Pale rye Lager

I have made quite a few rye pale ales and ips even a rye stout that was really good. I have some 34/70 up and running and I want to put some different styles on it. Is there anybody out ther putting rye in pale lighter beers and digging it

Im thinking:
og~1.050 ish
base german pilsner
5% carahel
10-15% rye malt
30 ibu magnum
mt hood at 10-15 min
(maybe fwh mt hood)

harvested fresh 34/70 fermented at 49, d rest if necessary, try to lager in keg til spring.

I brewed a good light rye lager last winter.

60% pale malt
38% Rye malt
2% Sauer malt

15 IBUs Magnum at 60 min
Late additions of home grown mystery hops (almost no AA, tastes similar to EKG)

Fermented with 2206.

If I was to do it again, I’d likely swap the pale for pilsner malt, and get rid of the late hop additions. After brewing yours, let us know how it came out. The high % of rye made the sparge chalenging, but the flavor was worth it.

Funny you mention that recipe because I have what I’m calling a ryesner lagering downstairs as we speak. I wanted to combine some of the spiceness of the Czech pilsner and saaz hops with the rye flavor. I posted this question on the homebrewtalk board a while back:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/anyone- ... er-367979/

This is what I came up with which looks pretty similar only more hop heavy. Tasting it from the gravity reading post-fermentation it definitely had some more body than you would expect from the rye and a bit of crystal. Is it too much body or a combination of too many good yet similar things? We’ll see, but I think it’s gonna be good.

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs 4.0 oz Best Malz Pilsen Malt (1.7 SRM) Grain 1 72.5 %
2 lbs Briess Rye Malt (3.7 SRM) Grain 2 20.0 %
8.0 oz Carahell (11.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.0 %
4.0 oz Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.5 %
1.00 oz Perle [8.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 29.1 IBUs
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 7.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 5.3 IBUs
Czech Pilsner Lager (Wyeast Labs #2278) [124.21 ml] Yeast 8 - Obviously with a big starter

@inhousebrew I read the post HBT kinda funny how similar the posts are. Your not my Doppelgänger are you?

I had some of the same concerns that posters on HBT had. I dont want to lose the dry crispness that a pils is known for. I find that carahell adds a grainy sweetness and little body if used sparingly. I dont want too much rye cause the beer can become almost chewy or silky. But i also know that in pale ales and ips its almost imperceivable under 15%.

@rebuilt cellars
Yours didnt seem to heavy for a light lager? I picture something over 30% rye having a lot of body.

Nope, not a doppelganger so far as I know but those are pretty close. Anyways, it’s hard to tell as it’s not finished or carbonated yet but I think it might be a little heavy on the body. Looking at my notes I mashed at 150* and it did taste a bit sweet or silky or something. Hoping it’s not too much.

Like you saw, some recommended against the Carahell with that much rye but I went with it because that was my first inclination. I ask questions then follow my gut regardless of advice to see how it turns out and then reference back to the advice based on my opinion of the finished product. They may have been right this time, we’ll see.

If I do it again I may try without the Carahell but it just sounds so cool I had a hard time taking it out of the recipe.

[quote=“bdaugherty”]@rebuilt cellars
Yours didnt seem to heavy for a light lager? I picture something over 30% rye having a lot of body.[/quote]
It did come out heavier than I was expecting, and a bit darker as well. But it was by no means a heavy beer. As stated, I wouldn’t brew it exactly the same again, but it was still decent.