Kruhnen & La Décapsule's King Cogne Rye Pale Ale


What happens when a popular beer blog teams up with a brewery to create a collaboration brew? King Cogne happens! Two years back, my buddy David and his brother Alex over at La Décapsule teamed up with the folks over at Brasserie Kruhnen to create a Rye Pale Ale called King Cogne. In fact, according to Untappd, King Cogne is Kruhnen's most popular beer to this very day! As a lover of Rye PAs, I'm excited!

Appearance: King Cogne pours a thick, very cloudy blonde ale with a nice, thick, frothy snow white head on top. Moderate amount of fizziness taking place and a hint of foam residue left behind on the side of the glass.

Aroma: First off I'm getting a bit of a sweet, light tropical/fruity aroma of tangerine and grapefruit. Moderate amount of hop bitterness giving off a bit of a pine aroma and just a hint of rye. So far... so good!

Taste: When I was opening this bottle, I entirely forgot that this was a Rye PA until I took my first sip. The rye makes a dominant presence at the beginning, giving off a rich, bitter rye flavour to it (a hint of a woodiness), pepper spice, slight amount of graininess, a nice compliment of tangerine/grapefruit zest and a moderate pine hop presence that leaves a light metallic bitter aftertaste. For a Rye Pale Ale, the rye isn't as bitter/in your face as most Canadian Rye Pale Ales, rather the rye works with the hops and malt to give off a bunch of great flavours.

Overall Thoughts: Incredibly solid Rye Pale Ale, I love a good Rye Pale Ale and it's unfortunate that rye beers aren't as common as they should be.. but it's getting better. Not overpowering like many I've had over the years, very easy to drink and even has a bit of spiciness to it. 6.5% ABV/60 IBU

Now if only I knew how to brew beer.. I'd love to have a BeerCrank themed saison s'appelle La Saison de Crank. The folks over at Double Trouble Brewing suggested a Cranky Cody Cascadian Dark & Bitter. Ha!

http://www.kruhnen.com/king-cogne/

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