Head to Head: Terrapin Rye Pale Ale vs. Terrapin Rye²

Welcome to another Head to Head challenge. Today we have two Rye beers brewed by The Terrapin Beer company in the state of Georgia in America. The first is the Rye Pale Ale. The second is the Rye².

This tasting was done blind but is not to style. Why you ask? Well these beers are all different styles but they share one major characteristic, they all are brewed with rye. So lets see which is the best beer and what if anything the rye contributes.

Price: Winner – Rye

Rye – $9.99 (6 pack 12 oz bottles)

Rye² – $2.99 (12 0z bottle)

Appearance: Winner – Rye²

Rye – The Rye pours a yellow color with a average but very creamy white head that leave excellent lacing.

Rye² – The Rye² pours an amber color with a average but long lasting off-white head which leaves a good lace on the glass.

Aroma: Winner – Rye

Rye – The nose of this beer presents lots to enjoy. There is some straw and rye, a nice flower perfume, and some orange.

Rye² - This has lots of sweetness in the aroma. There is a bit of dark rye bread and a whiff of Alcohol.

Taste: Winner – Rye

Rye – A wonderful light and drinkable beer here. The flavor is a good balance of bitter and sweet with neither taking over.

Rye² - This almost reminds me of a barley wine. It is very sweet almost sickly sweet in fact with some alcohol presence.

Body/Finish: Winner – Tie

Rye – The body is light and presents a small amount of bitterness.

Rye² - Another light bodied beer that has a syrupy flavored (not textured) finish.

Overall: Winner – Rye
Well if the Rye² is supposed to be double the Rye I don’t see it. The Rye is a well balanced enjoyable beer. The Rye² is simply too sweet. Most of the character of the Rye is lost. Simply doubling everything was not a good return on the investment. Stick to the Rye Pale Ale and enjoy a good beer instead.

~ by alelagerlambic on May 13, 2008.