The first beer I ever drank from Reuben’s Brews was a rye beer, on the day the original brewery and taproom opened in Ballard in the summer of 2012. I do not recall exactly which beer it was, but I remember being impressed with the richness and depth of the rye flavor, so I asked Adam Robbings (owner/brewer) what percentage of rye he used in the recipe.
That was years ago, so I don’t recall his exact answer, but I do very clearly remember thinking, and maybe even saying aloud, “Nobody does that. Are you crazy?”
Brewing with rye can be tricky, to put it simply. Rye has a reputation for causing stuck mashes, an unfortunate situation that can ruin a brewer’s day (understatement), so most breweries opt to use a very modest percentage of rye malt in the grain bill when brewing a rye beer. Apparently nobody every told Adam Robbings the horror stories because he was positively fearless and unabashed in his use of rye malt and his beers benefited from it.
Today, Reuben’s Brews excels at every kind of beer it produces and rye beers are only part of the game, but this Saturday the brewery celebrates it’s bold, brave past with a Rye Beer Festival at the brewery taproom in Ballard. The event features over 20 rye beers on tap.
Here is the announcement from the brewery:
We are excited to bring back our rich and spicy celebration of rye beers! We are brewing some special crowd favorites just for the event: Roggenbier, American Brown, American Rye, Yirgacheffe Rye, and Rye Crush among them. Look forward to a tap list with 20 beers featuring rye, including some that were on our tap list the day we opened our doors in 2012!
Visit us all day in the taproom this Saturday, November 17th, 11am to 10pm.
This is one of our favorite events of the year, and it gave us the perfect excuse to revisit some of our classics. Join us for this celebration and taste through some of our history, while enjoying the unique character this grain adds to brewing traditions.