Spoetzl / Shiner – Ryes & Shine Lager

A big thank you to Jimmy Mauric, master brewer at Spoetzl Brewery for sending up some samples of the latest Shiner brew….Ryes & Shine Rye Lager.  Back in October, I brought you the first peek at the new label design for this No 2 Brew in the Brewer’s Pride series so it was exciting to see some samples arrive last night.

I was interested to try this new beer because it is a full 30% Rye & Chocolate Rye malts, and I always love the clean & crisp flavors that Rye malts impart.  Add in Caramel malt and balance it with Hallertau, Washington Golding & Cascade hops and on paper the recipe just sounds great. 

So how does it taste?  The answer is easy….great!  With all the Rye involved, I was expecting it to lean heavily toward the dry and bitter flavored side of the fence, but it is pleasingly balanced with an almost nutty sweetness in the middle right before the crisp, clean rye finish.  There is definitely a roasted character to the beer, but it’s subtle and not as prominent after you have a few sips…and at 4.9% ABV, you can certainly have more than a few sips.  The IBU is a low 20, and as far as the rest of the stats….OG: 11.8% (by wt), FG: 2.5% (by wt), Real degree of fermentation: 64.8.0%, and Color: 25 SRM…but forget all of that and try one for yourself. Thanks Jimmy…