Brewing with Rye

I have always been a fan of rye as far as beer goes. I really enjoy the spice and rustic flavor that comes from rye, especially in Barleywine, and rye moonshine, if you've never had rye moonshine I suggest you try it. I have never really brewed with rye except in a barleywine recipe I brew every year, so I thought I would brew something a bit lighter that I could be enjoying within the next month or so, so I decided to brew up a Rye Pale Ale.

Basic malt bill of Pale 2 Row, Rye, and Crystal Malts. For hops I decided to go with CTZ (specifically Columbus), Centennial and Simcoe. I thought the dank pine character from Simcoe would go really well with the Rye, and I just enjoy the bitterness that comes from CTZ. I chose to use WY1056 for my yeast strain. Real neutral if you treat it right, and will let my other ingredients be in the front.

 

 

Mash Rest

5 Gallon Batch

All Grain

Est OG: 1.050

Efficiency: 63.6

60 Min Boil

 

Grist

 

60.9%   2 Row Pale (American)

26.1%   Rye Malt

08.7%   Crystal 60

04.3%   Flaked Rye

 

 

Hops

45 minute hop addition

 

.50 oz Centennial   10.4%AA  60min

.50 oz Columbus    13.9%AA  60min

.50 oz Columbus    13.9%AA  45min

.50 oz Simcoe        13.0%AA  15min

.50 oz Centennial   10.4%AA   0min

.50 oz Simcoe        13.0%AA   0min

1.0 oz Centennial        NA         Dry
 

Yeast

 

1 smack pack Wyeast 1056 (American Ale). Was fermenting within 5-6 hours even without a starter!

 

Mash

 

75min Sacch Rest at 151F

10min Mashout at 170F

 

Fly Sparge with about 3.25 gallons water.

 

Can't wait to see how this one turns out. I have a feeling its going to be a go to house recipe!



Barrel Aged Barleywine Tasting Notes

Above I mentioned a barleywine I brew every year, last years batch went into a brand new Hungarian Oak barrel for it's first use. I only "aged" the beer in the barrel for something like 16 days if I remember correctly. But with a brand new barrel that may have been pushing it just a little bit. Let's find out!

Appearence: Deep red with a bright orange background hue, very very clear, nice off white head. Steady co2 bubbles. Nice looking beer.

Aroma: Oak on top of malt. Not much hop presence though there is a bit. Kind of a syrupy oak aroma to it. No alcohol

Taste: Rich malt profile with a bit of oak in the back. When I bottled this it tasted like it was whiskey aged, but the oak has backed off alot, quit nice. Low hop character, its more hop flavor than bitterness. Bit of booze in the end but not too strong

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, for a 10%ABV barrel aged beer it is pretty thin and easy drinking.

Overall: Very satisfied with this beer. Ive done a ton of beers with oak chip/cubes, barrel staves etc.. But this is my first barrel beer. Very satisfied.

Until next time, Cheers!