Tasting Notes:

Happy #RyeJanuary, everyone! 

Many Riverbend customers are brewing with our Rye malt— Carolina Rye and Munich Rye— so we asked our Customer Success Representative, Tina Hoffert, to school us on best utilization of this grain in the brewing process. Tina is a graduate of AB Tech Asheville and she was brewing professionally before joining the Riverbend team.

Below, she runs us through Rye 101 with recommendations to combat issues with high-viscosity, and some of her favorite rye beer styles. 

Rye 101 

Rye (Secale cereale) is a cereal that has been cultivated and grown since ancient times that belongs to the grass family, Gramineae. It is a part of the Triticaea tribe, which also includes wheat and barley. Modern rye varieties are said to have originated from its ancestor Secale montanum. This is a wild rye species found in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions along the Black and Caspian Sea. The exact origin of rye is unknown, but some speculate that rye and oats originated as weeds in wheat and barley crops and were later cultivated by farmers. 

The majority of rye crops are sown in the fall and harvested in the spring, nicknaming it “winter rye” since it will grow over the winter months. Rye can grow in areas that are too harsh for other winter crops and can survive low temperatures of -31℉, droughts, and nutrient deficiencies. Rye is more resistant to pests and diseases, with the exception of ergot where it is more susceptible. Since rye can grow where other crops fail, it is used as a pioneer crop to improve soils that are considered wasteland or sterile. Rye can also compete well against other unwanted species, so it is used for crop rotation after a harvest to improve overall soil health. 

The structure of the rye kernel is made up of three parts- the bran, endosperm, and germ. The endosperm composes the majority of the kernel and contains the starch and protein granules used in the brewing and distilling process. Although rye has 𝛃-glucans present which are commonly attributed to gummy mashes, the characteristic high-viscosity of rye is also attributed to the large amounts of arabinoxylans found in the cereal. The arabinoxylans are water-extractable, and will combine with water to create highly viscous solutions. Unlike barley, rye does not have a husk for use in the lautering process and is usually thinner and smaller than other grains. In comparison to barley, rye has higher concentrations of enzymes (primarily 𝛂-amylase) and can be added to grist bills to increase fermentable extract. 

Troubleshooting

Rye malt is known to be problematic in the brewhouse. This is due to its beta-glucan and arabinoxylans content causing the mash to become “gummy” or “sticky” along with its lack of husk for lautering. Here are a few suggestions for managing this grain in the brewhouse… 

1. Extend the germination times to increase enzyme content during the malting process
2. Adding a beta-glucan rest between 100-120℉ in the mash
3. Increasing the liquor-to-grist ratio in the brew
4. Add rice hulls to improve lautering
5. Fine tune your mill gap to compensate for the smaller grain size. The most common mill gap range for commercial brewing lies between 0.35-0.65mm, depending on mill type and size. Brewers may need to adjust to a smaller mill gap than normal to compensate for the smaller rye grains. 
6. Keep the rye content in the grist bill to 20 percent or less, so that there is enough barley husks to help lauter the rye

Producers love rye malt for its pleasant flavor and aroma characteristics that are commonly spicey, nutty, and earthy. It is often described as having a peppery or clove-like sensory character and astringency to the mouthfeel. Rye malt can also add tanginess to the product, which works very well in farmhouse ales like Sahti or wild fermented beverages such as Kvass. Depending on how the rye is malted and the percentage used in the grist, rye can give color ranging between light straw to dark brown. It can also add a fuller body and good head retention to beers. Over the years we’ve enjoyed many a rye IPA and pale ale, Roggenbier, stouts, porters and farmhouse ales— all with made with Riverbend rye malt.

Let’s dive into these beer styles: 

Roggenbier 

Roggenbier originated in Bavaria and was popular during the medieval period until the Reinheitsgebot law declared that rye was to only be used for baking bread due to crop failures. This style consists of a grist bill of greater than 50 percent malted rye. It’s darker in color, has strong grain sensory characteristics, with a full-body mouthfeel and rich flavor. Roggenbier is similar to Dunkelweizen in how it is brewed and fermented, but substitutes the wheat for rye. 

Rye Pale Ale & Rye IPA

Rye is also commonly used in IPA and Pale Ale beer styles. Rye malt is generally used between 5-30 percent of the grain bill to give beers its characteristic spice and peppery flavors. It creates beers that are light straw to dark brown in color, with good foam and full-bodied mouthfeel. Rya can be found in Belgian-style pale ales such as Tripel.

Farmhouse Ales & Table Beers

Rye malt is a common addition to farmhouse ales and traditional table beers. Styles can include rye saison, Sahti (seen below), mixed-culture beers, and raw beers (beers that have not been boiled). Less common styles include Setomaa koduõlu and Karelian-Baltic taari. The use of rye in these beers are variable and often depends on traditions, brewing region, and desired outcome of the beer.

Kvass

Originating from Northern Europe, the name translates to “bread drink”. This beverage is generally made from stale rye bread, rye flour, and rye malt. It is generally considered to be a non-alcoholic, cereal-based beverage due to its low alcohol content of 2 percent v/v or less. Bread is soaked in water then later fermented with a mixed culture of yeast and lactic acid producing bacteria (LAB). There are many commercially available Kvass products with recipes that can include any combination of mint, raisins, juniper berries, and sugar. It is naturally carbonated and is said to have positive nutritional properties and helps digestive health. The end result should be low-alcohol, slightly sour and sweet, low carbonated drink with bready and rye flavor profiles. 

Sahti

This is a traditional farmhouse-style beer found in Finland which includes malted and unmalted rye in the recipe. The beer consists of around 10 percent rye in the grain bill, along with wheat or oats. The style is generally unhopped since it predates the use of hops as a preserving and bittering agent in beer. Traditionally, production was carried out in domestic saunas and wort was made through infusion mashing by adding heated water to the mash. In some cases, the addition of heated stones (similar to steinbier) are added to create kivisaht or “stone sahti”. The wort is generally not boiled and involves juniper branches to filter through. The branches would sit on a filter bed of rye straw in a trough-shaped vessel called a kuurna where wort was filtered then fermented with bakers yeast. The end result is a spiced, 7-8 percent v/v alcohol beer table beer. 

Want to add some spice to your next recipe? Our rye malt products are 25 percent off in celebration of #RyeJanuary! ORDER HERE and mention Rye January.  

Tell us about your (rye) beers #madewithRiverbend here. 

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