Black Market Brewing Co - Rye IPA

Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their weeks. I know I am. Why you ask? Because it's time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For those of you in the dark about this, it's the playoffs for the NHL. You don't know what the NHL is? Please leave my page.

No really. Go ahead. I'll wait.

OK! Now that they're gone let's get into another beer review. Tonight I'm drinking Rye IPA by Black Market Brewing Co out of Temecula, CA. Where the hell is Temecula? It's about an hour north of where I'm located, about an hour and a half north of San Diego. So yeah, it's somewhat local. Let's get into this one guys (and gals)!

The Rye IPA is 7.5% abv and poured out a really nice copper/amber color. There was a real nice 3 fingers of a rocky/fluffy white head with a ton of tiny white bubbles. The head stuck around for a few minutes and left behind a so-so lacing on the glass. This looks like a pretty standard IPA. No complaints there. Let's get the nose on the Rye IPA.

First thing I get on the nose is citrus. I know that's vague. Specifically, smells a lot like a tangerine. It's very sweet smelling initially. I'm picking up some of the rye. It's a little spicy and plays off the citrus very nicely. I'm getting quite a bit of a sweet malt character. Some sweet breads as well. As I go back a couple more times I'm picking up more tropical fruits. Lots of pineapple, papaya and some Mango. This is a really nice smelling IPA and that Rye is really peaking my interest. Enough talk, let's do some drinking.

Right away I'm noticing quite a bit of carbonation. So at least we've got carbonation! Immediately I pick up the Rye character and a nice hop bitterness. The rye is massive in this beer. Makes sense though, it is called Rye IPA. I'm picking up a lot of sweet malt characters. Quite a bit of caramel in the middle of the mouth. Not getting as much of the citrus as I got on the nose. I am however, picking up a bit of a peach character towards the sides of the mouth into the back end. It's sticky and a bit sugary. This beer finishes nice and dry. The mouth feel is medium. It's just a solid IPA with a nice Rye character throughout.

So overall, I like this beer quite a bit. This is the 3rd beer I've had from Black Market and so far, I've yet to be let down. This is a really easy drinking IPA. The Rye is really nice in this beer playing off those citrus notes we picked up on the nose and the hop bitterness we got right away from the initial taste. I'd suggest giving this one a try. It's solid. It's not mind blowing or ground breaking but an easy drinking, very enjoyable IPA. Definitely not like the typical So. Cal hop bombs. A nice change of pace.

Rating: B, bordering B+