Rye Pale Ale - Recipe & Question

[bwarbiany]

Hey guys, I brewed the below Rye Pale Ale recently, and it turned out rather well. It was loosely based on a beer from Terrapin Brewing Company in Athens, GA. I haven't been able to get a hold of that beer since moving back here, so I wanted to give it a shot.

The flavor is really very nice. The spicy rye note is very apparent, but the bitterness and aroma/flavor of the late & dry hops are definitely there and balance the rye. It's slightly lighter-bodied than I expected (even with Crystal 60L), but then it's also very young (bottled 10 days ago), so that might fill out.

One question I do have is whether this fits any BJCP category other than 23? I'd like to consider competing with this beer, but I'm not sure where to put it...

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Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 8.33 %
7.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 58.33 %
2.00 lb Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 16.67 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %
0.75 oz Chinook [12.90 %] (60 min) Hops 31.5 IBU
0.75 oz Chinook [12.90 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Chinook [12.90 %] (10 min) Hops 7.6 IBU
1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 9.7 IBU
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.27 %
Bitterness: 48.8 IBU
Est Color: 10.3 SRM

Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out Total Grain Weight: 12.00 lb
Single Infusion, Full Body, No Mash Out Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 13.44 qt of water at 173.3 F 156.0 F

[Oskaar]

I'd bounce this off of Rezzin's RYE-PA and see if you can dial it in towards his. It was one of the finest RYE IPA's I've tasted...ever..

Cheers,

Oskaar

[spkrtoy]

I second that.

He wanted to give the keg away, and when we all sampled the beer, he realized it was gooooooddddd.

Oh, how the old brew days at my place make me want to brreeewwwww again?

[Rezzin]

aww shucks guys, thanks for the kind words - but I think he was asking which category to place his beer into I'd say 23 would be the best fit depending on how hoppy it is. It might be a little aggressive for 6D but then again, everyone's always told me to 'brew to the high end of the scale' when entering a contest. If it's not too hoppy, I'd try it in 6D also.

You mentioned the body is a little on the light side... I'm just curious, what kind of water did you use to brew this batch and what temp did you mash at?

[bwarbiany]

I used Yorba Linda tap water, and mashed a bit high (about 155-156).

It's definitely too hoppy for 6D, but I wasn't sure if there was any way to put it into 10A or something like that.

[carbon]

This recipe is for 10 gallons correct?

[bwarbiany]

This recipe is for 10 gallons correct?

No, 5.5 gallons... It came out at the proper 1.052 starting gravity.