Rye IPA #1 Tasting

I've been working on my hoppy beers to get them more assertively bitter and with a stronger hop aroma. For this one I added rye to the mix, because, well, why not? And I've been wanting to do something with rye for a while. Happily the results have been good.

Appearance: Light copper in color with a thick white head that lasts and that makes a nice lacing as I sip the beer. Moderate chill haze.

Objects in the picture may appear darker than they really are.

Aroma: Fruity Cascade hops dominate the nose. The aroma was definitely stronger when I first sampled this beer last week, but I still get a nice hoppy nose. Grapefruit like, not much of that pungent piney quality that some IPAs have. Maybe a slight breadiness. The aroma gets stronger as the beer warms a little.

Taste: Bitter, but more balanced than my previous IPA. A malty, slightly spicy quality at first, and then a moderate bitterness. Slight grainy sweetness. Fairly balanced between the bitterness, hops and malt qualities., I would say.

Mouthfeel: Moderate body and carbonation. Aftertaste is moderately bitter with a decent bit of sweetness.

Overall: A moderately aromatic IPA with a fruity nose and a taste well balanced between bitterness, rye like spiciness, and slightly malty or bread like sweetness. I like it quite a bit. At 55 IBUs and about a 1:1 ratio of BU:GU, tt's less assertively bitter than my previous IPA, but I think due to the late hopping and dry hopping it has a better aroma. The rye comes through only slightly in my view, adding a bit of complexity to the nose and taste, but does not dominate. Next time perhaps I would only up the IBUs slightly and dry hop with more of the piney hops for a more complex nose.