Protein rest or not?

I've got a recipe for a rye malt ale that I have made twice and have loved. I'm planning on doing it again and was thinking about the quantity of Rye I'm using.

Base Malt 2 Row 62.92 %
Rye Malt 26.97 %
Cara-Pils/Dextrine 6.74 %
Caramel/Crystal Malt 3.37 %

I did the mash at 154F for 60 min. both times. The end beer was very full bodied and I'd like to tone that down a bit. What I'm wondering is if I should lower the mash temp to 148F for 60, or if I should do a protein rest at 122F for 20-30 minutes?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I always do a protein rest if it is over 10% of the grain bill. I did an oatmeal rye stout that I did this with and it was phenomenal. 122f for 20 min raised to 154f for 60 mins. If you want to change the mouthfeel you should try to make it more attenuatable by mashing at a lower temp. Try 150-152f or possibly even lower. I think by doing a rest your rye flavor will be more pronounced. Rye is an awesome addition to most styles IMO.

I have only made one rye beer - about 25% rye malt. It was very viscous (in a good way). Its my understanding that this mouthfeel is inherent with rye malt. So, although lower mash temps, eliminating cara-pils (definitely this one) and adding adjunct sugar (and less 2-row) would decrease mouthfeel, these things will essentially be trying to compensate for mouthfeel that you will get from the rye. But its worth a shot.

jfrank85 said:

I always do a protein rest if it is over 10% of the grain bill. I did an oatmeal rye stout that I did this with and it was phenomenal. 122f for 20 min raised to 154f for 60 mins. If you want to change the mouthfeel you should try to make it more attenuatable by mashing at a lower temp. Try 150-152f or possibly even lower. I think by doing a rest your rye flavor will be more pronounced. Rye is an awesome addition to most styles IMO.

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I completely agree. Stuck mashes suck.

Thanks for the input guys

In the interest of a scientific approach, next time I'll add the protein rest and see what that does for it. Then I'll take a look at reducing or removing the cara-pils. That way I can get a good feel for what each change does for me.

L'chaim