Rye pale ale: Looking for input on hops/yeast

[jnrankin]

I'm trying to brew a partial mash rye pale ale this weekend and need a little input, specifically on hop schedule and yeast choice. I've never used rye before but love some of the commercial examples I've tasted.

Here's a grain bill I've put together so far. I'm pretty sure I like this part of my recipe but I'm open to suggestions.

3.3# Briess Golden Light LME
3.0# Weyermann rye malt
3.0# 2 row
0.5# Crystal 60

I really looking for a very assertive rye character and from what I've read I think 3# will do it. Note that I'm also trying to keep this in the APA range in terms of gravity and bitterness rather than the IPA range. If I get my normal 65% efficiency in my mash, I should wind up around 1.053 for my OG.

What hop varieties do yall typically like in your rye beers? I've heard Amarillo is nice but I don't know if my lhbs has it in stock. I'd like this beer to have plenty of hop flavor/aroma without too much bitterness so I'll definitely be leaning on a lot of late additions either way.

I'm not at all sure about the yeast. I usually go for a British profile (even in my American style beers) but I'm worried that will overwhelm some of the subtleties of the rye. Maybe plain old 1056 will let it shine through?

Thanks for any and all input.

 

[bnmir]

I did a red rye in May that came out nice. WL California Ale Yeast, Amarillo hops, all late addition and dry hopped with the same. I did mash at 152 to leave a little body, you might want to consider a slightly less attenuative but clean fermenting yeast.

 

[Yooper]

I've done several rye IPAs and APAs and they usually have citrusy hops. But Denny Conn's Wry Smile IPA uses Mt Hood for flavor and aroma and it's outstanding! (Here's the recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/denny-conns-wry-smile-rye-ipa-84515/)

So don't be afraid to think outside the box a little.

I haven't brewed it yet, but my next rye APA is going to be more like Terrapin Rye with the grainbill (only 10% rye malt) and I think I'm going to hop like this:

1.00 oz Magnum [11.60 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 11 19.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Willamette [5.60 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 12 5.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 13 5.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 14 2.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade (Homegrown) [5.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 15 1.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Willamette [5.60 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min

This is for 10 gallons, so cut it in half for 5 gallons!!!!!!

The reason for the fuggles is just because I have it, and I want to use it up. In many ways, it's similar to willamette. Anyway, I'm finding that the "earthy" flavors of willamette and fuggles blend nicely with citrusy cascades, and that combo should be nice in a rye APA.

I think you'd be pleased with the character of hops like Mt. Hood, willamette, even EKG, if you like "English-ifying" even American IPAs.

 

[badlee]

I just did 30% rye and pils with a little crystal wheat.
60 minute addition of 1oz Northern Brewer, 15,10 and 5 each 1oz of Citra.
The hops realy brought out the spiceyness and complemented it with tropical sweetness, add to the a beautiful grainy character from the pils. Fermented with Notty.
OG 1041 and 50 IBUs

 

[Backporchbrewery]

I made a Rye PA with .5oz Zythos at 60min, 20min, 10min, 0min. Turned out great. For the grain I made it more like a red ale with c-40 and c-120. I used 20% Rye malt.

Oh, and for yeast I went with Rebel Brewer's American Pub Ale. But any clean american yeast will work well (us-05, wy1056, WLP001, etc.)

 

[jkendal]

Austin Homebrew Supply has a really good Pale Rye Ale recipe. It's changed a bit over the years - the hops especially, after the great hop shortage several years ago but the original version was fantastic. This was one of my favorite recipes back between '04 and '07 and I've brewed it as all-grain, partial mash and extract+grains (really a mini PM with less 2-row since rye malt has to be mashed) and my favorite version by far was the partial mash. The grain bill (for all-grain) is fairly simple: 8.5 lbs. 2-row (~77%), 2 lbs. rye malt (~18%) and half a lb. of C-120 (~5%). If you were to PM this, just cut the 2-row to where all grains come out to ~3.5-4 lbs. and add enough extract to get you to an OG of 1.055. The hop charge is rather simple, too: Cluster for bittering (7 AAUs), Cascade for flavor (6.4 AAUs) and Willamete for aroma (4.2 AAUs) - your typical 60-15-5 minute additions. Yeast was WLP002.

I used to brew this for an annual White Elephant Christmas party with a large group of friends that was hosted at a different person's house every year (depending on who unwrapped the white elephant the year before) and every year I always took home an empty keg.

 

[bobbrews]

14-20% rye malt
5-7% crystal rye
0-7% sugar (for gravity adjustment and added dryness)
--The rest comprised of American 2-row and Extra Light DME

Mash @ 152

Simcoe, Centennial, & Amarillo for the hops

-Centennial early
-Centennial & Simcoe late
-Amarillo & Simcoe post-boil
-All three in the dryhop

English yeast, like WLP007

 

[jnrankin]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Looks like I have a lot of options, so I'll probably make my final decision when I see what the brew shop has in stock.

 

[jnrankin]

Well, I'm glad I was pretty flexible on this recipe because the brew shop's hop and yeast stores were pretty depleted. I grabbed their last 3oz of Cascade, their last 1oz of Centennial, and decided to go with some high alpha Columbus for efficient bittering. They were out of wlp001, 002, and 007, but the guy encouraged me to try their wlp051 California Ale V strain. Here's what I'm thinking for a hop schedule:

SE TIME OZ VARIETY FORM AA
boil 60 mins 0.5 Columbus pellet 13.9
boil 15 mins 0.5 Cascade pellet 6.2
boil 10 mins 0.5 Cascade pellet 6.2
boil 5 mins 0.5 Centurion (Centennial Type) pellet 9.7
boil 1 min 1.0 Cascade pellet 6.2
dry hop 5 days 1.0 Cascade pellet 6.2
dry hop 5 days 0.5 Centurion (Centennial Type) pellet 9.7
dry hop 5 days 0.5 Columbus pellet 13.9

I'm hoping this turns out well. I understand that the wlp051 should give off a lot of sulfur during fermentation but otherwise leave a fairly clean beer. Any further thoughts are welcome!

 

[jnrankin]

Quick update: this one ended up as one of my best beers so far. The last minute changes to my hop schedule actually turned out really well, though I'd like to try a few other combinations if I ever make this again. I was impressed with the yeast as well. Wlp051 seems to get mixed reviews but I really loved the subtle fruity sweetness it left behind.

This was also my first beer using 100% spring water rather than chlorinated tap water. I really think it makes a big difference. That "home brew taste" I blamed on the LME seems to have disappeared entirely.