Rye River Brewing Co

MichealKenny

I've only ever drank their Colgan's IPA and their Knock Knock Ned's IPA, as IPA is my preferred beer style, and both were terrible. I've seen reviews of their other beers and the general consensus seems to be that they just taste like chemicals and that it's mass produced garbage trying to pass itself off as craft beer.


They really should have spent less money on marketing and more on the actual beer itself, or if they didn't want to do that, they should have just stuck to producing Bavaria.

Update from the OP from 28.08...

Ah ****e this thread is still active, can a mod at least add a note to my original post saying I've completely changed my mind, and am now a supporter of Rye River?

Please see Mod Note in Post #130.

slayerking

Maybe a touch harsh.

I'm an equal opportunities beer drinker, I'll give most breweries the benefit of the doubt particularly when starting out. I've had a good few of the Rye river beers and while some aren't great, they do make some decent stuff.
I had their Grafters pale ale and IPA at the weekend and both were decent. I agree with you Colgans IPA is muck.
Their one offs at beer festivals seem to be their best.

lk67

Never found any of there range to be that offensive - or exciting - for my tastes apart from their Grafter range in Dunnes, which I liked.

They also had 3 superb beers at the Alltech beer festival.

I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing and where their market is...

MichealKenny

slayerking wrote: »

Maybe a touch harsh.
I had their Grafters pale ale and IPA at the weekend and both were decent.

lk67 wrote: »

apart from their Grafter range in Dunnes, which I liked.

Just looked up the Grafters IPA and it has me intrigued, if I see it I'll pick it up, and it will kind of be like one last chance for the brewery in my books.

MichealKenny

MichealKenny wrote: »

Just looked up the Grafters IPA and it has me intrigued, if I see it I'll pick it up, and it will kind of be like one last chance for the brewery in my books.

If you didn't like their other beers, chances are you won't like Grafters!

MichealKenny

Deleted User wrote: »

If you didn't like their other beers, chances are you won't like Grafters!

I love American style IPAs though.

oblivious

They had some world class beers such their berlinerwise and double IPA at Altech festival. They also brew a brown/mild for the 57th headlines that was supposed to be very good.

http://oblivioustobeer.blogspot.ie/2015/03/alltech-craft-brews-food-festival-2015_12.html

Their brewer master alex is very capable brewer. I suppose their main street beers are aiming for a certain part of the market.

irish_goat

I might give their specials a go but I've completely given up on their regular beers. Had some of their "IPA" at the weekend and I honestly thought it tasted like a strong version of Harp. Terrible stuff altogether. I don't understand what part of the market they're aiming for with it.

donaghs

irish_goat wrote: »

I might give their specials a go but I've completely given up on their regular beers. Had some of their "IPA" at the weekend and I honestly thought it tasted like a strong version of Harp. Terrible stuff altogether. I don't understand what part of the market they're aiming for with it.

Considering the range of beer they produce, including a raft of brands like McGargles, possibly they're just chucking loads of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. Personally I like McGargles and Solas, havent seen the other beers you mention.

More discussion here on the "craft" beers they make for Lidl: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057430354

Lovely Bloke

Are they considered craft by Beoir?

oblivious

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Are they considered craft by Beoir?

Yes I believe

irish_goat

They fall under the definition as an independent beer producer that makes less than 30,000hL per year. That's the only definition of "craft" Beoir has. Personally I'd not describe a lot of their stuff as craft.

n97 mini

irish_goat wrote: »

Personally I'd not describe a lot of their stuff as craft.

Why not?

L1011

I've had most of the range (across the multiple brands) at this stage. I'll drink the various Reds again but that's it.

MichealKenny

n97 mini wrote: »

Why not?

"They fall under the definition as an independent beer producer that makes less than 30,000hL per year"

They also make Bavaria, does that make Bavaria craft? If they have the equipment to produce a massive lager, do you really think they are making their own beers "the hard way" which is probably the truest definition of the word craft.

irish_goat

n97 mini wrote: »

Why not?

Cause it's rubbish. Any brewery that opens these days slaps the word "craft" on their label regardless of the quality.

They don't make Bavaria though, only distribute it.

n97 mini

MichealKenny wrote: »

They also make Bavaria

Blame sloppy journalism for that rumour. They import and distribute it.

Just a little Samba

irish_goat wrote: »

They fall under the definition as an independent beer producer that makes less than 30,000hL per year. That's the only definition of "craft" Beoir has. Personally I'd not describe a lot of their stuff as craft.

