Torch & Crown’s Rainmaker – a delightful hazy Pale Ale
Torch & Crown Brewing has quickly become one of the best in New York City. Hailed as “Manhattan’s Brewery”, their OG brewery is located in Soho and was opened during the pandemic in 2020. At the time it was the only large scale brewery in lower Manhattan.
They have since added a second location about a mile and a half away, in Union Square. And, just for good measure, last weekend the brewery celebrated the opening of their third location, a beer garden located in Amagansett, NY that will be open every Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer.
Their current distribution range is just New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, so finding their beers outside of those three states can be a hard task. But I was able to snag one of their rotating offerings to showcase for you all today – Rainmaker.
Rainmaker is a hazy Pale Ale brewed with Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops with a lower, easy-drinking 4.8% ABV. A four-pack from the brewery will cost you $18.
This Pale Ale poured a bright and hazy golden straw color with just about a finger of pure white head building up. The foam wasn’t very dense and quickly fizzled down into a small accumulation that lined the edge of the glass and left a single cloud of bubbles floating in the middle. There was some minor lacing as I drank the beer down.
The aroma was light and balanced with some biscuity notes from the grains and some tropical fruit characteristics from the hops and yeast. Pineapple and cereal were the most prominent scents given off but there were also lighter notes of tangerine, grapefruit, berries, and grapes.
Each sip began with a softer, pillowy mouthfeel that seemed to expand and cover my entire mouth. However, it still remained rather light when drinking and didn’t sit heavy at all. It just had that creaminess to it.
There actually wasn’t too much pineapple in the taste. Rather, it was the tangerine and some grapefruit peel that led the way with some big citrusy flavors and a bit of pithiness. Some berry notes joined in early on but quickly faded away. It was quite the sweet and juicy beginning.
The berry flavors were soon replaced by the addition of white wine grape characteristics and a bit of peppery spice from the Nelson hops. The combination of citrus rind and white wine gave this beer a rather dry and sticky feeling with a low hum of hoppy bitterness underneath.
That bitter twinge was easily managed and the dry, sticky resinous feeling didn’t last too long at all. It was still a very crushable Pale Ale. When you add in the lower 4.8% ABV, Rainmaker is a sessionable brew that you could drink all day.
I would have liked that early sweetness and juiciness to continue further on into the sip but it’s still an all-day summer drinker that will satisfy your thirst without skimping on flavor.
