American Rye Ale?

I really like the taste of rye beers. I was thinking of doing a rye session beer. The BJCP style guidelines lists an American Rye Beer along with American Wheat.

Does anyone have any experience doing a Rye beer similar to an American Wheat? I'm wondering what % of rye should be included.

I'm thinking of lightly hopping with Liberty/Sterling to compliment the spice of the rye and fermenting with a Kolsch yeast to get some of that fruity character.

50/50 rye/2row. 5-6 lbs a piece should do ya. Kolsh yeast is a good idea

Dont know that kolsh will give a fruity character though.... I think kolsh is a pretty clean fermenting yeast. May be wrong though. If you want fruity esters i would go with a bavarian hefe style yeast (bananas and cloves)

Yeah my experience with Kolsh yeast was a clean and crisp profile with a little sulfur twang. Maybe at higher temps it gets fruity? Check out wyeast or white labs site. They might mention it but also there are reviews where someone might mention the profile at a higher temp like 72F or so.

hulkavitch said:

Dont know that kolsh will give a fruity character though.... I think kolsh is a pretty clean fermenting yeast. May be wrong though. If you want fruity esters i would go with a bavarian hefe style yeast (bananas and cloves)

Click to expand...

using a hefe yeast would make it a roggenbier

american rye is clean yeast

I know it is a clean style. He wants some fruity notes

I would look at this one:


YEAST STRAIN: 1007 | German Ale™

Back to Yeast Strain List

A true top cropping yeast with low ester formation and a broad temperature range. Fermentation at higher temperatures may produce mild fruitiness. This powdery strain results in yeast that remains in suspension post fermentation. Beers mature rapidly, even when cold fermentation is used. Low or no detectable diacetyl.

Origin:
Flocculation: low
Attenuation: 73-77%
Temperature Range: 55-68° F (13-20° C)
Alcohol Tolerance: approximately 11% ABV
Styles:
American Wheat or Rye Beer
Berliner Weisse
Bière de Garde
Düsseldorf Altbier
Kölsch
Northern German Altbier