They (Rye River) are producing more than 30hl though.

n97 mini

irish_goat wrote: »

Cause it's rubbish. Any brewery that opens these days slaps the word "craft" on their label regardless of the quality.

Surely craft means small batches and quality is subjective? Who else would you consider not craft?

Just a little Samba

irish_goat wrote: »

Cause it's rubbish. Any brewery that opens these days slaps the word "craft" on their label regardless of the quality.

They don't make Bavaria though, only distribute it.

They have the licenses to produce Bavaria and San Miguel for the Irish market.

MichealKenny

irish_goat wrote: »

They don't make Bavaria though, only distribute it.

n97 mini wrote: »

Blame sloppy journalism for that rumour. They import and distribute it.

huh, well that is sloppy journalism, so if they have a capable brew master, and they make it "the hard way", then why are their IPAs so bad?

oblivious

Just a little Samba wrote: »

They are all producing more than 30000hl though.

Do you have proof? that's 3000000 liter per year

billythefish99

Just a little Samba wrote: »

They are all producing more than 30000hl though.

What do you mean?

oblivious

MichealKenny wrote: »

huh, well that is sloppy journalism, so if they have a capable brew master, and they make it "the hard way", then why are their IPAs so bad?

High filtration for shelf life is probably a major culprit

Just a little Samba

oblivious wrote: »

Do you have proof? that's 3000000 liter per year

The h was a typo. They are producing more than the revenue limit for rebate for small brewers over twice as much as the limit.

billythefish99

Just a little Samba wrote: »

The h was a typo. They are producing more than the revenue limit for rebate for small brewers over twice as much as the limit.

Who are?

irish_goat

n97 mini wrote: »

Surely craft means small batches and quality is subjective? Who else would you consider not craft?

Quality is of course subjective but I don't think a small batch should automatically qualify as craft, in the same sense that a massive batch of beer can also be craft as well.

I'd throw Creans into that mix too, the recipe was designed by the same guy who helped formulate Tennents. Says it all about their intentions.

Just a little Samba

billythefish99 wrote: »

Who are?

Rye river, the people the thread is about.

Lovely Bloke

Just a little Samba wrote: »

Rye river, the people the thread is about.

are they?

link?

Just a little Samba

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

are they?

link?

Don't have a link, was just something I was told by someone who works there.

billythefish99

Just a little Samba wrote: »

Rye river, the people the thread is about.

You said "They are all producing more than 30000hl though"...

I very much doubt Rye River are producing 30000hl of beer.

Just a little Samba

billythefish99 wrote: »

You said "They are all producing more than 30000hl though"...

I very much doubt Rye River are producing 30000hl of beer.

The all was also a typo. As was the h, which was already pointed out. Rye river are at about 70khl capacity and that will expand when they move out of Kilcock.

It actually the h wasn't a typo. The rebate limit is 30,000 hl, they are past that by over double.

lk67

So...

Define 'Craft Beer' - (Good luck with that!)

Define 'Bad Beer' - (Good luck with that!)

Define 'Good Beer' - (Good luck with that!)

For that matter define 'IPA' - (Good luck with that!)


Also, their target market are the people who drink their beer, and it's not many of the people who comment here.

I admit this is pure guess work but of the 5-7% of beer drinking people in the country who drink almost exclusively 'Craft' beer only a tiny fraction post here. We are not their target.

There is probably another 20% of the drinking population who dabble in craft, these beers appeals to them, as does the price of many RRs range.

emco

There seems to be a lot of hatred towards their company, but at the end of the day they're a business and above board so I can't say I have a problem with them.

I've had the McGarrigles IPA and the Crafty brewing lager in Lidl which I think they make too.I thought the IPA was nice, at 4 for 6 Euro I think I paid it was well worth that, although I've only ever bought it twice and there is definitely much better out there. My dad bought the Crafty lager once and it was grand for a lager, better flavour than most large brands.

I can't see the McGarrigles branding lasting, I imagine it will eventually go the way of the frog from Woodies alco-pops. The cartoon characters might be seen as being attractive to minors.

n97 mini

irish_goat wrote: »

I'd throw Creans into that mix too, the recipe was designed by the same guy who helped formulate Tennents. Says it all about their intentions.

