Rye-PA recipe critique

hows this sound: i got carried away when ordering ingredients for a simple APA and wound up with this. it should be near IPA strength with good hop profile, dry and crisp, but i don't want the bitterness too be overwhelming, nor the hop bouquet, as i want it to be an easier to drink crisp IPA (searching for the elusive 'just right').


9 lb. 2-row
1 lb. malted rye
1 lb. flaked rye
6 oz. crystal 10
6 oz. crystal 20
1/2 lb. flaked wheat

chinook .5 oz (60)
cascade .5 oz (30)
(15)
(5)
(dry)
amarillo .25 oz (45)
(10)
(dry)

california ale yeast

pro-mash says it should be at 1.063 OG and 50.1 IBUs. im going to do a single step mash and probably batch sparge it. my main concerns are whether the hop balance is good and if there are any special considerations for using rye.

thanks-

Rye and wheat both tend to be sticky, some rice hulls might be a good idea. Alternately, you can pour about half of the pale in the tun, then mix the rest of the ingredients in a sack and pour them on top of the pale. That will give you a good filter bed.

The hops look ok. Less bittering than I would use, but that's what you are trying for.

I've not done a rye beer yet, but I've read that you need 10-20% to get the full effect of the rye.
We recently discussed this, in fact THIS thread has a few decent recipes posted in it. Use those as a guide. Denny's rye recipe has won quite a few awards and is supposedly a great example of the "style".

Otherwise, the recipe looks pretty good, IMHO!!!

david_42 said:

Rye and wheat both tend to be sticky, some rice hulls might be a good idea. Alternately, you can pour about half of the pale in the tun, then mix the rest of the ingredients in a sack and pour them on top of the pale. That will give you a good filter bed.

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so that would be to ensure no stuck run offs?

i read the other post just now, must've missed that one. so from the linked article it sounds like i won't have as much trouble with the flakes as with the malt. but denny's experience said the flakes caused the stuck sparge. whats right? also some of the posts said to boil the rye before mashing...wouldn't that lead to tannin extraction, or is that not a problem with rye?

I always use at least 2 pounds of rye malt, and usually 1/2 to a pound of flaked rye, and never have had a problem. I brew 5 gallon batches, and use a s/s false bottom, and have not had a stuck sparge yet.

But, thats my experience, your results may vary

drengel said:

i read the other post just now, must've missed that one. so from the linked article it sounds like i won't have as much trouble with the flakes as with the malt. but denny's experience said the flakes caused the stuck sparge. whats right? also some of the posts said to boil the rye before mashing...wouldn't that lead to tannin extraction, or is that not a problem with rye?

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I think you'll only have to worry about a stuck sparge if you use more than 50% of rye as the grist. 2 lbs you'll be GTG.

cool--thanks guys, can't wait to brew it up. my inspiration was rediscovering how much i like rye beers after drinking Real Ales rye pale ale and the hop rod rye. i wish i wouldve brought a sixer back of that real ale rye, but hindsight's always 20/20 i guess.

I don't think those quantities are going to stick a mash, but I would do as david says, or at least make sure all of the grist is well mixed before doughing in (to disperse the rye and wheat amongst the 'hulled' grains).

looks good to me drengel! do you have a way to add direct heat to the mash lauter tun while recirculating? that'll help keep it from sticking....

I've only made rye, 8 batches to date. I use 2# malted rye, 1 1/2# rice hulls. I mixed the grains together in the mash tun. Only stuck sparge I've had was when the clerk at the HBS said he layers his. Tried,it, it stuck. But I've had lots of cloudy beer. I went to a secondary on batch 6, it helped. #8 I roasted some of the pale, and mixed all the grist together, then decided to try a decoction mash. Seems to have cut down on the trub in the primary. Better protein conversion? Next batch I'll decoct all of the rye and some of the barley. Maybe more of the trub will turn into rye flavor? Perhaps I'll add caraway or licorice?

boiling the mash in a decoction reduces the size and the complexity of malt starch and protein, which helps prevent a stuck mash when mashing in difficult malts like rye and wheat.

ORRELSE said:

Denny's rye recipe has won quite a few awards and is supposedly a great example of the "style".

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As far as awards go I think you are thinking of the other Denny on morebeer.com.

As for stuck run off, get rice hulls. I recently did a high OG recipe with 20% rye flake and 10% Barley flake and I had a run off nightmare from the gooey mess the flakes make. Of course I was using a mash tun that should have been bigger for the grain quantities.

The flake will swell a LOT. I boil the flake first then add to the mash.

Try a gum rest at 110F for 20 - 30 minutes before bringing up to your sachrif. temp. Just make sure your dough in water rasies the grains to 110, leave it thick, then add your strike water and you can still due a "single" infusion mash.

I love rye. I haven't been able to get rye malt. I was just in Vandcouver at a store that handles everything but rye malt. (Weird thing is they don't carry rice hulls either).

I've made about 5 batches using rye from 5 - 25% I don't get why it isn't used in more beer recipes.

Denny's Brew said:

As far as awards go I think you are thinking of the other Denny on morebeer.com.

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Yep. he is a regular over there as well as the green board.