Test to better understand rye flavor - Pale Ale comparison

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beowulf

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Like many folks, I've been using rye in a few recipes from IPAs to Stouts. However, while they've all been really good, I'm not sure if I can really pick out the rye flavor. I've seen a few other threads that ask the same question. Perhaps in my case it's because the IPA hops are so dominant, much as the roasty flavors of a stout are so dominant.

So, I thought I would take a pale ale recipe and swap some of the 2-row for about 24% rye. I'm thinking that should make the two beers different enough for me to pick out the difference the rye flavor makes. The question I have for you is whether my hops selection (and volume) will still dominate so much that the rye flavor may not be perceptible. I'm giving it a go with Chinook and Nugget which I hope will complement the rye, but hopefully not bury it. Normally I would flood the last 20 minutes with hops, but in this case I'm intentionally keeping it light to hopefully let the rye shine through. Let me know if you think this would be a good test.

Either way, I think I'll end up with two pretty good beers :mug:

And thanks, Poobah58 for the chinook/nugget affirmation on one of your earlier posts...

Both beers:
-----------
Boil size - 6.5 gal
Batch size - 5.25 gal
Est. OG - 1.053
Est. FG - 1.013
Est. IBUs - 43.6
Est. efficiency - 77%
Mash - 156F for 60 mins
Denny's Favorite 50 yeast
1 tbsp yeast energizer @ 5 mins left in boil

Hops:
.5 oz Chinook (FWH)
1 oz Nugget @ 15
1 oz Chinook @ 5
.5 oz each Nugget/Chinook dry hop for 7 days

Pale Ale grist
-------
Est. color - 7.1 srm
8# 2-row (80%)
1.5# vienna (15%)
.5# C60 (5%)

Rye PA grist
-------
Est. color - 7.8 srm
6# 2-row (57%)
2.5# malted rye (24%)
1.5# vienna (14%)
.5# C60 (5%)

I did bump up the total grain bill on the RyePA to keep the same OG.
 
A good way to really "find" that rye taste is to do a more straight forward grain bill.

Maybe a standard American Rye Ale.

5 lbs. 2-Row
5 lbs. Rye Malt
~30 ibu's

Make a American Wheat for comparison if you want, just substitute wheat for the rye.
 
Thanks for the input, Chello. I'd like to make something else similar, though, as sort of a "control" to measure the rye against. That's why I chose the pale ale as a control. I did read a different comparison thread (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/st...-barley-vs-flaked-rye-vs-flaked-wheat-201483/), but it only used 1# of rye/wheat/etc... I wanted to beef up the rye a little bit in this test to make it more prominent. I'm a little burned out on wheat beers, so at least for this test, I'd like to just compare rye against a 2-row control. Thanks for the idea, though.

Besides, I'm not sure I have enough rice hulls for a 50% rye beer :)
 
"Besides, I'm not sure I have enough rice hulls for a 50% rye beer "

1/2 lb should be plenty... that's what I use on my 60% wheat / 40% 2-row hefe.
 
1/2 lb should be plenty... that's what I use on my 60% wheat / 40% 2-row hefe.

Good to know. I'm saving the hulls I have for the prize-winning Rye Saison recipe, but good to know that it won't take much for a 50% rye. I've used up to 20% without any hulls and had no sparge problems, but thought it might be handy to have once I get to 25%+.

I'm still wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the hops/rye question. I think they will complement each other nicely, but want to make sure the rye flavor/characteristics are evident in the final product.
 
Interested in your results. If I had the time and resources I would brew two batches with one different component each time.
 
24% rye will be noticable even with 2oz of late hop additions, but if you really want to nail down the rye flavor I would consider doing only fwh or 60 minute and flameout additions.
 
Also instead of 2.5 lbs of malted rye maybe 1 lbs malted and 1.5 lbs flaked rye so a stuck sparge won't be an issue.
 
Also instead of 2.5 lbs of malted rye maybe 1 lbs malted and 1.5 lbs flaked rye so a stuck sparge won't be an issue.

I'd like to try some flaked rye, but have 16# of malted so I'd like to use that up first. I'll keep that in mind for subsequent batches, though. I didn't give much thought to the fact that flaked rye would be less sticky than malted, but it makes sense. Thanks for the idea...
 

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