Beyond the Pale: Rye Guy

Although I am trying to diversify which breweries get reviews, here is my second review of a Beyond the Pale beer.  The main reason for this is Geography, as their brewery is close to my house.

In the microbrew scene there is one type of beer that seems to dominate, and that is the IPA, or India Pale Ale for the uninitiated.  In the microbrew world, the idea of what constitutes and IPA is open to interpretation so we get a large range of beers called IPA's that are not all that similar.  In Canada there also seems to be a backlash against beers that are called IPA's but have been weakened for the mass market (I'm looking at you Keith's) so the microbrewers seem to go to an extra effort to make a IPA that is nothing like Keith's.  This results in a wonderful variety of beers that have nothing in common with Keith's or other mass produced beers called IPA's (I can't think of any others off the top of my head) and Beyond the Pale's Rye Guy is a good example of this.

In the beer world, a proper IPA will be strong and very hoppy, and Rye Guy is no exception to this rule, however they have managed to stay away from the apparant arms war between some brewers to make the hoppiest IPA possible as the Rye Guy is not over the top in the bitterness department but at 6.7% it still packs a good punch.  One major thing that separates Rye Guy from other IPA's is that the critical grain is Rye (as the name suggests) as opposed to barley or wheat found in most beers, this gives it some interesting pine and citrus flavours resulting in a very distinctive flavour.  This gives it a very nice balance that allows it to be very enjoyable for a larger number of people than most hoppy IPA's are.  Because it doesn't punch you in the face with hoppiness, Rye Guy does end up being remarkably drinkable for a 6.7% beer, almost as drinkable as a 5 % beer, which could make it a little bit dangerous if you are not paying attention to how much you are drinking.

Strong Hoppy IPA's are still a bit intimidating for many casual beer drinkers, but Rye guy does bridge that gap a little bit, however it is probably limited in it's market potential compared to their Pink Fuzz or The Darkness, however if you are a fan of hoppy IPA's then I strongly suggest you give Rye Guy a try.  It's available at their Brewery on Hamilton Ave in Ottawa and on tap at a few pubs around the city. 

What you need to know
Brewery Address:
5 Hamilton Ave N
Ottawa, ON
K1Y 1B4

Website: www.beyondthepale.ca 

Twitter: @BTPBrewing