The 1980s were a hollow time for me. I spent most of the decade wandering the West, searching for my family roots while battling evil and injustice when I found it. Either that, or I watched a shitload of Kung Fu reruns in my parents’ basement, I don’t really remember which.

The lion’s share of the blame for my driftlessness in the ’80s I lay at the feet of Ratt. I know, everyone says that, but mine is a different reason. In the song Round And Round, Stephen Pearcy sings “Round and round, what comes around goes around, I’ll tell you why.” But he never tells us why. So I spent a big chunk of my post-formative years searching for why what comes around goes around, or what goes around comes around, as the case may be.

Of course, not one fucking iota of that has anything to do with tonight’s featured beer, Rye Hatter Rye P.A. This one is from New Holland’s seasonal series, a version of their Mad Hatter IPA brewed with a big dose of rye, and comes in a 22-ounce bomber.

The pour is hazy, a light auburn with a nice and big, creamy head. Like Mad Hatter, this one smells of citrus and pine, but with a good snootful of must and spice at the back end of the sniff.

The front of the sip is cereal-sweet malt accompanying a straight down the road, medium body. A tang of tinniness dominates the middle, before the sip finishes bitter and DRY, as in probably the driest finish I’ve ever encountered. Like, mouth-puckeringly dry.

Impressive, although not completely appealing. I usually like rye beers and the spicy character that grain—if used in large enough amounts—lends to a brew. But in lesser quantities it just serves to dry the beer out, as is the case here. Rye Hatter is a pleasing, more complex version of the relatively lackluster Mad Hatter, and worth a try, although those in search of more rye character will be a little disappointed.

Reviewed by Eddie Glick on November 28, 2011.

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