Beer Review: Rye'da Tiger

Reviewing Rye'da Tiger from Three Floyds Brewing Company out of Munster, Indiana. HUGE thanks to Will "my name is fake" Wilberg for hooking me up with the bottle!
Score: 98

Bottle is from mid-September 2012. Served in a Founders snifter and enjoyed on 10/04/12.

Appearance: Pours a bright honey-orange color with a lot of color depth when held up to the light due its transparent quality. Can be a straight honey or orange color depending on the angle. Quite interesting! A finger of cream-colored seafoam head at pour settles to a ring around the glass. Excellent lacing and retention. I really dig the frothy head that clings to the side of the glass after every sip. What a beautiful IPA! On the second pour, there were some floaties in the glass that made this one a little less beautiful....still an excellent looking IPA though! 4.5/5

Smell: In-your-face doses of slightly candied peaches and tangerines upfront. Pineapple, orange peels, rye spice, pine, and lemon candy overlay a faint caramel malt backbone. This beer is just loaded with sweet tropical fruit juice aromas and a nice and clean, piney-hoppy counterbalance to the sweetness in the nose. Wow. Simply wow. I was not expecting something so balanced and robust! 4.75/5

Taste: Hoppy oranges, tangerines and peaches up front. This is pure tropical fruit IPA juice. There is also a nice and subtle spice kick on the front of the tongue that I presume is from the rye. The back end of the flavor of this beer is bitter, earthy hops, caramel malt and faint rye flavor. The finish is pretty bitter, but the tropical citrus sweetness really helps keep it from going to far over the edge. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with carbonation on the heavier side of light. Super oily mouthfeel. The bitterness really layers on the tongue and makes for an interesting palate-experience when paired with the faint rye kick this beer packs. 5/5

Overall: What a world class, in-your-face IPA that is bold and unforgiving. Bitter, but dangerously smooth. The subtle rye complexity here is a real nice complement to the hoppiness. After my experience with Rye'd Da Lightning, I was not expecting something so great. Kudos to Three Floyds for creating yet another of the best hoppy beers out there!

Recommendation: Seek this out and and consume it fresh! Unless you hate IPA and hoppy beers, of course.

Pairings:Spicy, homemade beer chili (the kind that Chris Gierhart makes when you pony up to '86 the pork!).

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