A local microbrew recently received a huge shipment of flaked rye and was kind enough to donate some to me. I've done some searching and I guess I need some clarification on how to apply proper methods to a partial "brew in a bag" system. Basically I use light dry malt extract for the bulk of my wort, and either steep/mash to achieve the proper style. My questions for flaked rye are: 1. Does the flaked rye need to be crushed? 2. I've read that flaked rye needs to be mashed with base malt, would this still apply if I am adding DME to the mashed wort, or do they need to be mashed at the same time? I'm guessing if they do need to be mashed together I would just use 2-row instead of the extract. 3. What sort of temperature should I aim for? Thanks!
No. Yes, it needs to be mashed with a base malt, not DME. You scould still use DME for a large percentage of your fermentables, and use a small amount of base malt in a mini-mash with your flaked barley. What's your recipe and what are your goals? Though if you're doing a mini-mash, most of your fermentability will be locked in by the fermentability of your non-mashed fermentables (i.e. the DME, which you don't control).
I would use a lb of 2-row per lb of rye in your and mash at 2 quarts per lb, trying to maintain a temperature of 150-150F for about an hour.
I would most likely start out with a small batch of rye pale ale to get a feel for what type of effect the rye has at certain quantities. My only other addition besides the DME and rye would probably be crystal 40L and some hops. I'm pretty far from making this beer as I have to others waiting in line, but I wanted to get an idea of how to use some of the 55 lbs of rye I inherited. Thanks to all!
That's a lot of flaked rye to go through. I would use it in American ambers & pales, saisons, maybe a twisted witbier (good name!), brett beers, American wheat/rye (i.e., light hybrid style). But I brew too infrequently to want to keep this much of a specialty grain lying around. If you have a homebrew club, maybe you need to start some crazy flakey rye project.
