Good news beer lovers! Guinness is coming to America. Mind you, I don’t mean Guinness Stout; that’s been here for a long time. No, Guinness is actually planning to build a brewery here in America to produce new and relatively new entries in the Guinness lineup. Entries like Guinness Rye Pale Ale, the beer I’m here to tell you about today.
For several years now Guinness has been responding to the growing (and increasingly global) beer renaissance with new entries outside its core of stouts. Some of these have been resurrections of classic recipes like Guinness West Indies Porter; others completely new concoctions such as Guinness Blonde American Lager. Expect to see more new entries in the Guinness lineup created at the new brewery in Maryland.
For now, though, we shall enjoy the lovely Guinness Rye Pale Ale, brewed at the historic St. James Gate facility in Dubliin.
From the Guinness website:
Created by the brewers at The Open Gate Brewery as a holiday gift for their colleagues, friends and families, Guinness Rye Pale Ale proved so popular they had to share it with everyone. The rustic, spicy character of rye grain is balanced with citrus and grapefruit from the mosaic and cascade hops, making it a fine addition to the Guinness family.
Guinness Rye Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 5% by volume and you can get 3 bottles of it in the latest Guinness Brewers Collection, which also includes 3 bottles each of Guinness Stout Draught, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and the aforementioned (and very tasty) West Indies Porter. That will only set you back about $13.29 at Target, though it should be noted these are European style 11.2 ounce bottles.
Guinness Rye Pale Ale pours to a hazy orange amber color with a thick spicy rye, bready nose and a medium head of foam. Taking a sip, the beer has soft caramel malt up front followed by a bit less soft passion fruit and melon notes and fresh spicy rye bread flavors. The beer really pops with the fruity notes even more than the rye but finishes balanced. I really get more fruit than rye here, though I do enjoy both in this flavorful and easy to drink brew.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler