Summertime brings ideas of brewing with rye.  When I conducted some research into the subject, I found lots of information about rye malt.  We all know rye bread and I have had a few rye beers in my time, but I have never brewed with it.  I put this post together to share information about this brewing ingredient.

I was suprised to see that the rye is actually malted.  I guess I thought it would be used like a steeping grain.  I was wrong.  It’s fully modified and converts well in a single infusion mash. 

Flavor: Spicy, smoked.  All the characteristics you get from rye bread.  It lends a crisp, dry taste to a beer.

Color: I found that most sources had the Lovibond rating falling in the 3 -4.5°L range.

Use:  Rye beers (Roggenbier), smoked beers,  and wheat beers.  Suggestions ranged from 5% to 20% of the grist for the desired flavor.  A few sources said that a stuck or slow sparging might occur with large amounts (over 20% of the grist) because of the high glucan levels in the rye malt.  Rice hulls may be needed to keep the flow a-going after the mash.

For a dominant rye flavor, 50% of the grist was suggested.

For more malt profiles, check out the malt profiles category.