Rye beer woes

[orford]

I recently took a shot at making a rye beer. I made only a one gallon batch as I have never brewed with rye before. As it was a one gallon batch I went a little crazy and made the recipe very rye heavy as follows:

2 lbs malted rye
12 oz Maris Otter
10 oz Munich
Single step infusion mash. Mash at 153 degrees F for 75 minutes. Mashout at 160 and sparge with 171 degree water.
Boil for 90 minutes adding 0.25 oz Fuggles hops 30 minutes into the boil. Add an additional 0.25 oz Fuggles with 5 minutes remaining in the boil.
Ferment at 68 degrees F using Safale US05

So the mash runoff and the sparge runoff looked like turkey gravy but was sweet. During the boil this gravy like appearance only increased as the boil volume decreased. I thought that perhaps the fermentation might allow for some of this to settle but the yeast have done their thing (5 days now) and it still looks an aweful lot like turkey gravy. I have not taken any hydrometer readings as mine is in storage. Any thoughts? Anyone else brewed with this much rye or had a similar experience? Think this will settle out with time? Thanks

 

[beerthirty]

I have brewed with 75% rye and found the beer to be very harsh at first. I put it away( embarrassed to serve it) and 3 months later it was an "asked for beer." It sounds like you have a lot of break material and possibly some flour in the beer. I suggest cold crashing and patience. Both should help your beer improve.

 

[mackinskor]

How involved is the mash process? I've been wanting to get involved with rye since I cherish rye bread, I hoped that would translate well into beer as a sort of reminiscent aspect.

 

[beerthirty]

mack, rye beer and bread are 2 different animals. Don't let me turn you off it just don't be expecting a bready tasting beer. The only difference I make during a rye mash is adding a couple/three handfuls of rice hulls. Rye is sticky in the mash and the hulls will help prevent a stuck or slow sparge.

 

[Teacher]

I brew with rye quite a bit, and if you're not using crystals or dark roasts, it does indeed have the color of turkey gravy. Just let it go for a while.

PS - For rye, I use a protein rest to reduce chill haze. Of course, that's not what's going on here, I'm just throwing it out there.

 

[bendavanza]

I did Denny's Rye Ipa recipe and it was delicious. I did not know to run the rye through the grain mill tighter, or at least run it through twice. The grains are much smaller than 2-row. Beer was still good, though.

 

[orford]

Thanks for the input guys. Just as an update, still looking pretty gravy like. Took a bit out to taste and while it has the consistency of cough syrup the flavor is quite nice. In an attempt to separate the goo from the beer I centrifuged a small sample. The yeast all pelleted out but the goo remained. I am going to transfer to a secondary and through it in the fridge for a month or so to see if it clears up.

 

[GrizlyGarou]

I just made a rye beer a little while ago. It was gravy-looking like you said all the way into the bottles. I picked one up three days after I had bottled it, and it was nearly clear other than the yeast still in suspension. I did a protein rest for 20 minutes during the mash, and didn't crash-cool it. I also used only 25% rye, so it's a different beast...

 

[mackinskor]

mack, rye beer and bread are 2 different animals. Don't let me turn you off it just don't be expecting a bready tasting beer. The only difference I make during a rye mash is adding a couple/three handfuls of rice hulls. Rye is sticky in the mash and the hulls will help prevent a stuck or slow sparge.

I am just starting off on my adventure, and as an amateur, is there any main advice on Rye brewing over Barley?

 

[adx]

I'm planning to do a 65% rye beer and I think I'm going to do a 20 minute beta-glucan rest at 110F. It sounds like what you have are all the long fiber beta-glucans gumming up your beer. Does it have the consistency of Metamucil?

 

[remilard]

I am just starting off on my adventure, and as an amateur, is there any main advice on Rye brewing over Barley?

Rice hulls and do a beta glucanase rest unless you want a sorta odd (but maybe not unwelcome) gel like thickness of body.

 

[TokyoRoad]

A Rye PA is one of my favorite beer styles to brew and drink. I don't like rye bread, nor do I taste that same rye flavor in beer that is in the bread..