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.
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