Wednesday 14 May 2014

When Home and Micro Collide: King of the RyePAs?

I've imagined brewing for quite some time, but have never gotten to it.  Part of the reason is because I'm pretty much at the point where anything short of all-grain probably wouldn't agree with my evolving palate, and this has greater expenses and time.  But, moreso, I'd be concerned that I'd have to drainpour a large batch if it didn't meet my standards.

The Atman Brothers (of la Décapsule des Frères Atman) and Microbrasserie Kruhnen may have a different problem - or caused us one.  You see, the Atman Brothers - colleagues in the Beerlinked project and pals from the beer scene - have been brewing for a while and, with Kruhnen's capacity, have collaboratively brewed (and commercially released) a really big batch of beer (by homebrew standards)...

... but it's far too small and too limited considering how good it is!

This delicious RyePA, King Cogne, sports a mighty fine label, but having received my bottle as a gift from the brewmasters left me without that for the short.  Elaborating on beerism's take (which definitely inspired the shot, credit where credit is due), I figured the monkey just had to mount the bottle with a damsel in hand (this one just happening to be the lady Shrek my kid got from a vending machine)!

It pours a clear golden colour with a bubbly effervescence that is quite visible.  The nose is a true marvel, wafting tropical fruits like mango and papaya, aside from the citrus typically of the style (and of the chinook, citra, and calypso hops used in the brewing).

It begins with slightly sweet citrus kick that rapidly dries out evolving into a spicy, peppery, tingly, sharp dryness that fades into a floral hoppy linger.  The body is medium-light, with a super-prickly carbonation that complements the rye and the flavours well; the bubbles almost seem to burst hops on your tongue in a love affair of all that is good in bitter brews.  That said, though, the peppery and lightly spicy notes of the rye are equally well shown by this level of carbonation and the beer well expresses the evolution of taste on the palate.

My wife loved it too saying it was "almost as good as Moralité," (a beer she truly loves as I do).  That is fine praise indeed, and this beer warrants some fine praise.  For a beer geek, or a hop-head, it is highly drinkable, and it pairs well with spicy Cajun sausages (I say from experience), which is the mark of both a good spicy sausage and a good IPA, in my opinion, in that they must both stand up to each other!  This stands up to all of the top RyePAs in the Province as well, though I'd like a chance to side by side before pronouncing a winner, but joining the conversation at this stage is quite a feat.

My one gripe?  This is a limited, perhaps one time only batch, so grab it while it's fresh and join me in telling the Atman bros to brew more beer!

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