Last March, I took a trip to Charlotte on business, and Charlotte followed me back. Well, a brewery from Charlotte did anyway. You see, while I was there I picked up a few beers from the Unknown Brewery. I didn’t get to stop by the brewery proper (I will next time though) as my schedule did not permit. Shortly after returning home, I saw Unknown beers on store shelves here in the Atlanta area. See? They followed me back.
Prior to popping a can of Unknown Brewing Company Brown Ryed Girl, an India Brown Ale, the beers of this brewery were, ummm, unknown to me. You could say they’re unknown to me even after trying them, too. I kinda like that. Anyway, I do very much this style, closely related as it is to American Brown Ale, though generally even more hoppy than that.
From the label:
Hoppy, roasty and smooth. This India Brown Ale will stay on your mind long after the last taste, like a song of the classic variety which may or may not have inspired this beer.
Unknown Brewing Company Brown Ryed Girl has an alcohol content of 6.5% by volume according to the can label, though the brewery website says 5.5%. I’ll go by the can as more accurate. As much as I liked the beer, it’s on the high side price wise at $11.99 a six-pack.
Unknown Brewing Company Brown Ryed Girl pours to a dark ruddy brown color with a thick fluffy tan head and a deep resiny pine nose. Taking a sip, the beer has a sweet cookie malt and chocolate character quickly subsumed by spicy grainy rye and piney and citric grapefruit hop character. The beer finishes with a long dry bitterness that lingers on the tongue for some time after sipping.
The addition of rye to the beer here is genius, and takes it from a great beer to a truly exceptional one in my book. I really loved the interaction between the brown ale cookie malts, the spicy rye and the piney hops. The rye brings the beer from 4 ½ stars to 5 for me, though the price takes that half star right back away. That said, this beer is good enough that I would certainly buy it again, even at that price point. Unknown Brewing Company Brown Ryed Girl is so good I wouldn’t let a few extra bucks keep me from enjoying it again.
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