The Unbearable Sweetness of Ambers: R and J's Rowdy Raccoon by Young Blood Beer Co.

This is another brew that I first encountered sometime in the summer, I do believe, and got lost in the divorce shuffle. 

Young Blood Beer Co. is one of my least favorite breweries in Madison as their portfolio is 99.9% fruity this and pastry that. Reading their beer lists is like reading a menu that consists of nothing but Hawaiian Punch and Hostess snack cakes. There seems to be little more than gimmickry at work here of the most vicious kind.

"Fruit Punch Sour with Lemon, Passion Fruit, Orange & Guava"

"Fruit Punch Sour with Winter Melon, Passion Fruit, Orange & Guava"

blah blah blah

 

I found their helles to be tasty but pilsner-like and their smoked porter to be not bad. Despite never having considered going to their outpost on North Street despite not living far from it, I still try their beer tasting beers if I find something appealing at the liquor store and such was the case this past summer when I discovered that they had brewed a lager with my favorite grain, rye - R and J's Rowdy Raccoon.

 

For all the gimmicks Young Blood employs, this beer sure looked mighty fine. A loose tan head shrank while sitting atop several ounces of gorgeous beer. It was a beautiful amber hue and clear to boot. Many a bubble was to be seen inside the glass. Taking a whiff, my nose caught, disappointingly but not unexpectedly, caramel. Plus black pepper and grass. It reminded me a bit of Eliot Ness from Great Lakes.

 

While I do not seek to have the taste of caramel banished from beer, American brewers are almost unable to produce a brew that isn't yellow or black that isn't a Werther's candy in liquid form. It is weird. When I was in England back in September, I sampled a few amber ales and the caramel taste ranged from little to none. These were not sweet beers.

 

I don't know what English brewers and their maltsters do. Perhaps they take sacks of Maris Otter out to Stonehenge and perform some druidic voodoo on them, reading profane passages from a Barclay Perkins grimoire. Whatever diablerie they practice, English brewers manage to make amber ales that don't taste like candy.

 

So this stuff looked wonderful but had a prominent caramel aroma. But that didn't necessarily consign it to the candy bin. I hoped.

 

My first sip was fizzy heaven and then came the bready sweetness followed by caramel. Underneath those bubbles was a very smooth beer. It also had a savory/bready taste that I presumed was the rye. Oh, and there was a dash of cubeb or Grains of Paradise in there too.

 

The sweetness lingered on the finish but a modicum of spicy hops eventually crept in. Bitterness was medium and dryness a bit less.

 

Despite a near optimal level of fizziness, this beer was a bit too sweet. It never tasted cloying but I wished that it had leaned towards the breadier with less Werther's. Perhaps keeping it more on syrupy side kept the A.B.V. at a moderate 5.2%. The hops and rye were tasty, though.

 

Junk food pairing: This lager pairs well with pretzels, especially Snyder's Jalapeño Pieces. The spiciness tempers the sweetness of the beer and adds a complementary zing to the rye.