I brought home a nice little selection of beers from Nashville’s Yazoo Brewing Company when I visited a few months ago, and I’m working my way through the last of them now with my bottle of Yazoo Sly Rye Porter. Yazoo calls this one of their most sought-after beers, and I can see why. It’s tasty and delicious after all!
Rye is not a grain I’ve found in porters all that often, and at first when I tasted this beer I thought the body was a bit light. Then I reconsidered that this is a porter and not a stout after all, and then too the body is not overly thick by design so as not to crowd out the rye notes.
From the label:
“Darkness can be your friend,” said the fox. Shutting my eyes, I inhaled the rich aroma of dark fruit, cocoa, and sweet chocolate, followed by a creamy rich body. The rye tingled my tongue with a peppery finish. “I’d be glad to help you get that beer across the swamp,” he said.
Yazoo Sly Rye Porter has an alcohol content of 5.7% by volume with 28 IBUs. I paid $8.99 for a six-pack in Spring Hill, TN. My bottle is marked as bottled on February 9th of 2015.
Yazoo Sly Rye Porter pours to a jet black color with a thick creamy tan head formation and a nose of very light roast and not much else really. Taking a sip, the beer has a medium body appropriate to the style followed by a light roast character and an equally light hit of licorice. To be fair, this allows the spicy rye to come through, which it wouldn’t if this were a heavier porter. Just as I said above. The finish is balanced by roast and dry rye toast flavors. The more I drank of this, the more I liked it, and the more the rye came out. It’s almost like a slightly burnt slice of rye toast if you will, followed by a bite of licorice.
Yeah, I’d buy that again friends! It’s unique and very tasty indeed.
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