Exactly one week ago at this time as I type, I was on a plane bound for Seattle, Washington. I was headed there on business, of course, but if you have to be away on business and are a beer lover in the way that I am, there are many worse places that you can be sent to than Seattle. That said, of course, the first thing I did when I arrived Sunday was head downtown for a beer. My first choice was Maritime Pacific-Jolly Roger, but much to my dismay they are closed on Sundays. Not to worry, however, because Hales Ales is right down the street, and they were open, too.

This was my second visit to Hales, and I enjoyed a few very good pints here, including a truly exceptional IPA on cask. Thus fortified, I headed around the corner to the local Fred Meyer store in search of bottled beer to bring back to my hotel. As fate would have it, I managed to score a twelve ounce bottle of Hale's own Rudyard's Rare Barleywine Style Ale, 2006 bottling, just a scant few blocks from the place the stuff was made. Even the brewery shop didn't have any of this rare (hence the name) malty delight left in stock. Of course, I grabbed one up, and at the amazingly low price of just $1.89 I should have grabbed a few. Likely I would have, had I more time in Seattle than a week yet so many brews to sample. Oh yes, and there was that work thing, too.

Rudyard's Rare is a barleywine style ale, a rich and malty brew of high alcohol content (9.2% by volume for this one) and considerable complexity. The style originated in England but has been, for the most part, hijacked by American craft brewers, most notably those on the west coast. It is therefore in a class with Sierra Nevada Bigfoot , Rogue Old Crustacean , and Full Sail Old Boardhead as just a few examples.

Rudyard's Rare has been around since 1997, but was not bottled until 2001. The brewery lists ingredients of 2 row, crystal, black and caramel malt and nuggest and East Kent Golding hops. Original gravity is a whopping 1.091 with 63 IBUs of bitterness. The beer is named, of course, after famed English writer Rudyard Kipling, and the bottle is proudly adorned with his profile. This is in the tradition of naming such hearty brews after literary figures: Thomas Hardy's Ale immediately comes to mind. Hardy was a famous English author as well, and the beers do share a bready and carmelly malt body, though they diverge from there in many ways. But Hale's has a more interesting link to Rudyard Kipling: it's head brewer is none other than Rudyard J. Kipling, a great nephew of the legendary English author.

Hale's Rudyard's Rare Barleyine Style Ale pours to a dark brownish black color with a tinge of ruby, a light creamy tan head and a bready yeasty malt nose. The palate is full and luxuriant, sliding over the tongue with a thick and almost decadent mouthfeel. The complex flavors jump right out at you: chocolate, licorice, fresh bread, black pepper, orange, caramel, rum-raisin. There's just so much going on it's hard to figure it all out, but you'll have fun trying, and as the beer ages you may just find new flavors emerging.

The roasty chocolate picks up its pace into the finish, where it's joined with a citric and grassy hop aroma and flavor. The bitterness intensifies too, depositing a long, dry, bitterness that seems all the more amazing given the beer's massive malt body. That will fade a bit in time, and this is a beer that indeed begs to be laid down to see how it will change over a course of years.

I very much enjoyed Rudyard's Rare. Though as previously mentioned it shared some of the flavors of Hardy's, it is much more chocolaty and definitely hoppier. It's probably closest to Rogue's Old Crusty, but has more chocolate than one too. Rudyard's Rare is unique, complex, and of course, rare. Buy all you can. If you can.

 

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

 

 

 

 



Home