Brewing with Rye

For our October online meeting Craig Agnor gave us an introduction to brewing with Rye. This is in preparation for next years Hayesenbrau competition (which will be rye beers).

Transcript

1. Brewing with Rye London Amateur Brewers barley rye
2.  An ancient cereal grain that grows in poor soil and cold climates – frequently a winter crop. Commonly grown in Northern Europe and Asia  Has been cultivated since antiquity.  Rye can be malted and made to be self-converting.  Can be used in making bread, wash, wort, rye whiskey, and beer.  Can be difficult to brew with and commercially problematic. A true homebrewing opportunity.
3. Beers with Rye Traditional Farmhouse Beers (see brewingnordic.com)  Sahti – Finland some rye can be used  Taari – Karelian/Baltic  Setomaa kotuolu – Southeastern Estonia / Western Russia  Farmhouse beers - Russia Modern Craft Styles  Roggenbier (Bavaria/Austria)  Rye IPA – Denny Conn  Red Rye Ale  ‘Specialty/Alternative Grain’ beers with Rye  Rye Stout  Rye Porter  Amber Rye, ...etc
4. Rye Flavour “With its fruity, spicy, oily, sometimes almost pepper minty notes, rye has the most assertive flavors of all cereal grains” – Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion (1993) “The taste of rye is stronger, grainier, more rustic than barley” – Mika Laitinen nordicbrewing.com “The use of rye doesn’t mean that it should taste like caraway (a dominant spice often used in rye bread)” - BJCP
5. What Does Rye Add to Beer?  Spicy, peppery, earthy, aroma and complexity – [BJCP]  Enhanced head retention  Enhanced body – oily, silky mouthfeel  Higher finishing gravity (FG)  A dry tartness in the finish, and/or  haze/cloudiness (similar to wheat) Rye may enhance the perceived hop bitterness, dryness or tartness on the palate Rye can be made into specialty malts (e.g., crystal, chocolate, roast, biscuit,...etc). Q: How does ‘dry spiciness’ manifest in rye beer? Aroma, Flavour, Mouthfeel, All/None of the above
6. Rye Intensity and Recipe Formulation Typically 10-60% rye; the remainder is barley malt  0-10% - delicate aroma, flavour, and mouthfeel – subtle background contribution  15-20% - unique rye character threshold (Brulosophy)  20-60% - increasing rye character and viscosity  100% possible - thick, viscous, syrupy (Basic Brewing Podcast). Not recommended “If you know you like rye, keep it [at 40%]… If you’re just experimenting, I think you might be happier with something closer to 20% rye” – Denny Conn advocate of Rye IPA (homebrewtalk.com) “The best rye beers I have tasted have 15-40% rye” (Mika Laitinen – nordicbrewing.com) Rye can also be a subtle, not quite recognisable, but significant ingredient (e.g., Elusive’s Oregon Trail 6.5% rye malt)
7. Rye Base Malts Base and character malts descriptions vary considerably between maltsters. Type of rye and provenance are typically not mentioned (as with barley in the ‘early days of homebrewing’). Also, rye crystal will contribute different character than barley crystal malts. Note: most US recipes probably assume Breiss or Great Western maltings.  Crisp - toffee/caramel at low %, spicy after palate at high %, adds a reddish hue.  Simpson’s - adds a spicy rye note, a unique flavour, giving fullness and mouthfeel  Weyermann - malty-sweet with notes of bread and honey. Rye malt also creates a velvety-soft mouthfeel (no spice?)  Warminster - hints of toffee/caramel, and produces a spicy after palate, aids head retention, adds a reddish hue.  Dingeman’s - lends a spiciness typical to rye to the beer, Malty with dry herbal flavour See attached spreadsheet for malt properties
8. Flaked Rye vs Rye Malt  Flaked Rye – unmalted adjunct/gelatinised - dry crisp slightly spicy  “Flaked rye will gets you mouthfeel and a bit of spicy flavor, but I think rye malt has much more flavor than flaked rye.” - Denny Conn  “Unmalted rye tastes harder, dryer, and grainier than malted rye. For this reason, I prefer malted rye.” - Mika Laitinen (nordicbrewing.com) Again the type, provenance and maltster probably make a difference Rye Malt Extract is also an option - can be purchased from geterbrewed.com
