a rye bitter

Well, here's the recipe, it's a partial mash:

fermentables:
2 lbs. Maris Otter
1 lb. Rye
8 oz. Crystal 60L
8 oz. Biscuit
6 oz. Chocolate

2 lb. Extra Light DME

hops:
0.3 oz Galena - 12% AA - 60 min. - 13 IBU
0.2 oz Galena - 12% AA - 20 min. - 5 IBU
1 oz. East Kent Goldings - 5% AA - 12 min. - 8 IBU
1 oz. East Kent Goldings - 5% AA - 5 min. - 4 IBU
0.5 oz. UK Bramling Cross - 6% AA - 2 min. - 1 IBU

0.5 oz. UK Bramling Cross - 6% AA - dry-hop - 7 days

Wyeast Yorkshire Ale Yeast (washed)- 0.75 L starter

stats:
OG 1.037
FG 1.010
ABV 3.6%

There it is. I brewed it a few weeks ago and it is still sitting in primary. Haven't done the dry-hopping yet. I'm thinking I might throw the extra Galena hops from the 1 oz. package in to dry-hop as well as the planned Bramling Cross. Who knows. Also, I missed my OG, because the crush wasn't the greatest on some of the grains. The lhbs does it all on one setting and a couple of the grains (especially noticed the rye) were a bit smaller and slipped through without getting cracked. So, I added some extra DME to make up for the loss. I am looking forward to having another session beer around, but much lower than 3.6% might have been too light.

Anyway, I'm really psyched to get this batch bottled up and taste it. I'll definitely do an update once it is finished.

Sounds pretty tasty, let us know how it comes out!

I just kegged this batch the other day (first time kegging, W00T!!!). The gravity sample tasted pretty darn good. It's definitely got a strong hop bitterness to it, but I think it should have just enough malt along with the hop aroma and flavor to balance out the bitterness. I feel like the rye gives some good depth to the flavor, making it seem a little bigger than a normal standard bitter.

I'll definitely be back with more notes after it is carbed up and get a proper taste.

Rye in a Bitter is great. I love it. I am drinking my Rye ESB as we speak. My recipe...

I like the biscuit.

74% MO
13% rye
12% C60
1% 500L Roasted Barley.

Target at 60
Styrians at 15

I am an IPA guy, nearly without exception, but this is the recipe I brew most frequently... I usually keep it around and 1.064 and use WLP007 Dry English and mash pretty low.

Well, between having my CO2 tank leak until it was empty without even carbing up the batch, getting caught up in a super busy semester of school, and being blessed with the birth of my first daughter, I just finally got to taste a carbed and chilled version of this rye bitter.

I had a good few tastes of it without carbonation. While flat, it was unpleasant. I was worried I had my first completely screwed up, not very good batch.

Luckily, when I poured a glass earlier today, I found that it is a perfectly serviceable beer. I might even say it tastes good. I'm not sure I did a great job matching the hops with the rye. And I know the IBUs are a bit too high for the gravity. But the carbonation brings a lot of the flavors to life and somewhat balance out the extra bitterness.

Being that this was my first attempt at brewing with rye, I am happy with the results. However, I think I might go for a kit, the next time I want to try rye. A tried and true recipe will give me a chance to better get to know what to expect from rye, how much to use in a recipe and what other grains and hops to pair with it.

Live and learn. And now I'm sipping on a Speckled Heifer (Spotted Cow clone). Yum. Deliciously spring.