Big Drop: Fat Lizard: Rye’d Said Fred: Juniper Rye IPA (England: Low Alcohol: 0.5% ABV)
Visual: Slightly amber touched gold. Clear main body with not much evident carbonation, but a very large mounded off white head.
Nose: Rye crackers. Slightly watery. Peppery. Musty. Subtle peach.
Body: Grapefruit. Muggy bitterness. Brown bread. Slightly watery. Lemon cakes. Soft vanilla. Cream. Juniper.
Finish: Lemon sorbet. Sour dough. Peppery. Clinging hop feel. Some bitterness. Juniper berries. Smoke wisp.
Conclusion: This is an interesting mix. Initially it came across a tad watery when it was chilled down, but warming up up allowed it to open up in aroma and flavours, and also thicken up in body.
On the nose it is fairly rye led, not a heavy character but generally spicy and savoury with an emphasis on the peppery character. The body follows in a still spicy and rye style, but with tarter notes. Strangely the first tarter notes I got wasn’t juniper, but instead grapefruit like and fairly clean. As it warms it becomes creamier, smoother and more evidently juniper touched.
It has moderate bitterness in the finish, but is never really hop led. What hop character it does have is muggy and slightly leaden. There is a wisp of smoke there as well, which feels very fresh hopped, but I presume that isn’t the case here.
So the main play of the beer is lightly tart fruit versus rye spice. It is fairly gentle, which is unusual for rye led beers, but still enjoyable. It is a bit different from the usual low alcohol beers, and fills out the low abv with enough flavor for an easy drinking one. It is, again, not a special stand out beer, but is still a nice twist on the low abv fare.
A decent one that is well worth a try.
Background: The final of the four pack of collaboration beers from Big Drop. This one a collaboration with Fat Lizard from Finland. Another one I have not run into before, so this is my first experience with them. This seems an interesting one, not just a rye IPA, but also infused with juniper – which admittedly I’ve had mixed experience with in beers. It has a decently varied hop load with Azacca, Chinook, Citra and Magnum – the last of which seems to have turned up in most beers in this set. Don’t know if the pun of the beer name travels – it is a reference to the musical act “Right Said Fred”. Do people outside the UK know them? No idea. Went again with SOPHIE: Oil of Every Peal’s Un-Insides while drinking. This set was grabbed from Independent Spirit. I also grab alcoholic beers from them. Will do notes on those one day.
