The Return of Rye-on-Rye
Boulevard's Rye-on-Rye is returning... but you won't see it in 2011. I just wanted to get that out there because it's the biggest news in this blog post. The first run of Rye-on-Rye was really well received last year, so it seemed like a given that Boulevard would do another batch. The reason this beer won't make it to shelves in 2011 is because the Rye beer needs to age in Templeton barrels for a year. Templeton just bottled their rye whiskey in December so Boulevard would have just received their barrels. No barrels = no Rye-on-Rye.
Rye-on-Rye is an interesting beer, one that I think is well worth the wait. The worst part of waiting until 2012 for a bottle of batch #2 though, has to be waiting until six months after that to enjoy the beer. I bought two bottles of Rye-on-Rye last year and opened one as soon as I got home. I thought the whiskey was too strong and there wasn't much rye beer in the flavor. I kept the second bottle for about four months before drinking it and it was a completely different beer, much more mellow and much more balanced. That's the beer I'm looking forward to drinking in 16 to 20 months from now.