Last Dance Imperial Rye Pale
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Day two in Indianapolis — a few friends came up to say hello and have dinner. Indianapolis has come alive with plenty of great places to drink beer, so we settled on The Ram Restaurant & Brewery in downtown Indianapolis.
I know the Ram primarily because of its Buttface Amber, which makes me think of elementary school nicknames. But they have good food and plenty of beer choices. Alas, I could only choose one beer.
The waiter was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about beer, so when I asked him what I should have if I were only having one beer, he answered without hesitation: “You’d want to drink our Last Dance.” He explained it was a bold, hoppy American Pale Ale brewed with Rye.
Last Dance gets its name from the departure of the location’s head brewer, Dave Colt, who resigned on April 2nd to take the helm at a new brewery in Indianapolis called the Sun King Brewing Company. Dave’s last beer crafted for The Ram was this Imperial Rye Pale, which they tapped as a kind of farewell on April 16th.
I ordered a 22 oz mug of this rare commodity, and it came surprisingly dark; Last Dance had almost as much caramel color as a Bock. Lots of bready malt made up the aroma, with just a hint of spice — otherwise, the smell is largely missing hops or character. I was starting to regret my choice, but then I took a sip.
Despite my friend Keith's reservations, we posed for a photo with the Ram's wooden Indian.
Oh yeah! This is great tasting beer!
Herbal and viney hops stampede across your tongue, while a calm and determined, bready malt rides behind, driving the hops like so many cattlemen traversing the dusty Chisholm Trail. When hops dart out of line, the rye horsemen gallop alongside to settle things down, leaving a spicy cloud in their wake. None of this is even hinted at by the aroma, which reigns calmly from above.
If any of you are in Indianapolis over the next few days, swing by the Ram and see if you can get some Last Dance before the music stops and the lights come on. And if they’re out, the 71 Pale Ale should be a good substitute — or just try to keep a straight face when you order a Buttface Amber.
And let’s all look forward to trying Dave’s new brews from Sun King.
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1 Comments
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:30 am
Is it out of line to say I enjoy a good Buttface?