Only McGargles and Creans? I thought by "Any brewery that opens these days slaps the word "craft" on their label regardless of the quality." you reckoned there was more not up to scratch.

oblivious

lk67 wrote: »

For that matter define 'IPA' - (Good luck with that!).

Something to get the conservation rolling :D

Just a little Samba

oblivious wrote: »

Something to get the conservation rolling :D

Eh gad this is going to turn into one of those beergeek porter very Stout talks. Run for the hills lads.

Ravelleman

I haven't tried any of their specials but having tried some of their other, more conventional creations I can see no reason whatsoever for me buy any of their stuff when there are other options available.

irish_goat

n97 mini wrote: »

Only McGargles and Creans? I thought by "Any brewery that opens these days slaps the word "craft" on their label regardless of the quality." you reckoned there was more not up to scratch.

Yardmans and 5 Lamps would be in the mix too. Rye River are particularly guilty because they've got several poor quality brands out on the market. I'm well aware that everyone has different tastes but I don't see any real difference between a bog standard macro beer and a lot of the offerings from the aforementioned breweries.

lk67

irish_goat wrote: »

Yardmans and 5 Lamps would be in the mix too. Rye River are particularly guilty because they've got several poor quality brands out on the market. I'm well aware that everyone has different tastes but I don't see any real difference between a bog standard macro beer and a lot of the offerings from the aforementioned breweries.

I've never came acoss Yardmans but I'm not sure that's fair to 5 Lamps.... I drink their lager regularly as its the only lager with any body to it in my local and there's certainly nothing wrong with it. Does it suffer from being tied to a Big Brewer, perception wise?

Quality is way too subjective to be attributed to products lìke beer.

Also, surely in the case of RR it has to be looked at in relation to value too - another a very subjective thing.

IMO!

Ravelleman

irish_goat wrote: »

Yardmans and 5 Lamps would be in the mix too. Rye River are particularly guilty because they've got several poor quality brands out on the market. I'm well aware that everyone has different tastes but I don't see any real difference between a bog standard macro beer and a lot of the offerings from the aforementioned breweries.

5 Lamps' Blackpitts Porter is delicious but all of their other stuff is very, very weak so I'd tend to agree.

Saruman

Just a little Samba wrote: »

The all was also a typo. As was the h, which was already pointed out. Rye river are at about 70khl capacity and that will expand when they move out of Kilcock.

It actually the h wasn't a typo. The rebate limit is 30,000 hl, they are past that by over double.

There's a difference between having a capacity and actually using that capacity.

As far as I am aware, they bought a brewing system capable of reaching 70khl per year but it would be a long time before they could actually produce that much beer. They simply don't have enough fermenters as far as I can see.

Their plan was always to start out small and then go bigger within a few years, say to the size of a small regional brewer in the UK like Brewdog. They are still a long way off the size of Brewdog and Brewdog are quite small compared to many breweries in the UK and USA still considered craft. Still tiny compared to somewhere like Guinness but massive compared to an average Irish microbrewery.

I suppose I can just ask the owner.

MichealKenny

Saruman wrote: »

Their plan was always to start out small and then go bigger within a few years, say to the size of a small regional brewer in the UK like Brewdog.

If they want to be like Brewdog, making **** beers is not the way to do it.

Saruman

To be fair, they don't make bad beer. Perhaps the McGargles range isn't particularly exciting but they provide the consumer with a choice and that's pretty important.
Same with massive macro beers, very few could be considered so bad as to be undrinkable. They are just incredibly boring. Believe me, I have had undrinkable beer and none of the McGargles range comes under that category.

Their own branded Rye River stuff is a completely different story though. Packed full of flavour. Shame it's so limited.

MichealKenny

Saruman wrote: »

To be fair, they don't make bad beer. Perhaps the McGargles range isn't particularly exciting but they provide the consumer with a choice and that's pretty important.
Same with massive macro beers, very few could be considered so bad as to be undrinkable. They are just incredibly boring. Believe me, I have had undrinkable beer and none of the McGargles range comes under that category.

Their own branded Rye River stuff is a completely different story though. Packed full of flavour. Shame it's so limited.

Of course it's subjective but I would classify McGargles Knock Knock Ned's and Colgan's IPA as pretty undrinkable(granted they are pretty much the same beer), But I agree with your second point that most macro lagers are plenty good, I would just prefer a nice American style IPA like Brewdog Punk IPA instead of a Bud.

Son0vagun

Only got to try the Grafters range today, mainly thanks to this thread, so I guess negative publicity works!

