Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Roggenbier Dry Hopped with Belma Cask

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Belma hops are fairly obscure around the beer world and a good number of beer drinkers probably have never heard of them. Belma brings strawberry quality to the party, but they aren’t available in huge quantities, which is why you see them more in experimental or one off beers. The guys down at Reuben’s had some Belma hops and happened to have their Roggenbier, which, in case you are unaware is a rye based hefeweisen beer, so it has a good deal of banana qualities to it. Bananas and strawberries in a cask beer? Are we about to have a chocolate and peanut butter moment?

The beer pours the color of cloudy tea with light notes of rye and strawberry on the nose. The beer starts out with a nice yeast component and a mild sweetness before bringing strawberry and rye into the picture. Those flavors linger all the way to the finish with a light breadyness and sweetness joining the party with some banana notes also. The finish is surprisingly long for a cask and the beer is layered and complex with none of the flavors dominating the beer. They all play well together, feeding off each other and making the transition from one flavor to another smooth, producing something very different and delicious. At only 5.3% ABV this one is also very easy to put back a few of.

Reuben’s Roggenbier Dry Hopped with Belma Cask produces a sweet 4 fruit bowls out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Brews AmeriRoggen

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Reuben’s does love their rye beers and they excel at them. One of the styles that you don’t see very often anywhere is a Roggenbier, but that is one of their flagships (and one of the first beers they bottled) and they do it well. A few months back, they decided to use different yeast and transform the Roggenbier into AmeriRoggen, putting a twist on an already solid beer. The beer clocked in at 6% ABV and 28 IBU. It is not currently on tap, but might be making reappearance in the next few months, so keep an eye out for it.

The beer pours a solid brown in color, almost like dark brewed tea with notes of rye, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom dominating and a slight hint of chocolate on the nose. The beer drinks very smoothly – it starts out with a little citrus before moving into the spices and then quickly fading into a pleasantly mild rye finish with notes of warming spice and hints of grain. It drinks much lighter than it looks (it doesn’t have deep roasted flavors) and is smooth and well balanced. Definitely different than anything that is out on the market and a beer worth trying if you are looking for something unusual. It would probably serve as a nice gateway beer into the realm of ryes or browns also.

Reuben’s AmeriRoggen waves the flag to the tune of 4 National Anthems out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Brews Roggenbier

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Until about a year ago, I had no idea what a Roggenbier even was, let alone what it really tasted like. Reuben’s changed all of that by putting Roggenbier on the menu and even making it one of the beers they initially bottled. The review is for the beer on tap, which clocks in at 5.3% ABV and 19 IBU. What is a Roggenbier you ask, well, the short version is a rye based hefeweizen. A much longer answer comes courtesy of the German Beer Institute:

Roggenbier is a medieval ale usually made from a grain bill of about half barley malt and equal portions of wheat and rye malts. Today, a Roggenbier may be either an ale or a lager. Modern renditions of the brew have about 5 to 5.5% alcohol by volume. Rye ales are mildly hopped, which allows the grain flavors to be dominant. Filtration appears to be optional in a rye ale and many, such as the Paulaner (depicted right) are “naturtrüb,” meaning naturally turbid. A yeast-turbid Roggenbier is more authentic, considering that the style had been around long before beer filtration was invented in 1878.

Being ancient brews, Roggenbiers can have a faint whiff of earthiness in the nose that is reminiscent of rye bread. The up-front sensation is one of mild fruitiness. There is a slight to extreme yeastiness and breadiness in the middle, and an almost smoky, spicy, faintly sour and very dry finish—clearly the effects of the rye malt. Effervescence ranges from medium to spritzy like a Hefeweizen. The body is substantial, almost reminiscent of a Bockbier. The brew has a pleasant, rich, off-white head when poured.

For the most part, Roggenbiers are tart, refeshing summer quaffing beers, a nice alternative to a Hefeweizen. They go extremely well with a succulent slice of barbequed roast pork.

Roggenbier pours dark amber in color with notes of rye, bananas, cloves and coriander on the nose. Slightly sweet when you first take a sip with notes of banana and wheat. The sweetness quickly drops off into light citrus and cloves before dropping the hammer with a rye finish = intense rye notes with hints of cinnamon with a dry mouth feel which lingers for a fairly short period of time before mellowing out and hanging around the palate with a background malt/rye/banana finish, noticeable well after you have taken a sip. For some strange reason, this beer seems like a liquid pretzel and that is a good thing. Incredibly well balanced and complex, you should try this beer if you have not done so already.

Roggenbier is a great alternative to a hefe or any other light beer if you are looking for something that isn’t terribly hoppy, is fairly low in alcohol and is refreshing, but still has a complex character.

Reuben’s Brews Roggenbier twists in with 4 Rolled Golds out of 5.