South River, where;’s that hoser?
Brewed in the North…. at South River? I guess North is a relative term, South River is South of a lot of places I have worked and lived. But if you are from the little apple and Algonquin Park sounds like a far North adventure in igloo country, then you may just consider South River as the great white North of Bob and Doug* fame. So where is Rye Road? Well from Stover Museum, you head North to Bummer’s Roost, then head East until you are just North of the West end of Deer Lake and now you are at the South end of Rye Road. Head North on Rye Road for 25 kms and voila, you are now in metropolitan Commanda.**
Time to get back on Rye Road, as in this Rye Pale Ale from South River, the brewery and the town. Not our first rye pale ale but to be fair, but I wouldn’t call it standard fare.
Clear and golden, with an off-white trim topper, a photogenic pour. An aroma with a touch of rye with a fresh apple fruit aroma too, interesting. A nice pale ale fruit body, somewhat fizzy on first take, then a flat fizzy finish with a subtle rye aftertaste. It is complex but it actually all works. The flat rye finish approaches crisp, but not too much rye. It does leave a rye aftertaste. A crisp mild rye finish now, the fizz and aftertaste both afterthoughts.
South River tell us that “the light taste and smooth finish isn’t like any RPA you have experienced yet”. I am not usually a rye brew fan but I like it when beers do exactly what the brewer says they will, and this one does. A beer like that gets my vote. Rye Road could run for office with a platform of “say what we do, and do what we say”. Then again, when it comes to politics, these days it’s the best story that wins the day, not the best plan, despite the best intentions. Best stop here.
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