The Pale Ale is lovely. It's much better then most Pale Ales on the market, I'd easily drink it again.

The IPA is more of a traditional IPA. I guess we have been spoilt lately by hop forward IPAs and this isn't one. It's still nice, and very drinkable at 6.5%ABV.

I did drink McGargles when they first came out, and wasn't impressed. However since they moved their production to Kilcock their beers have vastly improved. Cousin Rosie's Pale Ale is delicious. But the real stand out is Uncle Jim's Stout. On tap, A nitro stout and a match for any stout out there.

lk67

I have yet to understand 'undrinkable' or 'sink pour' beers. I've only come across maybe 5 in 5 years and they were obviously infected, apart from that...

I have drank beer I wasn't over excited about but never thought about pouring them down a sink.

Maybe I'm just not wasteful!

I still disagree that there's anything wrong with RRs beers, they just wouldn't be my first choice.

Saruman

Confirmed with owner. Rye River is under 30khl but their kit allows them to expand. Basically what I said earlier.

I don't think they are even as big as Carlow or Porterhouse and neither of them are anywhere near 30khl yet.

billythefish99

lk67 wrote: »

I have yet to understand 'undrinkable' or 'sink pour' beers. I've only come across maybe 5 in 5 years and they were obviously infected, apart from that...

I have drank beer I wasn't over excited about but never thought about pouring them down a sink.

I think this is just an extension of the 'Heineken is disgusting, I only drink Carlsberg' nonsense from Irish drinkers. For a nation which drinks so much beer we really know very little about it, preferring to base opinion on marketing and silly pub myths.

I wouldnt buy McGargles but there is nothing 'wrong' with the beer.

Boards.ie: Niamh

Thanks to this thread, the founder of Rye River Brewing has contacted us. He wanted to clear up some misinformation in the thread and we have agreed to post this response on his behalf:

Rye River Brewery is an independently Irish owned brewery and beer business based in Co. Kildare. Our business produces less than the revenue cap of 30,000 HL’s and as such qualifies as a small brewery.

At no point does the Revenue refer to craft brewery in their legislation. In fact the term craft is defined differently in every country and in the U.S. its in the millions of HL’s. And that’s why we never mention the word craft on McGargles beers.

Our beer is not to everyones taste and I wouldn't want it to be.

Beers or brands that try to appeal to everyone go nowhere. Beer is subjective, just like wine, and I think it is unfortunate that some of the discussion on boards tries to isolate people for liking beers that other do not. We love beer in all its glory. We do not judge other beers, even though they may not be to our tastes. We recognise that beer is in the unique position to have the variety of tastes to suit almost any palate, unlike other drinks, and that’s why we love it. We often disagree between us on what beers we love and we also change our minds quite regularly as our tastes develop, but we never judge someone who likes Budweiser over Sierra Nevada. Let them drink what makes them happy.

So, you may or may not like McGargles or Grafters or Solas, but we sell 250,000 cases per year and most our our beer is bought in a repeat purchase by loyal customers. So a lots of people clearly enjoy our beers.

Our beers are all produced in small batches by the brewing team here in Kildare and we have opened our doors to anyone who has asked. We don’t use any chemicals and our beers only contain Water, Yeast, Hops and Barley.

We do not produce Bavaria or San Miguel in our brewery and I would ask that when you do post online that you are clear on the facts.

The web has brought us some amazing things, but unfortunately it has also brought us the assumption that opinion is fact rather than a perception. This attitude is hurting lots of indigenous Irish businesses run by guys and girls who put everything on the line to go out and risk it all because they believe in something. When you post information that’s untrue you are damaging a local business that has created jobs & driven cash into the local economy.

MichealKenny

250,000 cases per year...Our beers are all produced in small batches

That's 2700 beers a day... that's not a small batch, that is mass production. (btw I don't care if a beer is mass produced, I wish all of my favourite beers were mass produced and readily available, but 2700 beers is only small relative to the giants, it is most certainly not a batch.)


But yeah I agree with him that beer is subjective, and I apologise for my part in the Bavaria rumour.

...and most our our beer is bought in a repeat purchase by loyal customers

He complains about people spreading lies as facts and then he goes and says this, there is no conceivable way you could know this statistic when your main distribution platform is Tesco.



I'll be honest, I don't care that you're Irish, I don't care that you're a small business, I don't care if you succeed or not, the only way to make me care is to make a good product, and in my opinion you don't.