Beer Review: Rye'd Da Lightning

Reviewing the Rye'd Da Lightning from Three Floyds Brewing Company.
Score: 92

This bottle was picked up from the Three Floyds' brewery on June 14. Enjoyed 06/16/12, served in a Hill Farmstead stemmed tulip and shared with my father for father's day.

Appearance: Pours an orange-amber color that is not "murky" or "cloudy," but I certainly can't see through it. Two fingers of cream colored seafoam head at pour settles to a thin layer with splotchy clumps of bubbly head. Excellent lacing and retention. Excellent cling too. 5/5

Smell: Lots of bright tropical citrus and a mild amount of rye spice. Mango, rye, grapefruit, tangerine, a little honey, and sweet pine sap. Lemon, sweet caramel malt, a touch of biscuit malt and a little peppercorn. Really nice aroma. Reminisce of Zombie Dust plus some spice, but not quite as good as Zombie Dust. 4.5/5

Taste: Very juicy and loaded with tropical fruit citrus. There's pineapple, tangerine, mango, peach and orange. Less rye spice than in the nose. Nice juice orange and caramel malt backbone. Nice bitter pine flavor in back half as well. Orange/pine/mild caramel flavor in the finish. As it layers, a bit of dirty caramel malt and earthy hops flavors comes through towards the finish/aftertaste. A lot more malty and less "hoppped up" than anticipated, but this brew is very balanced. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Super light and juicy, but no real "hop kick" on the tongue (unlike most Three Floyds IPA offerings). Light-plus bodied, low carbonation. Bitter finish with light citrus sweetness. 3.5/5

Overall: Are we sure this is actually a rye beer? This super-hopped rye beer has a super solid IPA flavor profile, but overall is not nearly as good as Artic Panzer Wolf or Dreadnaught or Zombie Dust or Alpha King in my opinion (all of which are distributed outside of the brewery).

Recommendation: Definitely worth drinking, but not worth a special trip to Munster or running around the city to special tappings in order to obtain.

Pairings: Reuben sandwich.

Cost: $10 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.