9. Rye Physical Properties • Rye kernels are smaller than barley – milling • Rye malt has no husk – lautering (similar to wheat, oats – rice hulls may be needed) • Rye is high in cellulose gums (e.g., beta glucans, pentosans, arabinoxylans) – mouthfeel, mashing methods, lautering • Rye is high in protein - foam/haze/mashing • Rye can be malted, toasted, roasted, ...etc. - recipe formulation Clockwise from upper left: rye, wheat, barley, oats
10. Rye Character Malts  Toasted Rye - soft roastiness, cookies, warm bread, fine spiciness. 40 EBC/ 15L (Dingeman’s)  Crystal Rye - dry liquorice, toffee. - 190 EBC / 75L (Fawcett’s)  CaraRye - bread, coffee, dark chocolate, dried fruit – 175 EBC / 70L (Weyermann)  Red Rye Crystal - sweet, malty, bread crust - 265 EBC / 100L (Simpson’s)  Chocolate Rye - coffee, chocolate, nuts, bread - 550 EBC / 200L (Weyermann)  Chocolate Rye - chocolate, cacao nibs, coffee, spicy - 300 EBC / 115L (Dingeman’s)  Roast Rye - dry biscuity flavour - 500 EBC / 180L (Fawcett’s)  Home Toasted Rye – You decide YMMV Geterbrewed/The Malt Miller/Brew Day have largest selections of rye products at the moment
11. Mashing Rye  Many brewers experience stuck sparges, scorched elements owing to rye’s water absorption, high protein content, high viscosity mash, and propensity to develop gels (e.g., LAB Brewday)  Some brewers report no problems mashing rye, even with large (~50%) rye fractions and single infusions (BIAB, Denny Conn, Jamil).  Know your system  Your mileage may vary.
12. Brewing Considerations  Rye kernels are smaller than barley. You may need to adjust the mill spacing for rye and crush separately from barley for an even crush  Rye absorbs 15-30% more water than barley  You will need more water for mashing and lautering than for a pure barley malt recipe with the same WATER:GRIST ratio  This can be estimated  Lauter with higher WATER:GRIST ratio (i.e., thin mash) ~4 l/kg (2 qt/lb)  Again, makes lautering easier  Sparge Very Slowly to help avoid stuck sparges  <15% Rye content  single infusion mash can work  >~20% Rye - Step mashing (i.e., a beta glucan or protein rest) is recommended  most maltsters suggest lautering aids (e.g., rice, oat hulls) for large rye fraction  Use lautering aids at about 10-20% of huskless grain by weight (comes from estimated weight of husk for barley). For example, if you have 2 kg of rye malt, use ~200g of rice hulls.  100% Rye beer is possible (e.g., with BIAB)  results in thick viscous beer  with high FG  Very hard to lauter on a normal system
13. Step Mashing  Beta-glucan rest 35 - 45C (95-113F) ~20-min recommended  break down beta glucans, proteins,  control/adjust/reduce viscosity, avoid overly thick mouthfeel  Eases lautering  Mash can be thick (e.g., 1 l/kg, 0.5 qt/lb) – (e.g., if infusion mashing)  Saccrification rest 60-66C (140-150F)  Choose temp being mindful of extra body from rye  Mashout step 75-77C (167-170F)  Reduce viscosity during lautering  Steps can be done in many ways  in cereal mash outside main mash,  via infusion  via decoction  Note: Beta glucan rest overlaps with ferulic acid rest temp  One might consider altering pH of mash to enhance various rests (e.g., adding water adjustments or dark grain to later steps - use a water salt programme to estimate). From braukaiser.com
14. BJCP Styles - Rye  'Defining and publishing style guidelines to assist beer judges in the evaluation of competition entries.'  ‘...the style guidelines facilitate organizing comps that reflect trends in commercial and home brewing’  Category Evolution  essentially no mention of rye in 1999  A few explicit categories (Rye IPA, Roggenbier, Sahti) and guidelines for Alternative Grain beers (2021)  Roggenbier has moved around a lot due to variation in popularity in competition and commercial availability  Several styles utilise a subtle/background rye contribution (e.g., for body, rustic malt complexity, to accentuate hops) including,  Belgian styles (e.g., 25B Saison – spicy rye complementing spicy saison yeast and hops)  21A American IPA (e.g., Oregon Trail – 6.5% rye malt)  Session / LoNA beers – for body, complexity, hop accentuation
