely tell it's part of the grain bill. I'm not a big rye bread fan but I like the spicy notes it imparts in beer, kind of like adding a complementary bite to the bitterness of the hops. The hops seemed to have a DFH-like profile compared to SNPA or Celebration. YMMV. Love the color and the head. And the label/box artwork is awesome!

I really enjoyed this beer over the past weekend. I loved the taste and thought the rye stood out just enough to make it a very tasty drink. I didn't think the hops overshadowed or overpowered the rye, but then again I love a bitter beer. Definitely will be drinking more of this very tasty brew. Great Job SN!!

SN's Ruthless Rye illustrates as well as any beer I've ever had the importance of personal taste...and why there's no reconciling it. I fall into the camp of those who think the hops (although not outside SN's usual profile for that ingredient) are a bit much for my taste. Don't get me wrong- I've been enjoying the RR very much, it's just not my ideal for this style (see below).

I base this comparison on my consumption of roggenbiers generally, and specifically on Ed Wort's BCB Rye IPA (see recipes section). I am on my 4th batch -or so- of the BCB Rye IPA, and can now conclude that it's one of my regulars. It embodies for me an almost ideal balance between the standard sweetness of the barley malt, the spiciness of the rye, and the bittering of the hops.....the latter carried to a definite, but not overpowering IPA level. With the Ruthless Rye, the beer is definitely carried to a hop-forwardness that is too much for me.

Good but not great. I was expecting a little more hops and more rye. I am a fan of SN and love Celebration, Torpedo, Pale Ale, Kellerweis, and a couple others but I have to admit this one was middle of the road for me.

jrobidoux said:

Am I the only one who thought the hops went a bit too far in this beer and totally overshadowed the rye?? I love everything from Sierra Nevada, but this one just didn't seem quite right...

Click to expand...

I don't think it's the hops that go too far. It's the rye that doesn't go far enough.

If you guys like this brew you should try brewing Denny's Wry Smile Rye IPA. I like the ruthless. But Denny's wry blows ruthless away IMO.

Total coincidence that Denny posted just before me! ha

I went to a Craft Brew Festival over the weekend and there were reps from SN, tried the Kellerweiss and Ruthless Rye. The kellerweiss was pretty good, however the Ruthless Rye I did not find too fascinating.

Kellerweiss in an open fermenter...

That's so cool. I heard it's supposed to be like a never ending fermentation for that beer. Something along the lines of they rack fresh wort into a percentage of already fermenting wort?