I have fallen head over heels for roggenbiers. These brews are
made with a good dose of malted rye in their grain bill, giving
them a spicy, warm, and somewhat sour character. Perfect, I'd
say, for a crisp fall afternoon.Roggenbier is an extremely old
style of German beer that pre-dates the Reinheitsgebot, which
effectively sent roggenbiers underground by forbidding the use
of any other grains but barley in making beer. The beer was, and
is still, made with at least fifty percent rye. It's also
usually fermented with a hefeweizen yeast strain to even further
accentuate the spicy character of the rye in the finished beer.
That spicy flavor is a bit hard to describe. To my taste buds,
it comes across as pumpernickel crossed with gingerbread. The
beer is also balanced by warm, toasty malts and a twinge of
sourdough tanginess. It's typically a rusty-brown color with a
smooth, slick mouthfeel.  I've seen this style starting to pop
up more and more over the past few years, especially in
Americanized variations. It