15. Rye Beers - 31A. Alternative Grain Beer  A base beer enhanced by, or featuring the character of, additional grains (e.g., rye, oats, buckwheat, spelt, millet, sorghum, rice).  The specific character depends greatly on the added grains.  Examples: Rye Dry Stout, Rye Porter, …  Probably looking at >15% rye for recognisable rye character
16. Rye Beers - 27 Historical Beer Roggenbier Place in BJCP has evolved considerably  A more distinctive Dunkles Weissbier made with rye rather than wheat, greater body and light finishing hops.  The rye gives a bready and peppery flavor, a creamy body, and a dry, grainy finish that blends with the distinctive banana-and-clove weizen yeast character.  Rye character - 'Light to moderate spicy rye aroma (like black pepper)'  'Grainy, moderately-low to moderately-strong spicy-peppery rye flavor, often having a hearty flavor reminiscent of rye bread'  'Medium-dry, grainy finish with a lightly bitter (from rye) aftertaste.'  'Moderately creamy'  Recipe and Methods:  Malted rye, <~ 60%  pale, munich, and wheat malts.  Character malts: Crystal-type debittered dark malts  German or Czech noble hops.  Weizen yeast  decoction type mash. (with beta glucan / ferulic acid rest)  Commercial Examples – rare outside of Germany/Austria
17. Recipe: Schierlinger Roggenbier (Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion 1993)  OG 1.048, 45 EBC (22 SRM), 5% ABV  60% German Rye Malt  20% German Pilsner Malt  20% German crystal (CaraAmber?)  German Carafa Special to get colour to 45 EBC (22 SRM)  Double Decoction Mash  Perle Hops in 2 additions  Weizen Yeast  Introduced in 1988 after Germany joined the EU and the Rineheitsgebot was no longer legally binding (due to trade laws).  Wanted to make a rye beer, but could find no historical recipes. So, they made one up.  The original beer had colour of 35 EBC (18 SRM). German trading standards required at least 40 EBC (20 SRM) to be called ‘dark’. The recipe was then adjusted to 45 EBC (22 SRM) just to be sure.  Jackson’s 1993 description was an effective template for homebrewers to begin exploration! His description is to the right.  Roggenbier dominated the Specialty Category of homebrew competitions prior to being explicitly added to the BJCP guidelines in 2004. Moved to the Historical Category in 2015 as commercial examples disappeared.
18. Recipe: Gordon Strong’s Roggenbier BYO - 2021  OG 1.050, FG 1.012, IBU 18,  ABV 5%, 33 EBC (17 SRM)  Ingredients for 19L (5 gal):  3.2 kg (7 lbs.) German rye malt  1.13kg (2.5 lbs.) Vienna malt  1.13kg (2.5 lbs.) Caramel wheat malt, 132 EBC (50 L)  57g (2oz) Carafa Special II (mash capped)  454 g (1 lb.) Rice hulls  RO Water with 1 tsp CaCl2 in mash  14g Perle hops (8% alpha) 60-min  Wyeast 3068, White Labs WLP300 or similar  Carbonation 3.0 volumes  Process  Double decoction  35C (95F) Mash in (10-min)  Thick Decoction to 50C (122F)  Thick Decoction to 70C (158F), add rice hulls and rest 15 min  Add Carafa and raise to 76C (168F)  Sparge very slowly to collect 24.5L (6.5 gal). Cut mash bed with crosshatch pattern to encourage runoff.  Boil 90-min  Chill to 15C (59F), ferment to completion, allowing temperature to rise to a maximum of 18C (64F). Jamil has a similar recipe that uses single infusion mashing
