Rye PA Recipe - Comments please

So I'm a pretty new homebrewer and I'm starting to get into some partial mash recipes. I'm working on this Rye PA and it probably needs some tweaking. If someone could give me comments I would be appreciative.

Mash Size- 10 lbs
5 lbs pale/pilsner malt (not sure which would be better)
2 lbs rye malt
1 lb flaked rye (body/mouthfeel and better rye flavor right?)
.5 lbs crystal malt 60L
1 lb amber malt
.5 lbs carapils

Unless someone tells me otherwise I was gonna do a one-step infusion mash at about 153-155 degrees F for about an hour. Do I need some kind of protein rest or mash out for the rye? I don't have much experience mashing but I'm learning quickly. I don't need to boil the flaked rye first do I? Also, if anyone thinks I'm using the wrong grain or if I'm missing something I'm open to suggestions.

I'm probably gonna throw in 6.6 lbs light LME to get to a decent gravity and do a 90 minute boil.

Hop Schedule
16 AAU Amarillo 90 thru 0 min
8 AAU Simcoe 90 thru 0 min
8 AAU Warrior 90 thru 0 min

What I'm trying to do here is approximate the Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA hop schedule. I understand it's a very slow, continuous addition throughout the boil. I'm thinking I'm just gonna throw in a few pellets every few minutes--I haven't done the math yet but it'll be more precise than that sounds.

After a week in primary I'll dry hop using
1 oz Simcoe
1 oz Summit
and leave in secondary for 2 weeks (too long?) before bottling. I want lots of citrus and a little pine to shine through in addition to crazy bitterness...are these good hops to use and are they in the right amounts/proportions?

I haven't given thought to what yeast to use...

I think that's all...your thoughts?

You have a good chance of getting a stuck mash. Add some rice hulls and start with a thick mash at 110-120F for half hour before going to 154.

I don't use equipment with false bottoms or any pump systems or anything like that (I would if I had the money and space). I use a 6 gal stock pot and mash in a grain bag that allows the grains to occupy the whole volume of water; then I fly sparge (175 F) through a colander lined with cheese cloth and throw the grain bag in the sparge water and "teabag" for a few minutes. Is a stuck mash an issue with this method? And is this because of the flaked rye, rye malt, or both?

If this is a 5 gallon batch, its going to be very rye-y. I made a 12 gallon batch of a rye pale ale with 2# rye malt and about 1-1.5# of flaked rye and it had a strong, but good, rye flavor. Your using about the same amounts for half the volume, unless this is a 10 gallon batch?
Tom

No this is a 5 gal batch actually i didnt realize the rye was so strong...if I cut it down to 1 # rye malt .5 # flaked rye and bumped the pale up a bit you think that would be a better ratio?
Also I should specify that this is supposed to be a rye-IPA...would anybody advise against incorporating the rye flavor with strong hop bitterness and aroma?

bmurph said:

After a week in primary I'll dry hop using
1 oz Simcoe
1 oz Summit
and leave in secondary for 2 weeks (too long?) before bottling.

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I wouldn't plan on racking to a secondary so soon. Thats too early on a few levels, not to mention using a secondary just to dry hop is a bit of a waste of effort.

bmurph said:

Is a stuck mash an issue with this method? And is this because of the flaked rye, rye malt, or both?

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It'll be fine with BIAB.

dcp27 said:

I wouldn't plan on racking to a secondary so soon. Thats too early on a few levels, not to mention using a secondary just to dry hop is a bit of a waste of effort.

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Well I just like the idea of doing a secondary fermentation so that I'll end up with a clearer beer...is this a correct assumption? (I haven't done a secondary fermentation yet) And while I'm at it I was thinking I'd just dry hop in the secondary; plus logic tells me that having beer circulate around the dry hops while siphoning into secondary might yield a better flavor extraction that just throwing them in an already full carboy...or is the difference negligible? Anyway if I was to stick to my original plan how long would you suggest I leave the beer in primary?

theres nothing about a secondary that causes yeast and other sediment to drop out of solution quicker, you'll end up with just as clear beer leaving it in the primary for the same amount of time (i.e. 3 weeks). secondary is an outdated technique and no longer recommended unless aging for long periods, or if you really need to free up your primary. you can read more about it here if you want: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/
as for the circulation, its possible you might get slightly more at first, but in cold wort the extraction rate is pretty slow so I'd imagine any extended effects would be insignificant. Also, you may want to wait til the 2nd week to dry hop so there's less yeast in suspension to suck away the effects.

Thanks for the info I guess I'll skip the secondary.

dcp27 said:

Also, you may want to wait til the 2nd week to dry hop so there's less yeast in suspension to suck away the effects.

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Do you mean dry hop after one week of fermentation or two? And do you use hop bags or just toss the pellets in there?

Here's the recipe I just brewed for comparison's sake. I think it's a "clone" of Terrapin's Rye Pale Ale. I may have made changes but probably not. It turned out amazing with the exception of cloudiness from the dry hopping.

8.40 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 70.00 %
1.25 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 10.42 %
1.25 lb Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 10.42 %
0.60 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 %
0.50 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.17 %
0.75 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 32.7 IBU
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (30 min) Hops 10.8 IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (20 min) Hops 4.7 IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (10 min) Hops 2.8 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) Yeast-Ale

Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out!

I, for one, don't think you can over-do the rye flavor. Go nuts. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye is made with 18% rye and it's fantastic.

I'm sipping on some Bulleit Rye Whiskey right now and it's inspiring to make an Imperial Rye Stout that's oaked with rye whiskey soaked chips.

I'm trying to interpolate between this partial mash recipe and my favorite rye IPA, which is the AG BCB Rye IPA (in the recipes section). Two pounds of rye in 13 lbs of grist gives is that nice spicy flavor. Otherwise a simple beer to brew (with the exception of an extended 90 minute boil), which is one of the reasons I like it, no long-as-your-arm list of fermentables and hops, delicious spicy flavor. The rye and the Tettnang and Chinook hops work very well together in this one.

bmurph said:

Do you mean dry hop after one week of fermentation or two? And do you use hop bags or just toss the pellets in there?

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I usually just wait til fermentation is complete and then give it at least a few days to settle out before dry hopping. I just toss them in as is, as long as you syphon from part way down you shouldn't get much hop debris when you rack. It's all a matter of preference and what works best for you

also, as long as you like rye I wouldnt back off on the amount.

The amount of rye you have will be very noticeable, but not objectionable.


In January I brewed a PM Rye PA with:

5 lbs Pilsen LME
1 lb light DME
2 lbs Rye Malt
1 lb flaked Rye
.5 lb Carared
.25 lb crystal 40L

I did the PM BIAB, so I had no problems with sticking...

My hop schedule was:

boil 60 mins 1.0 Magnum info pellet 10.0
boil 20 mins 0.5 Willamette info pellet 4.8
boil 20 mins 0.5 Amarillo info pellet 9.1
boil 20 mins 0.5 Simcoe info pellet 12.2
boil 5 mins 0.5 Simcoe info pellet 12.2
boil 5 mins 0.5 Amarillo info pellet 9.1
dry hop 5 days 0.5 Simcoe info pellet 12.2
dry hop 5 days 1.0 Amarillo info pellet 9.1

Fermented with WLP029...

And it came out delicious!

So good luck!