Cane and Ebel beer

During a recent visit, a friend brought over Two Brothers Brewing Company‘s Cane and Ebel beer. This beer is made with rye and Thai palm sugar. The label describes the beer as “a hopped-up red rye ale.” I wouldn’t know red rye from any other color, but the beer did have a distinctive rye flavor. It had a decent measure of hoppiness, but the aftertaste was strong with rye. I found it enjoyable.

Another guest that night described it as “Killian’s done right,” and I’m inclined to agree. The copper-colored beer had just a hint of sweetness and was very full-bodied for an artisan brew. I don’t know if I would consider this beer an Irish Red, but it hit the same notes before the rye kicked in to make the whole bottle a unique experience.

The 12oz. bottles were sold in a four-pack for around $11, a price normally reserved for imports, but Two Brothers is located on the outskirts of Chicago, according to the label. Another interesting feature on this beer’s label is the alcohol content, 7%. It’s not unusual to find an ale with that much alcohol, but it is extremely rare–and I thought illegal in the United States–to find a beer label proclaiming the alcohol content.

I managed to drink two of these, despite the short ratio of bottles to bodies, and the second bottle was poured into a glass, rather than drunk from the bottle. The sharp rye aftertaste was mellowed a bit from the glass and the sweetness highlighted.