Beer Review: Sixpoint Righteous Ale

Sixpoint Craft Ales Righteous Rye Ale

My first Sixpoint review! About damn time. This local Brooklyn based brewery has been consistently impressive with their wide variety of ales. It is rare to find a quality rye ale (that is not from the Midwest) so I jumped at the chance for a growler of this. I believe very few (only 2) of their 19 beers are actually bottled. That means I may have to use growlers more often. Nothing wrong with that. Fresh beer is the best. The aroma coming off of the glass is staggering. Very rarely do I get a rich malt aroma followed with creamy yeast and floral hops all at once. Inviting is an understatement. The appearance is a lace lovers dream. All over the glass and on top the head just doesn't quit. Superb hopping. Dark amber color holds true for the style.

The flavor is much hoppier than I expected. At just under 54 IBUs and 7.2% ABV this beer is hoppier and stronger than almost any rye ale I have had to this point. This is truly righteous. The rye malt flavor is delicious. It really has a fresh cut sweet rye bread flavor that quickly rolls into a powerful hop attack. Very smooth transition. This has a higher IBU level than even some leading IPAs! I like the lack of conformity to style guidelines but make sure that you are in the mood for hops. You will get lots of them.

This is one hell of a beer. This is not in any way similar to most rye beers on the market. I have never had one like this. I would classify this as a RIPA. The hops are here in full force and they taste as fresh as possible. I only wish the rye malt was a little stronger. It is there and flavorful but the hops really dominate this brew. If you see this on tap you would do well to try a pint.

Final Score: 88% (Fresh Rye Flavor. Delicious Hopping. A Little Off Balance.)