Rye Percentages

[cweinbrew9]

I'm doing a Rye Pale ale next week but I've never used rye before so I'm a little confused on what good percentages would look like. Heres my first crack at it (also I've never used crystal rye before either, but if it leaves a drier spicier finish I was thinking about adding victory malt (maybe 3 % or even less?) ...just wanted to get some opinions and tips on rye brewing.

Recipe Overview
Wort Volume Before Boil: 7.50 US gals
After Boil: 6.00 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.50 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.50 US gals Volume Of Finished Beer: 5.02 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.046 SG
Expected OG: 1.057 SG
Expected FG: 1.014 SG
Apparent Attenuation: 75.0 %
Expected ABV: 5.8 %
Expected ABW: 4.5 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 37.1 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 10.0 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 0.65 Approx Color:
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 17 degC [/SIZE]


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU
US 2-Row Malt 4.101 kg 64.1 % 2.7
US Rye Malt- 1.025 kg 16.0 % 1.4
US Munich 10L Malt - 0.684 kg 10.7 % 2.5
UK Crystal Rye Malt- 0.342 kg 5.3 % 9.4
US Rice Hulls 0.248 kg 3.9 % 0.0

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Amarillo 8.5 % 36 g 28.9 Bagged Whole Hops 60
UK Golding 5.5 % 15 g 6.0 Bagged Whole Hops 30
US Crystal 3.5 % 15 g 1.8 Bagged Whole Hops 10
US Crystal 3.5 % 28 g 0.4 Bagged Whole Hops 1



I'm still sorting through my options for yeast...I could of go pick up yeast (my LHBS carries pretty much all the white labs yeast) but I also have three beers fermenting now that I could top crop off of and build up the yeast, one with wlp001, another with the wlp cry havoc (don't remember the number) and the third is a wlp kolsch/german ale.

 

[Brocster]

Looks Like an interesting recipe!

If you haven't used Rye before, it is good to be in the 10% to 30% range, which you are dead center on.

I am not sure what your goals are, but you will definately have a tasty and interesting brew! I love your hops, btw, and Crystal is my favorite.

I think you could go a number of ways with yeast (I actually use a psuedo Bavarian Wheat Yeast sometimes), but using the California Ale yeast might be a great choice with your malt and hop bill, as its nuetral nature will let you enjoy your malt and hop balance with little yeast influence.

Good plan to use Rice hulls too....stuck sparges can be a hassle with Rye.

One other suggestion is to also mix in flaked rye.

I would love to hear how this turns out!

cheers

 

[Stout-n-Braggot]

Looks like an excellent recipe!

You don't really need the rice hulls until you hit around half rye.
I did a rye pale ale recently with nearly 50% rye, and it has turned out wonderfully (sparge was just a touch slow).
I would recommend a long protein rest, but you might not really need it.

Good luck!

If you like this one when it comes out I recommend trying at least one brew with a really high percentage of rye, its certainly a different flavor.

 

[cweinbrew9]

One other suggestion is to also mix in flaked rye.


cheers

What percent would I be looking at of the flaked rye? Im guessing less or equal to the crystal rye?

 

[Grasslands]

What percent would I be looking at of the flaked rye? Im guessing less or equal to the crystal rye?

I'm only able to purchase my flaked rye in 1 lb increments, so I'm not sure how others do it...But 1-1.5 lbs per 5 gallons in a rye beer sounds about right to me - especially since you've got some rye malt in there too.