Mini Mash Rye Pale Help

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rodwha

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I want to make a rye pale ale. I'm an extract brewer and tried a mini mash once using my 2 gal water cooler, which i learned didn't hold the temp well enough, though now I know to keep a better eye on it and be ready to add hot water. Maybe if it were more full it would hold the temp longer (~1/2 full).

If I were to make a 4.3 gal batch how much rye would I need? And does it need to mashed with malted barley?
 
I added some Weyermann's rye malt into the calculator and it came up as steeped. I thought rye had to be mashed?
 
Rye is supposed to be mashed. Just mix it with an equal amount of pale 2 row and mini mash to get the most out of the Rye.
 
Does it being labeled rye malt mean something else was done with it, that it's not just rye? I find it odd that it would come up defaulted steeped.
 
Does it being labeled rye malt mean something else was done with it, that it's not just rye? I find it odd that it would come up defaulted steeped.

No, rye malt is what you want. You can use flaked rye also, but it too must be mashed.

If you want to hold temperatures well in the cooler, make sure you preheat it with hot (180 degree) water and cover it for about 15 minutes. Then you won't lose any heat out of it.
 
I've had conflicting info on it. MoreBeer shows it needs to be mashed, but Home Brew Party said it can be steeped.

I had accidentally boiled the water I had preheated my cooler with and then used 165* water for the mash and found it in the 140's 30-45 mins later.
 
If I were to make a 4.3 gal batch would mashing 1 lb of rye and 1 lb of 2 row be enough to really get a rye flavor? I really loved the spicy punch the rye beer I tasted had.

I've seen everywhere from from 2qts to 1 1/4 gal per pound of grains. I'll need a little room in case I must add hot water.

I also figured using Mt Hood would go nicely with it. What say you?
 
"...and cover it for about 15 minutes."

I did not cover it. Hmmm...
 
If I were to make a 4.3 gal batch would mashing 1 lb of rye and 1 lb of 2 row be enough to really get a rye flavor? I really loved the spicy punch the rye beer I tasted had.

I've seen everywhere from from 2qts to 1 1/4 gal per pound of grains. I'll need a little room in case I must add hot water.

I also figured using Mt Hood would go nicely with it. What say you?

I like about 20% rye in a rye pale ale, to make the rye flavor present and noticeable without being over-the-top.

When you mash, you want to use 1.25-2 quarts of water per pound of grain. Start with 1.25 quarts/pound if you think you'll be adding more water.

Mt hood is nice with rye, but so are many American C-hops and I love my rye/amarillo pale ale as well!
 
I think I tried something like 2 qts/lb last time and failed to cover the grains. I'll have to look it up. But covering all of the grains is the most important, correct? Just enough to cover or a little more?
 
I don't care as much about the efficiency as long as I get the flavor. My beers seem to reach higher than projected OG's anyway.
 
Were I to use 2 lbs of rye malt would 1 lb of 2 row (pale) be enough? I'm concerned with how much I'd be able to fit into a 2 gal cooler.
 
Not sure how large your boil pot is, but consider the BIAB method. I am doing some really big beers this way - eight pounds of grains followed by four to six pounds of extract - with much success. Keeping the pot on the stove which is already heated and wrapping it in a blanket looses only a couple of degrees over the hour of mashing, I have found. Check out my Colorado Imperial Red Rye recipe if you like the rye brews, it is most excellent.
 
Were I to use 2 lbs of rye malt would 1 lb of 2 row (pale) be enough? I'm concerned with how much I'd be able to fit into a 2 gal cooler.

You should easily be able to fit 4 pounds of grain in a 2 gallon cooler. I'd use an equal amount of two-row as rye malt, to ensure complete conversion.

I'm not sure what you mean about not covering the grains. I meant to keep the cooler covered. The grains must be totally and completely stirred into the water, like oatmeal. If any grains are not totally immersed, then you have a problem.
 
My brew pot is 5 gal and I boil off about 1.2 gal/hr. But I can't get any more than 3.5 gals to boil, and it's typically not a good roiling boil as it's much bigger than the large burner.

I understood you on the covering (cooler), but was referring to the amount of water to grain ratio as I think I tried to follow the 2qt/lb ratio and it failed to completely submerge my grains.
 
I understood you on the covering (cooler), but was referring to the amount of water to grain ratio as I think I tried to follow the 2qt/lb ratio and it failed to completely submerge my grains.

Ah. Then you need to put them in the bag looser, or get another bag. You can use two bags, or even more, if you have to as to not stuff the grains in the bag. Keep the grains in the bag(s) very loose, so that they "swim" in the grain like they're not confined in a bag. Then stir the grains (in the bag) into the water, dunking them down and fully wetting them. And then leave them fully immersed for the entire mash time. Once they are thoroughly wetted (and if they aren't too tightly packed in the bag), they'll stay under the water level. If not, your MLT is too big for the amount of grains and water you're using.
 
Mine were tightly confined as I used a muslin bag.
But I have a BIAB type bag now.
 
1.5 lbs of each will give me 21% rye so if it ought to be able to handle 4 lbs then i figure 3 lbs leaves plenty of room for warm up water.
Thanks! You've helped me quite a bit along my little road!
 
1.5 lbs of each will give me 21% rye so if it ought to be able to handle 4 lbs then i figure 3 lbs leaves plenty of room for warm up water.
Thanks! You've helped me quite a bit along my little road!

There's a cool "can I I mash it" calculator here: http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

Scroll down a bit, and use the calculator to see the max your two-gallon cooler will hold.
 
Great tool Yooper! Once again my hero!
According to it I could start off with ~2 qts/lb and still have nearly a pint/lb for heat up water in that 2 gal cooler.
 
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