rye malted or flaked

[frigatebay]

I'm looking to do a pale ale with rye. What should I use malted or flaked and what % do you reccomend. I'm looking for a nice complimentary flavor not dominate. I'm thinking flaked to about 10% with a little bisuit, munich and pale.

[lhall]

I'd go with the malted rye - Weyermann makes a great rye malt. I think you get more of the rye flavor and aroma from the malt vs flakes. About 5-7% will add a nice fruity aroma, a peppery, dry kind of finish. The mash is more gummy, and filtrations are harder, due to the higher beta-glucans. You might want to add rice hulls to the mash to compensate.

[RobZamites]

Well, I do a Honey Rye with 15% Flaked Rye, 15% Honey Malt and the balance Meusdoerffer Pilsen malt. Nice dry finish, with an up front honey character from the #60 of honey I add at WP.
Different strokes for different folks!

[Ted Briggs]

I'd go with the malted rye - Weyermann makes a great rye malt. ........ The mash is more gummy, and filtrations are harder, due to the higher beta-glucans. You might want to add rice hulls to the mash to compensate.

I like malted. TF&S is good and they have 60l crystal rye too!
As said rye is 3X worse than wheat for stuck mashes but 10% should be fine, add hulls if worried. Its when you make a 60% rye thats a different story.......

[davidw]

We brew Rye Pale Ale with 25% of the grist split between flaked and malted. We've used all flaked and all malted and the combination of each brings out the best of both. This is my favorite beer!

[Zucker Bee]

We use malted rye at 11% in our Rye Pale Ale
I found unmalted Rye doesn't give a nice taste, but I've used it once in a Saison.

Zb

[Greenbrewmonkey]

Hello kind folks,

Well, I think we're all in agreement. They taste different. To my palette malted rye has more of a spicy rye flavor and dry finish (think rye bread with a hint of caraway seed), while the flakes give a noticeably raw, or cereal, rye flavor and a very dry finish (think, well, cereal). Both can be tasty, but they are very different. Which to use depends upon what flavors you are looking for.

And yes, rye can really stick up a mash. Rye malt seems to be a harder berry than wheat, and more difficult to mill properly. Perhaps order premilled and mix in with your malt as it flows through the mill? (don't try this with flakes, as they powder easily and may jam up your auger)

Cheers,
Ron
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales