I’m entering a local competition where all the entries must be some type of rye beer. The judges will be looking for creativity. I’ve had a few ideas. One being just an over the top rye ale with lots of rye malt, flaked rye, rye bread in the mash, caraway seeds at the end of the boil, etc… but this idea doesn’t seem creative and a little risky. I had another idea for a Hefe&Ryzen. 1/2 wheat, 1/2 rye fermented with a wheat yeast. Again, this doesn’t seem creative enough to me.
Looking for some suggestions. Anyone ever brew something off the wall or just different with rye? Since I’ll be brewing 5 gallons, I’ll also want it to be something I can put on my own taps at home to enjoy.
I really like my honey rye. It’s categorized as an American rye. I just brewed it again but this time added a little chocolate rye (dark roasted rye malt) and some extra honey, and it’s pretty darn good as well. Here’s a link to the recipe:
Rye is pretty subtle. In order to notice it, you need to use a good bit of it (15% or more), and you need to keep the other flavors muted. Kind of goes against the whole “creativity” angle.
Crystal rye and chocolate rye are more flavorful. You could search for a good recipe that uses an equivalent lovibond crystal or chocolate malt, then sub in the crystal rye and/or chocolate rye. You could also swap about ~20% of the base malt for rye malt.
I’ve tried rye in a bunch of beers, but the recipe I brew most often is a low gravity session beer. I usually do about 75%/20%/5% of base malt/rye malt/crystal 20, hops it to about 20-25 IBUs, and a touch of orange peel. Neutral yeast. Not necessarily creative, but delicious.
Central Street Farmhouse, Bangor, ME has a partial mash Rye IPA recipe that I brewed last March and will definitely do again. The original recipe creator is not attributed, but it was the winning beer in the 1st annual Homebrewer’s Competition:
2 cans Briess gold light LME
1/2 lb. light DME
1 lb. dextrose
1.25lb Rye malt
1 lb flaked Rye
.5lb wheat malt
.5lb Munich malt
.5lb Carapils
1oz. black kiln malt
1oz. Columbus pellet at 60 min
1/2 oz. Centennial at 45
1oz. Columbus at flameout
1oz Amarillo and 1/2 oz Centennial dry hop
SG=1.071, FG=1.019, SRM=10, IBU=50.8, ABV= 6.9%
[quote=“dobe12”]1/2 wheat, 1/2 rye fermented with a wheat yeast. Again, this doesn’t seem creative enough to me.
[/quote]
Isnt that just a roggenbier?
Does it just have to have a noticeable rye flavor, or does it need to be the predominant ingredient? If just some flavor, that Firestone Walker Wookie Jack clone would be what I’d do.
[quote=“blatz”][quote=“dobe12”]1/2 wheat, 1/2 rye fermented with a wheat yeast. Again, this doesn’t seem creative enough to me.
[/quote]
Isnt that just a roggenbier?
Does it just have to have a noticeable rye flavor, or does it need to be the predominant ingredient? If just some flavor, that Firestone Walker Wookie Jack clone would be what I’d do.[/quote]
Yep it is, but my thought was to have a grain bill with nothing but rye and wheat. Something like this:
Hmm…I’ve always liked the idea of a Rye “Whiskey” beer but haven’t tried it. Keep the grain bill similar to the real deal with rye, barley, and corn (flaked probably). Then age it on oak.
[quote=“dobe12”][quote=“blatz”][quote=“dobe12”]1/2 wheat, 1/2 rye fermented with a wheat yeast. Again, this doesn’t seem creative enough to me.
[/quote]
Isnt that just a roggenbier?
Does it just have to have a noticeable rye flavor, or does it need to be the predominant ingredient? If just some flavor, that Firestone Walker Wookie Jack clone would be what I’d do.[/quote]
Yep it is, but my thought was to have a grain bill with nothing but rye and wheat. Something like this:
How much time do you have? I made a Rye IPA Braggot that won a few awards, but at full ABV it takes a while to mellow. Could be done at an APA strength for faster turnaround, though.
[quote=“GarretD”]I say just do a good rye beer and not be so into the “it needs to be something different” aspect.
I have a rye fermenting right now that smells so good I can’t wait to try it and it’s nothing special other than I used mosaic hops in it.
How about trying a hop you would never think of in a rye?[/quote]
I originally was going to go that route… simple, but hopefully very good rye beer, but to have a shot in this particular competition, you have to come up with something different.
[quote=“dobe12”]Entries are due March 1st. As it is, I only have 7-8 weeks.[/quote]That’s enough time for the 6% ABV version if you’re interested in trying it. Pick your favorite APA recipe as a base and either complement it with the honey choice or choose a neutral honey like wildflower or clover. Since the honey will make up 50-55% of the fermentables, double the crystal in the APA to counter the thinner body, and drop the IBUs a little. Do a heavy dryhop for a week before kegging.
Sounds interesting. Thanks for the input. I have a few ideas now thanks to the good people on this site. Just have to narrow it down this week, make my recipe, then head to my LHBS. Thanks everyone!
