Flying Lion Brewing Head Brewer Andy Reimer and Production Manager Griffin Williams Talk Rye Stout

We spoke with Flying Lion Brewing Head Brewer Andy Reimer and Production Manager Griffin Williams about Rye Stout.

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe?
Griffin: The Rye Stout is a Flying Lion Brewing family original. Originally, this was brewed by me.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
Griffin: For me, I can’t get over the aroma. It’s so intense and rich and unexpected, especially in a world dominated by IPAs.
Andy: I love the flavor. For a beer that is so seemingly simple, on the first sip there are layers of flavor all the way through.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
Griffin: We’ve danced around naming this beer for years and always come to the same conclusion. Rye Stout is obviously the simplest name, and that’s what we love about this beer. It’s reliable, approachable, unique and damn tasty.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
Griffin: Hell yeah!
Andy: Desert island, iceberg, top of a mountain — this is the beer I would take.

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Griffin: Surprising, persuasive, life-changing. Also smooth roast, chocolaty aromatic spice.

BC: Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
Griffin: This beer is an enigma. It started after taking home some mystery grains from a shift at the local homebrew store. A few bags of unlabeled, mixed and milled grains that a customer never picked up. I recognized the blue-green color of flaked rye and could see enough dark grain to know it was going to be a stout, but that was all the guesses I could make. I was trying out a new equipment setup at the time, so I was happy to have some cheap ingredients to use for a test-run. The equipment worked great, but the frustrating part was that the beer turned out amazing. So, for years, I engaged in what felt like alchemy to try and transmute simple grains into this gold.
Andy: I work at Flying Lion Brewing because of this beer. I still remember the moment when I had my first taste seven and a half years ago. Rye Stout works in mysterious ways.

BC: What’s a good food pairing for this beer?
Griffin: Roasted vegetables, fish, charcoal-grilled burgers, mushroom stew.
Andy: Blackened halibut, anything cooked over a campfire, more Rye Stout.