I tell you, new breweries keep popping up so fast these days I just can’t keep up with them. A recent trip to Asheville, North Carolina yielded beer from yet another brewery new to me: Riverbank Rye-It Pale Ale from the Deep River Brewing Company of Clayton, North Carolina. Deep River opened its doors to the public in April of 2013, joining an ever-growing crowd of craft breweries in the south and across the country.

Though some fear that another shakeout is coming in the craft beer business (we had one in the late 90s), you couldn’t prove that these days with a trip to the beer store or a brewery. When Deep River opened its doors, they had to turn away would-be attendees after selling 250 tickets to their grand opening party.

In an analysis of the beer market for 2014 by the Brewers Association, craft beer shot up by more than 17% in volume sales to 11% of total sales. That’s still a small slice of the pie since domestic beers like Bud and Miller control the lion’s share of the remaining 89% (imports have about 15% and domestics 74%). In terms of dollars, craft beer dominates even more of the market with 19.3% of the 101.5 billion dollar U.S. beer market.

This level of enthusiasm for craft beer is good news for craft brewers like Deep River-and the hordes more sure to follow them into the industry.

From the can label:

This beer has a significant malt backbone imparted by over 25% malted rye which adds a touch of spiciness. Columbus hops give it a pronounced citrusy bite that weaves seamlessly with the esters that are produced by the Belgian yeast used in this beer. Enjoy-and be different!

Deep River Riverbank Rye-It Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 5.2% by volume with 52 IBUs. The beer is sold in 4-packs of 16-ounce cans for $8.99.  I bought a single and chipped in $1.99 towards the 2015 craft beer sales with my purchase of Deep River Riverbank Rye-It.

Deep River Riverbank Rye-It Pale Ale pours to a rich copper color with a towering pile of rocky head and a caramel, citrus and spicy rye nose. Taking a sip, the beer has good chewy caramel up front followed by oodles of spicy rye toast flavor, pronounced bright citrus, and a long dry herbal grassy and citrus peel hop aroma and bitter finish. Indeed, this beer finishes very bitter. The sharp bitterness in the finis cuts like a knife.

I don’t really get the Belgian yeast character they talk about, but I am getting lots of rye and hops, and I love that. The price is reasonable, too, making this a beer I would definitely buy again. You should, too, and do your part to continue to grow the relentless advance of craft beer.  

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler

 

 

 



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