The Bruery Rugbrød

The Brewers:
Brewmaster: Tyler King
Company: The Bruery
Location: 715 Dunn Way Placentia, California
Website: http://www.thebruery.com/

The Beer:
Style: Julebryg 
ABV: 8%
IBU: 30
SRM: 18
Brewed with: 3 different rye malts
Served: 750 mL bottle

The Drink:
Drank out of a 14 oz. Belgian pokel

Pours a deep copper-brown color with a frothy, beige head.  Head forms thick but dissipates quickly, leaving no lace.  

Aroma is boozy and bready.  A sweet maltiness dominates, with a sturdy spiced bread character, very reminiscent of a Belgian-style tripel or quad.  Going by aroma alone, this gives the impression of a full-bodied brew.  

Beer starts with upfront malted sweet and a moderate-low carbonation.  Full-body is apparent from start to finish.  The sweet character fades toward the middle, yielding to a bready and subtle nutty flavor, with just a hint of alcohol.  Middle to finish is very dry, and the spicey/earthy aroma of the rye malt comes forth.  The dry, spiced flavor of the rye carries well, lending this beer a long finish.  This beer definitely has some mass behind it; I'm barely finished with the first glass and I can feel myself becoming full, which rarely happens to me.

Overall:
As the only example of a Julebryg-style ale I've ever had, this beer inspires me to look for more.  Based on traditional Danish ales, this beer is named after a traditional Danish rye-bread.  When I drank this beer, I imagined it would be something a band of Danish Vikings would have had after battle, which makes it all the more compelling (in my mind at least).  This beer is also a good bench-mark to train yourself on the contribution of rye malt to a finished product.  This beer is sweet, bready and spicey, with a full body: perfect for a cold winter's night.  Given the flavor profile and character, this won't be a beer the regulars reach for, but if you're looking for something that's "out of the box" you can't possibly do better than this.