Rye

[seymour]

...I have a question about storing Rye ale, how well does it store? Is it a ale that will last months in the bottle or has it got a short shelf life?

I can't think of any reason why one cereal grain would be any different than any other in that sense. Remember, we are used to thinking of them as very different "ingredients", but in the grand scheme of things: barley, wheat, rye, oats, corn, etc, are all closely related grasses, with far more similarities than differences.

I'd say the main contributors to shelf-stability of aged ale (regardless of which cereal grains were mashed) are:
-alcohol content (the higher the better)
-storage conditions (dark glass, cool temperatures, no drastic/frequent temperature changes, etc)
-live yeast conditioning is better than pasteurization/filtration

For what it's worth, I've brewed many multi-grain Belgian ales (yes, containing rye among other things) which are delicious many years later, but I attribute that to the other cellar-aging aspects I just mentioned.

[beer gut]

Thanx for the Reply my Rye ale came out at 6% abv and I will be storing it in my outside brick built shed. I will be brewing more Rye ales in future as I am rather hooked on that spicey/fruity flavours you get from the Rye. The smoked malts really give the Rye ales a extra edge I think. What I find funny is that the purists believe that you should use noble hops in brewing Rye ale yet I used English hops in my Rye ale and I found no different to the flavour from mine to a Rye ale I bought in the shop that uses Noble hops, my thought in the ales that should have little no hop character it should not matter what hops you use.

[seymour]

...What I find funny is that the purists believe that you should use noble hops in brewing Rye ale yet I used English hops in my Rye ale and I found no different to the flavour from mine to a Rye ale I bought in the shop that uses Noble hops, my thought in the ales that should have little no hop character it should not matter what hops you use.

That's good to hear, I definitely believe you. I don't know which particular English hops you used, but I consider Goldings (and in most respects Fuggles too) an "English noble variety". It is either an extremely old landrace, or else descended from true nobles brought there by those all-important Flemish weavers long ago. They have pretty much the same specs as the fancy-pants noble aroma types and are just as refined and multi-purpose. Terroir!

[micmacmoc]

Go on BG, gissa recipe too!

[beer gut]

Hi I had some really old hops, not cheesy mind just a bit on the old side. So I used Boadicea hops which are known for there nice rounded bitterness but really lack in strong flavour or aroma. I then used some Worcester goldings which are also in the must use up draw, for the finish. But the ebu's in my brew where only 16 and I only used a very small amount of finishing hops and like I said the brew came out way better than expected, considering the horror stories of stuck mashes and poor fermentations ECT you here. When it comes to hops I like the sound of using the American hop sterling in a pale Rye ale or even the NZ hop Waiti in fact when I did my recipe for the smoked Rye ale my first choice was the NZ hop Pacifica, this hop I think fits real well with a rich dark rye ale because this hop has a good rich Orange flavours finished with a black pepper which fits real well with the spicey Rye malt character plus Pacifica has really soft bitterness which is ideal for brewing Rye ales.

[beer gut]

I have my golden Rye recipe I have. This has a of og of 1047, ebu's 27 Srm 3
125g Oat husks
1.706 KG of pale malt
1.280 KG of Rye malt
426g of Munich malt
492g of Caravienna
457g Flaked Wheat
500g Honey

10g Summer First Wort
31g Summer 60 min
12g Summer 10 mins
20g Summer 2 mins+ 30 min(turned off)

[legion]

I wholeheartedly recommend using rye flakes instead of malt, unless the beer is German roggenbier.

Thanks for the tip i have 500g of rye malt but could do with more in a 6.5kg rye-pa grain bill, i will buy some rye flakes from a health food shop.

[beer gut]

Hi yeah I have noticed that you can't get Rye flakes on the home brew sites you can only get them from health food stores like Holland and Barrette why is that? If you buy these Rye flakes from the health stores can there go straight into the mash? Or have got to prepare them before they go into the mash?

[seymour]

...If you buy these Rye flakes from the health stores can there go straight into the mash?...

Yes, absolutely. I've done so many times with great success. No need for a separate cereal mash.

[beer gut]

Hi how do the Rye flakes differ from the malted Rye? Apart from the obvious, ie do the flakes differ with flavour to the malted Rye. Do the flakes help with the head formation and retention? What would you say is the max amount of Rye flakes you can use in the mash.

[super_simian]

Depending on the beer....up to 50%? Pretty much as much as any other unmalted adjunct. Like wheat. I can recommend a classic "Dry Irish" stout (70/20/10) with the 20% as flaked rye rather than flaked barley. More viscous, yet drier and more peppery. All adjuncts (and hops, methods, spices etc,) are just tools at your disposal, so play around with them!

[seymour]

Depending on the beer....up to 50%? Pretty much as much as any other unmalted adjunct. Like wheat. I can recommend a classic "Dry Irish" stout (70/20/10) with the 20% as flaked rye rather than flaked barley. More viscous, yet drier and more peppery. All adjuncts (and hops, methods, spices etc,) are just tools at your disposal, so play around with them!

+1

Don't over-think it. As far as I can tell, malting any grain doesn't exactly change its flavour, it mainly just increases its enzyme content to make it more easily mashable and fermentable. But mixed-in with a high percentage of well-modified base malt, there will be plenty of diastatic power to convert plenty of unmalted grains as well. It's a practical way to save money on ingredients. And yes, for the same reason, unmalted grain will leave behind slightly more body, mouthfeel, head retention and lace.

[beer gut]

Thanx seymore for the advice. I think I will try some of the flaked Rye in my next Rye brew. I am rather hooked on the Rye ale I brewed, I have kept 4 bottles for a competition this year but I don't know if there will be anything left for the competition because this brew is real tasty.

[zgoda]

Largest amount of rye flakes I ever used was ~30%, sparged without any problems. One fellow brewer here tried 45% but reported stuck sparge and nightmare filtration.

Of course, none of fancy-schmancy rice hulls or anything like that, only barley malts and rye flakes.

[seymour]

Here's another fun one from a craft brewery in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA. I haven't brewed it, but it has always struck me as an interesting blend of American adjunct lager and English Mild characteristics.

Mad Boar Pigtail Ale

A very light, pale-straw colored beer that is brewed with the masses in mind. There is not much to this beer, but the addition of rye makes it a touch unique. Using an ale yeast makes for a quick turn around time in getting this beer from the fermenter to the tap. Use a lager yeast for an even crisper version.

Original Gravity: 1034 (8.4 P)

IBU: 8
Yield: 5 U.S. gallons

All Grain version

American Pilsen malt – 5 ¾ pounds
Rye malt – 14 oz.
Flaked Rye – ½ pound
Flaked Rice – ½ pound
Note that you may substitute the ½ pound of flaked rice with ¼ pound rice syrup solids in the boil pot.

Mash grain at 150 F for 90 minutes

Extract version substitute:

4 pounds XL Malt Extract syrup Or 3 ½ pounds XL Dried Malt Extract for the Pilsen malt

Extract version – in boil pot, steep flaked rice, flaked rye PLUS ½ pound crushed 2 Row malt in water at 150F for 30 min. Remove grain, then add malt extract, brown sugar, and fill kettle to 6 US gallons and bring to a boil. Look for a target gravity of 1028 (7 P)

Hops
Cluster: 1/6 oz. 60 min for 6 IBU
German Hallertauer: ¼ ounces 30 min for 2 IBU

Yeast
cool wort as quickly as possible and pitch SO4 Dry ale yeast or White Labs 002 English Ale

Ferment at 68 F until signs of fermentation are complete. Rack to secondary carboy and age 2-3 weeks and then bottle or keg.