Brewdog: Rye Hammer (Scotland: IPA: 7.2% ABV)
Visual: Light clear yellow. Good sized white bubbled head. Some small bubbled carbonation.
Nose: Rye crackers. Passion fruit. Moderate hop character. Soft peach. Brown bread. Thick aroma.
Body: Big peach and peach melba. Passion fruit. Good hop character. Custard and toffee malt character. Strawberry hints. Apricot. Brown bread and rye crackers.
Finish: Rye crackers and light spice. Pineapple and kiwi. Moderate hop bitterness. Grapes. Strawberry. Brown bread. Slightly dry. Pepper.
Conclusion: Ok, after being mostly ok on the Jack Hammer variants over the past year – good but not great – I think I have finally found the one that I adore. It is odd that this is the stand out one for me, as generally I am not a huge fan of beers not originally designed for rye having it added. Beers designed for rye tend towards good, but added afterwards it generally seems to result in a weaker beer than the original. This, however, works,
I think part of it is that it doesn’t mess with the base Jack Hammer too much. You still get the massive fruit range, the good hop punch, the sweet but not excessive malt base – all the fond elements that have been carefully honed since the beer’s original release, all on show here.
The rye just adds to that – extra spice and peppery notes to the finish. Extra weight given to the back that gives it more impact from the base as well as the hops. The rye doesn’t seem to take away from anything in the beer, it just gives it a bit more to play with. More flavour, more character, more range.
I already liked Jack Hammer, a bit of a one note assault as it was – it had a good amount of fruit and hops, but it was the same notes the whole way through. This makes the beer much more full, gives more grip, so the flavours have more to examine. There is possibly a tad less raw bitterness – it is hard to say – I have got so blasé to high hop bitterness over the years that I may just not notice it as much.
The most normal of the Jack Hammer variants in that it does not vary as much from the base, but also the best. It keeps all the juicy and fresh fruit character, all the hops – the biggest difference is in the finish – there is some rye shown throughout, but in the finish it is far more with the bready and spicy rye character. The biggest joy from this is that this is a great beer,a great Jack Hammer with that bit extra I never knew it needed. Awesome stuff.
Background: Fourth and final (for this year at least) Jack Hammer variant from Brewdog. This one, as the name suggests, is made with rye. As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers. The original Jack Hammer was a fun wee hop assault that I enjoyed initially and has grown on me more over the years as they tweak the recipe. This was grabbed from Brewdog Bristol, and drunk while listening to Mobina Galore again.