Rye Stout

[Tony]

I had a friend over and gave him some of my Hop Rod Rye. He ranted and raved over it, saying it was one of the best beers he ever had. He said it had a nice fruity aroma and taste (Thanks to Wyeast's 1272) and spicy Rye flavor. But, he likened it to a stout, and said he would take mine over Guiness any day.

So, this has me thinking about making a Hop Rod Rye Stout. So what would be the best way to convert the recipe to a real stout, but keep the nice fruit aroma and flavor from using the 1272 yeast strain, and not mask the spicy rye flavor?

Hop Rod Rye
5 Gallons

8.75 lb Pale Malt (2 Row)
2.50 lb Rye Malt
1.25 lb Rye, Flaked
1.15 lb Munich Malt
0.62 lb Cara-Pils
0.62 lb Wheat Malt, Dark
1.75 oz Black Patent Malt
0.75 oz Tomahawk (60 min)
4.75 oz Centennial (30 min)
1.00 oz Centennial (0 min)
1.75 oz Tomahawk (0 min)
0.75 oz Amarillo (Dry Hop)
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272)

 

[david_42]

1/2 lb chocolate malt and 1/2 lb roasted barley would move it into the stout flavor range, but might mask what you have. Take an oz. of each & steep in 4 oz. of water at 170F. for 20 minutes. Add 1/2 oz of the solution to 10 oz. of your Hop Rod Rye and see how you like it. (I think I did the math right, should be 1/64th of five gallons)

 

[Tony]

Hmmm...good suggestion. Thanks!

 

[jezmez68]

Looking for a recipe similar to Bell's Rye Stout. I thought about using chocolate rye and 2 lbs of rye malt. What would flaked rye add?

 

[prosper]

I don't know, I've never met a stout that played well with lots of yeast character and late hopping that I liked, I always find that either the roast and hops clash, or one so completely overshadows the other that the balance is way off. I think it will probably take a few attempts to strike the right balance, assuming it's even possible at all.

However, I do think that rye + roast + light yeasty fruitiness (like you get with 1272) could be made to work well, *if* you eliminate most of the late hopping and all of the dry hopping.

If it were my recipe, I'd start somewhere around here:
6lbs 2-row
1lb Black Roast Barley
1/4lb Chocolate Malt
2lbs Flaked Rye
4 to 6 oz of C-80

Adjust the 2-row as necessary to hit ~1.050 OG with your system and efficiency, and ferment on the cool side with 1272 - 65-68F should be about right. Mash low - ~150F.

Use your hop bill, but eliminate the 0-minute and dry additions. Adjust as necessary to hit 50 IBU's