Two Brothers Cane and Ebel

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 6-Pack from Jewel-Osco in Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: Rye Beer, 7.0%

Tonight I'm reviewing one of my favorite beers, and one of Two Brothers' best beers. I've already reviewed a number of Two Brothers beers, including their Domain DuPage, Atom Smasher, and their Northwind Imperial Stout. 

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant. 

Today's beer, Cane and Ebel, is a Rye Beer. Rye Beers are, as far as I can tell, an American twist on the hoppy ale. The main ingredient that defines a Rye Beer is the rye grains used as a malt. These are hoppy beers that approach IPA-like bitterness to help support the rye flavors. I bitched up a rant when I reviewed the Founders Red's Rye P.A., and I'm still unhappy that Ratebeer has pegged this beer as an American Strong Ale. BeerAdvocate got this one right. 

This isn't just a Rye Beer. The Cane and Ebel is brewed with Thai Palm Sugar, Rye, and a buttload of hops. The beer is brewed with Summit hops and is dry-hopped with Simcoe hops. So you already get the sense that this is a beer with big IPA-like flavors. The beer clocks in at 7.0% ABV and packs 68 IBUs. This is a year round release, and is definitely worth picking up. Time for the review.

Two Brothers Cane and Ebel

This is really a lovely looking beer. In low light this beer is dark orange/brown/amber. In bright light this beer still retains a lovely dark brown/orange color. This beer pours with 3-fingers worth of super creamy, super thick, orange/eggshell/off-white head. Head retention is great. There is a good amount of carbonation visible in this murky beer. There is also epic lacing being left on my glass as I work my way down.

The aroma on this beer is absolutely phenomenal. You get hit with huge hops and rye right up front. Big bready rye, rye-bread, and rye grain. I'm also pulling out huge pungent orange, orange-citrus, and suggestive grapefruit. There are huge sugary esters that impart big fruits as well: tropical fruits, floral notes. This is a great example of a big, aromatic, American beer.

There are a lot of big flavors in here: pungent orange, orange candy, hints of tropical fruits,  rye, rye bread, beach/suana, wood, earthy notes, and hints of tobacco of woody vanilla. The rye and sugar notes balance out the bitterness, but this is definitely a bitter and pungent beer. 

The mouthfeel on this is smooth and bitter, but very balanced and supported by the carbonation - I would call this medium-light to medium-medium. This is a sticky sweet beer, despite the clean mouthfeel. I would not give this to someone new to beer; there are lots of sugars in here. The front of the palate is a sharp hop and rye blast - orange, rye bread, malts and sugars; this rolls into a hoppy and sticky middle with hints of beach and wood and earth; the back is sticky and dry with lingering wood and tobacco. This has moderate complexity, but really good palate depth. This is not watery, and the flavors are evenly supported despite the carbonation.

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 94%

This is just an awesome beer. One of my absolute favorites, and one of my go-to beers. Maybe it is a regional thing. If this beer was harder to get, I might not covet it as much. But for me, this beer is always on shelves since Two Brothers are - literally - in my backyard. 

But there is a lot of stuff to dig about this beer. The rye malts leave a really nice impression. The Thai Palm Sugar imparts a really nice balance to the beer, and leaves some awesome sugary notes that manifest as fruit and wood. This is a big, fresh beer, with big bold flavors. In my book, this is an IPA with rye malts. And I happen to really dig the rye malts. If you fancy rye flavors, definitely consider picking this beer up.