19. Rye Beers - 21 Specialty IPA: Rye IPA  An American IPA with spicy, grainy rye malt. The rye gives a bready and peppery flavor, a creamier body, and a dry, grainy finish.  Vital Statistics (Same as AIPA):  OG: 1.056 – 1.075 IBUs: 50 – 75  FG: 1.008 – 1.014 SRM: 6 – 14  ABV: 5.5 – 8.0%  'Like an American IPA, with a generous portion of rye malt.' (probably >15%)  'Low peppery rye malt aroma, along with a clean, background grainy maltiness.'  'Low to moderate grainy, peppery, spicy rye flavor that adds to the dry finish.'  'Rye malt character should be noticeable, otherwise enter in 21A American IPA.'  Really this is just a popular 'Alternative Grain Beer' (as with Roggenbier)
20. Denny Conn’s Wry Smile RIPA  OG 1.074, IBU 77, 31 EBC (12 SRM)  Ingredients for 19L (5 gal):  4.99 kg (11 lbs) US Pale Malt (67%)  1.36 kg (3 lbs) Rye Malt (18.5%)  0.56 kg (1.25 lbs) Caramel (60L) (7.7%)  0.23 kg (0.5 lbs) Carapils (3%)  0.23 (0.5 lbs) Wheat Malt (3%)  1 tsp Gypsum  1 tsp Irish Moss  Single Infusion Mash (153F) 60-min  75-min boil  Hops  Mt. Hood 5.1% 28g (1 oz) First Wort Hop  Columbus 16% 35g (1.25 oz) 60-min  Mt. Hood 5.1% 14g (0.50 oz) 30-min  Mt. Hood 5.1% 42g (1.5 oz) 0-min  Columbus 16% 35g (1.0 oz) Dry hop 5 days  Yeast: Wyeast 1450, 1272, 1056, or Fermentis US-05
21. Recipe Formulation Ideas  Brewing a classic style with rye (e.g., Roggenbier, Rye IPA,…)  Exploring the ‘Alternative Grain’ Category (again 15-20% rye for noticable character). NZ Rye Pilsner?  Using rye as a ‘subtle seasoning’ (e.g., 0-15% rye).  Using rye to complement hops (e.g., Rye IPA) – although the subtle rye aromas may be dominated by hops  Mika Laitinen (brewingnordic.com) has published some ideas for malt-forward rye beer recipes.  Strong Nordic Ale  Rye Porter  Ryenator – doppelbock  Rye Wine
22. Experimental American Amber OG 1.051, FG 1.041, ABV 5%, IBU 35 • Simpson’s Golden Promise, 5.5 EBC (2.6 L), 69.3% • Crisp Rye Malt, 23 EBC (9.2 L), 10.4% • Dingeman’s Toasted Rye Malt 40, 40 EBC (15.6 L), 5.0% • Thomas Fawcett Crystal Rye Malt, 150 EBC (56.8 L), 10.3% • Simpson’s Red Rye Crystal, 275 EBC (103.7 L), 5.0% • Rice Hulls – added at mashout. About 10% of huskless grain mass Simpson’s Golden Promise
23. Experimental American Amber OG 1.051, FG 1.041, ABV 5%, IBU 35 • Simpson’s Golden Promise, 5.5 EBC (2.6 L), 69.3% • Crisp Rye Malt, 23 EBC (9.2 L), 10.4% • Dingeman’s Toasted Rye Malt 40, 40 EBC (15.6 L), 5.0% • Thomas Fawcett Crystal Rye Malt, 150 EBC (56.8 L), 10.3% • Simpson’s Red Rye Crystal, 275 EBC (103.7 L), 5.0% • Rice Hulls – added at mashout. About 10% of huskless grain mass Crisp rye malt
24. Experimental American Amber OG 1.051, FG 1.041, ABV 5%, IBU 35 • Simpson’s Golden Promise, 5.5 EBC (2.6 L), 69.3% • Crisp Rye Malt, 23 EBC (9.2 L), 10.4% • Dingeman’s Toasted Rye Malt 40, 40 EBC (15.6 L), 5.0% • Thomas Fawcett Crystal Rye Malt, 150 EBC (56.8 L), 10.3% • Simpson’s Red Rye Crystal, 275 EBC (103.7 L), 5.0% • Rice Hulls – added at mashout. About 10% of huskless grain mass Dingeman’s toasted rye
25. Experimental American Amber OG 1.051, FG 1.041, ABV 5%, IBU 35 • Simpson’s Golden Promise, 5.5 EBC (2.6 L), 69.3% • Crisp Rye Malt, 23 EBC (9.2 L), 10.4% • Dingeman’s Toasted Rye Malt 40, 40 EBC (15.6 L), 5.0% • Thomas Fawcett Crystal Rye Malt, 150 EBC (56.8 L), 10.3% • Simpson’s Red Rye Crystal, 275 EBC (103.7 L), 5.0% • Rice Hulls – added at mashout. About 10% of huskless grain mass TF crystal rye
26. Experimental American Amber OG 1.051, FG 1.041, ABV 5%, IBU 35 • Simpson’s Golden Promise, 5.5 EBC (2.6 L), 69.3% • Crisp Rye Malt, 23 EBC (9.2 L), 10.4% • Dingeman’s Toasted Rye Malt 40, 40 EBC (15.6 L), 5.0% • Thomas Fawcett Crystal Rye Malt, 150 EBC (56.8 L), 10.3% • Simpson’s Red Rye Crystal, 275 EBC (103.7 L), 5.0% • Rice Hulls – added at mashout. About 10% of huskless grain mass Can you spot the odd kernel of barley? Simpson’s red rye crystal
27. Infusion Mash Schedule My 40L cooler mash tun has a false bottom and I use a mash bag. Steps with mash thickness are listed below • 43C (110F) Beta-glucan rest, 30-min, 1.25 l/kg (0.6 qt/lb) • 67C (154F) Saccrification rest, 60-min, 2.59 l/kg (1.24 qt/lb) • 73C (164F) Glyco-protein rest, 20-min, 3.31 l/kg (1.58 qt/lb) • 78C (172F) Mash out, 10-min, 4.18l/kg (2.0 qt/lb) Batch sparged
