The Bruery: Bryeian

My god this season is fucking busy. Between the massive amounts of work, time spent shopping, and spending time with family, sitting down for a nice beer seems like a chore. Usually I just end up crashing on the couch and popping open a Hoponius Union or something. So last night, after the smoke cleared and I was home from Christmas with the family, I decided to open a bottle of beer sent to me via my Reddit Secret Santa. The Bruery's Batch #1000 home brew contest winner, Bryeian, is a Cascadian Rye Ale originally brewed by Bryan Keas and Brian Pramov of Denver based Rock Hoppers Home Brew Club. And as it happens, the lady bought me a glass from Crate and Barrel that said it's specifically for a rye beer, so it worked out perfectly.
Bryeian pours as black as you'd expect a Schwarzbier to pour, with a big erupting head. The hops really smell delightful on the top of this beer, with some citrusy grassy notes shining though. The taste though is much more about the malt profile here, with an unexpectedly smooth opening taste bursting with chocolate and coffee sweetness and what I can only guess is the rye malt bill giving a little aztec chocolate spiciness in the finish. The hops don't present themselves much in the body of this beer but the bitterness left on the tongue leaves a nice finish. It took about four or five sips before I could even figure out what was going on in this guy, with it warming up and some of the flavors brightening, it really evolved quickly, and delightfully. It's really too bad I only have one, and probably won't see another one either. If, for any strange reason, you get a chance to get one, I'd highly recommend it for a nice quite evening of pure stress relief.