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 andI have had afewrye beers in my time, butIhave never brewed withit. I put this post together toshare information about this brewing ingredient.

I was suprised tosee thatthe rye is actuallymalted. Iguess I thought it would be usedlike a steepinggrain. I was wrong. Its fully modified andconverts 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 fallingin the 3 -4.5L range.

Use: Rye beers (Roggenbier), smoked beers, and wheat beers. Suggestionsranged from5% to 20% of the grist for the desired flavor. A few sources said that a stuck or slow sparging might occur withlarge amounts (over 20% of the grist) becauseof thehigh glucan levels in the rye malt. Rice hulls may be needed to keep the flow a-going after the mash.

For adominant rye flavor,50% of the grist was suggested.

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