Homebrew: Tavern Tan Rye Pale Ale

Over the weekend I fired up the turkey fryer with Erin and Dan (stirring the hot break) to brew up a batch of Tavern Tan Rye Extra Pale Ale. At the end of the day, we had a higher gravity than intended, so I'm just considering it a pale ale.

One change that likely bumped up the sugar is that I did a more watery grist (for me at least) with 1.3 liters water/1 lb grain.

I also made a couple modifications due to ingredient availability and, well, just because I felt like it. The homebrew shop was low on malted rye, so I subbed in a pound of flaked rye, which will add a little thicker mouthfeel.

Then I swapped the Mt. Hood hops for Cascade and Liberty (since this beer will be ready around the 4th of July). I'll also toss in an ounce of my favorite all-purpose hop variety, Centennial, to dry hop.

For 5 gallons:

6.5# Maris Otter
1.5# Victory Malt
1# Malted Rye
1# Flaked rye

1 oz. Cascade @ 60 min (5% AA)
1 oz. Liberty @ 15 min (3% AA)
1 oz. Liberty @ 0 min
1 oz. Centennial Dry Hop

Wyeast 1272 American Ale II

IBU: 22
SRM: 8
SG: 1.060
FG: 1.010
ABV: 6.6%

UPDATE: This came in stronger than expected, and fermented a bit hotter (up to 80F), so it needs an extra week or so to work off a slight fusel alcohol note.

Homebrew: Tavern Tan Rye Extra Pale Ale

My friend Dave plays drums for the local band Tavern Tan and recently asked me to brew up something tasty and sessionable for an upcoming show. I came up with what I call a rye extra pale ale. Not only does the rye taste great, but these guys are also no stranger to rye whiskey.

The "extra pale ale" part comes from the lowered bitterness. And, I wouldn't want to call this beer a blond ale, because frankly, American blond ales usually suck. But I also kept the pale ale name because this should have a great hoppy character from the late hop additions despite the low IBUs.

For 5 gallons:

7# Maris Otter
2# Malted Rye
1# Victory Malt

1.33 oz. Mt. Hood @ First Wort Hop
1 oz. Mt. Hood @ 5 min
.67 oz. Mt Hood @ 0 min

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

IBU: 26
SRM: 7
SG: 1.051 (after I poured a quart of water in)
FG: 1.008
ABV: 5.6%

Tasting notes after a week in the fermentor: Big bready flavor with rye and toast followed by mild citrus spice and respectable bitterness (on par for a pale ale). A bit yeasty though.