Brewdog: Casino Rye Ale (Scotland: Speciality Grain: 5.1% ABV)
Visual: Pale gold. Some carbonation. Thin yellowed head.
Nose: Rye crackers. Dried apricot. Pepper. Brown bread baps.
Body: Bready. Pepper and paprika. Rye bread. Lightly creamy. Prickly hop character. Slight earthy note. Light apricot.
Finish: Slightly milky. Rye bread and pepper. Bready. Slight earthy. Mild malt drinks and nutty notes.
Conclusion: Fairly simple one this – the biggest surprise I got from it is that it is light gold. I am used to rye influenced beers being a bit darker on the eye. So on pour I was expecting something a bit more unusual.
Despite the lighter color the rye still dominates the flavor of the beer. Lots of rye crackers and light pepper taste against a slightly creamy, but generally dry body. That is what you get dominating, for the most part, your drinking session with this beer. Drinkable enough but nothing to get the pulse pounding.
At 5% abv I know that I shouldn’t expect this to be a massive beer, however we do have a lot of complex beers around at this abv and lower. Frankly, despite a bit of abv inflation in the craft scene over the years – 5% is still above standard sessionable abv and should give plenty of room for some depth and grip. As is the flavor profile feels more appropriate for something aiming at the sessionable, easygoing end of the scale.
Outside of that you get an occasional apricot high note, but not much of that. More common is a malty drink and lightly nutty led set of low notes – which add to an already grounded beers style. However rather than added low notes, it feels like it needs a few more contrasting high and fresh notes, or some other contrast as it can rapidly start feeling a tad samey in the experience you are getting.
Not much else to say. Drinkable, bit basic – needs a bit more to it to make it work. Nothing terrible to complain about – just very average.
Background: Was not sure if I was going to grab this one. First, as Brewdog have released a lot of new beers recently, always releasing them one at a time, which makes mail ordering a pain. Second due to the gimmick attached to it. To try and promote their USA shares thingy, Brewdog were doing a gamble your shares promotion. Now, as someone who happily drinks beer, which if misused can be a bloody harmful habit, I feel a tad hypocritical criticising gambling for the damage it can do if people become addicted. However, just for me, and as me, my experiences with people addicted to gambling means such promotions leave a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway, looks like the whole promotion ran into some legal issues, and I was in Bristol – so grabbed a bottle from Brewdog Bristol. So, feh, trying it after all. As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beer. Anyway, listened to more Mobina Galore while drinking this – lovely punk energy with a touch lighter sound.