It had been far too long since I had a Great Lakes beer. More than ten years, I think, and that is far too long to be parted from such wonderful beers. When I lived in Rhode Island, Great Lakes beers were not sold there. I had received their beers from friends, though, and even visited the brewery in Cleveland. Moving to Georgia in 2001, I found Great Lakes beers were not to be found here either. Recently, though a friend sent me a bottle of one of their newer brews, Rye of the Tiger IPA, and I instantly recalled why I am so fond of this brewery.

I very much enjoy rye beers, especially hoppy rye beers. Here in Georgia, Athens’ Terrapin brewery makes a very tasty Terrapin Rye Pale Ale that was one of the first hoppy rye ales to hit the market, at least on a large scale. Rye India Pale Ales (aka Rye PA) takes the notion a step further with more malt, more hops, and of course more rye.

Great Lakes says the following about Rye of the Tiger:  

Our Rye of the Tiger has claws. Named for its fierce hop profile and sharp rye content, Rye of the Tiger is a thrilling India Pale Ale with bite. Rye of the Tiger is crafted for the fighter in all of us, a powerful beer meant to inspire feats of strength and skill. At 7.5%, mind those catlike reflexes if your bout goes into extra rounds.

Ingredients: MALT Harrington 2-Row Base Malt: Allows color and flavor from other specialty malts to come through; makes for very clean beer Crystal 45: Contributes to copper color and adds sweet caramel aroma and flavor Biscuit: Lightly toasted malt providing bready, biscuit-like flavor and aroma Rye: Light bodied dry grain adding a crisp, slightly spiced flavor

HOPS Columbus: American hop providing earthy spiciness with citrus undertones Warrior: American bittering hop; provides a clean bitterness with mild citrus and spice notes Simcoe: Unique, non-traditional bittering hop; provides high levels of bitterness with smoothness Pairs With: Fried chicken, milder blue cheeses, and spiced desserts Shelf Life: 90 days

My bottle has a best by date of 7/14/2013, so given the 90 days referenced above it must have been bottled around April 16^th, making this a very fresh sample. I think the beer could age far longer than 90 days, of course, if properly stored. Anyway, let’s dig in, shall we?

Great Lakes Rye of the Tiger IPA pours to a bright orange amber color with a thick and creamy head of foam and an appetizing nose of spicy rye and resiny hops. Taking a sip, I get the prerequisite chewy caramel malt up front followed by spicy, bready rye notes and finally the hops: resiny, citrusy, big in aroma and at the last, a long dry lingering bitter buzz on the tongue.

This is everything I would expect from a Rye IPA. I’ve had examples of the style where the hops overshadow the rye, and while I will say that the rye is not as apparent as it might be in a rye pale ale, it’s still very distinct here. The grainy, spicy rye works so well together with the resiny citrusy hops.

Great Lakes Rye of the Tiger IPA is a beer that is not to be missed, folks. A fellow beer enthusiast mentioned that this was a great example of a Rye India Pale Ale akin to Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye. I like the comparison, though Rye of the Tiger is a slightly bigger beer at 7.5% ABV vs. 6.6% for the Ruthless Rye. You can’t go wrong with either one of these wonderful beers, and I would not dare to say which one I prefer (if I even do) without tasting them side by side.

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