28. Infusion Mash Schedule My 40L cooler mash tun has a false bottom and I use a mash bag. Steps with mash thickness are listed below • 43C (110F) Beta-glucan rest, 30-min, 1.25 l/kg (0.6 qt/lb) • 67C (154F) Saccrification rest, 60-min, 2.59 l/kg (1.24 qt/lb) • 73C (164F) Glyco-protein rest, 20-min, 3.31 l/kg (1.58 qt/lb) • 78C (172F) Mash out, 10-min, 4.18l/kg (2.0 qt/lb) Batch sparged
29. Infusion Mash Schedule My 40L cooler mash tun has a false bottom and I use a mash bag. Steps with mash thickness are listed below • 43C (110F) Beta-glucan rest, 30-min, 1.25 l/kg (0.6 qt/lb) • 66C (151F) Saccrification rest, 60-min, 2.59 l/kg (1.24 qt/lb) • 73C (164F) Glyco-protein rest, 20-min, 3.31 l/kg (1.58 qt/lb) • 78C (172F) Mash out, 10-min, 4.18l/kg (2.0 qt/lb) Batch sparged
30. Infusion Mash Schedule My 40L cooler mash tun has a false bottom and I use a mash bag. Steps with mash thickness are listed below • 43C (110F) Beta-glucan rest, 30-min, 1.25 l/kg (0.6 qt/lb) • 66C (151F) Saccrification rest, 60-min, 2.59 l/kg (1.24 qt/lb) • 73C (164F) Glyco-protein rest, 20-min, 3.31 l/kg (1.58 qt/lb) • 78C (172F) Mash out, 10-min, 4.18l/kg (2.0 qt/lb) Batch sparged
31. Infusion Mash Schedule My 40L cooler mash tun has a false bottom and I use a mash bag. Steps with mash thickness are listed below • 43C (110F) Beta-glucan rest, 30-min, 1.25 l/kg (0.6 qt/lb) • 66C (151F) Saccrification rest, 60-min, 2.59 l/kg (1.24 qt/lb) • 73C (164F) Glyco-protein rest, 20-min, 3.31 l/kg (1.58 qt/lb) • 78C (172F) Mash out, 10-min, 4.18l/kg (2.0 qt/lb) Batch sparged – VERY SLOWLY Cutting top of mash bed is sometimes recommended to facilitate sparging (e.g., Schierlinger via Michael Jackson, Gordon Strong)
32. Discussion Topics  Rye – spicy flavour, aroma contribution vs palate sensation? Could it be mistaken for astringency at high levels?  Experience brewing with rye? Tips for all-in-one systems? System specific issues? General rules of thumb?  Why so few commercial rye beers? Customer preference vs Brewing Difficulty?  Effective use of rye as a subtle spice?  Great examples of rye beers (e.g., rye dry stout)?  Approaches to exploring rye, or any ingredient?  Comparing rye, oats, and wheat?  Use of rye in Belgian beer?  Hayesenbrau considerations  Aims of competition  Rule for entrants (e.g., recipe constraints, reporting requirements)
33. Summary of Discussion • …..
34. References  Brewer in the Rye, by Florian Klemp in All About Beer  https://allaboutbeer.com/article/rye-homebrew-recipes/  Brewing with Rye  https://www.brewingnordic.com/new-nordic-beer/brewing-with-rye/  Basic Brewing Podcast – Brewing with Rye, with Mika Laitinen  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-gi1o5iFqE  Home Toasting Rye Malt  https://www.brewingnordic.com/new-nordic-beer/toasting-rye-malt/  Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion (1993) pp.241-243  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Jacksons-Beer-Companion-Gastronomy/dp/0762402016  Roggenbier BYO Magazine (Gordon Strong) 2021  https://byo.com/recipe/gordon-strongs-roggenbier/  Roggenbier - The Jamil Show 02-12-2007  http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/post1546/  https://www.everand.com/podcast/418093538/Roggenbier-The-Jamil-Show-02-12-07-Homebrewing-Roggenbier  Denny Conn’s Wry Smile Rye IPA  https://www.experimentalbrew.com/2020/04/07/wry-smile-ryepa/  BJCP Style Guidlines  https://www.bjcp.org/beer-styles/past-style-guidelines/  Rye Character Threshold – Brulosophy ExBEERiment  https://brulosophy.com/2018/10/15/the-rye-malt-effect-exbeeriment-results/  Schremser: Bio Roggen (Organic Rye) - the only commercially available roggenbier I could find available in the UK. Made in Austria  https://thebeerhive.co.uk/products/schremser-bio-roggen-organic-rye-33cl  https://noblegreenwines.co.uk/products/schremser-roggen-bio