Uinta Brewing Company - Cahoots Double Rye India Pale Ale

What's up everyone? Hope things are going well. Spent my dinner at Stone tonight and had a couple of fantastic beers, one of which will be reviewed in the next few days. But that's for another time. I've had this bottle in my fridge far too long and honestly, it's time to get this one opened and see how it tastes.

So with that said, tonight I'm drinking another new(er) release from Uinta, part of their Crooked Line series. This is their Cahoots Double Rye India Pale Ale. In other words? It's a Double Rye IPA. Or, it's a Rye DIPA... or its... well, whatever. The point is, this is a Rye IPA and is actually brewed with two types of malted rye and loads of malted barley... and finally, two hop varieties. Sounds like they're going for a spicy, hoppy, slightly malty IPA. Coming in at 9.4% abv and bottled 5/17/13, let's pop the cork and see how this one is!

Cahoots pours out a really nice amber, mahogany color. Lots of ruby red hues at the bottom of the glass. Not a lot of carbonation on this one, but there is a small amount streaming up from the bottom of the glass. A really nice billowy tan/off-white head. Lots of tiny bubbles. Great retention time with some thick, sticky foam like lacing. This is a really nice looking IPA, DIPA, whatever IPA! Let's get the nose on the Cahoots!

First thing I get on the nose is some nice juicy hop character. Lots of pineapple, peaches, some mango, papaya. Some subtle citrus behind the juicy fruits. A nice amount of pine/resin like characters. The rye really comes through as the head dissipates back into the beer. A nice spice is left behind that plays really well off the big fruits. It does a nice job bringing out more of the citrus, more of the orange specifically. This is a really nice smelling beer. Enough rambling though. Let's do some drinking!

Really nice mouth feel on this. Right away, I get some of the rye malts. A really good spice comes through immediately. It does a good job of driving the hops through the full palate. Clean through to the back of the palate where you get a nice caramel sweetness. There's some bitter grapefruit in the center of the palate. Lingers really nicely. Sides of the palate you get more of that peach, pineapple and papaya character. It's definitely more noticeable on the nose but it's definitely there. Again, the rye on this really carries the beer in my opinion. Cahoots finishes nice and dry and leaves a nice bitter taste in the mouth. Just a really nice, pleasant and dangerously drinkable beer.

So overall, I'm really digging Cahoots. This is pretty much what I want in a Rye IPA. Lots of spice but nothing overpowering the overall juicy characters and citrus characters of the IPA itself. Everything plays together really nicely here. A good malt profile adds a nice mouth feel and some sweetness to the beer. Once again Uinta nails it. They're slowly becoming one of my favorites, possibly top 3 favorite, breweries that I have access to. If you can get Cahoots I think it's worth picking up and checking out. Definitely one to relax with at the end of a long day.

Rating: A

Oh, here's a video of my wife trying Cahoots. It cuts off, but don't fret, it Tastes Like Beer! 

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+