Brewed a Rye Ale last weekend and expecting to bottle ‘er up this weekend. Seems the more I read, the less brewers are advocating a “Secondary” ferment. Sure you may want to rack out to another vessel if you’re adding something special like fruit, spices, or bacon (no fooling, check out BYO’s last issue), but a straight forward 5%er don’t need more than 10 to 12 days in the Primary (ensuring, of course, that fermentation is as done as it’s going to get).I am however going to rack 1 gallon into my fancy new growler I picked up and been waiting to use or something special. I’m debating between adding some fresh ginger or some apricot to the growler.
See, that’s the beauty of homebrewing; experimenting, exploring, and fooling around with the laws of science and taste buds for your own benefit.
I took a stab at a Chili beer once with 14 diced jalapeno peppers thrown into the boil. Wasn’t much of a thirst quencher but sure made for some kick-ass chili and a friend marinated steak with great results.
It’s so simple to make a basic ale, it’s worth separating out 1 or 2 gallons for the benefit of being adventurous. You might just discover the new taste sensation. But for the love God, just don’t add lime
You may also want to separate out a 1/2 gal or so of your wort and pitch it 5 days later than the rest of the batch then use this to kreusen your finished batch when you rack it to bottle or cornie keg...helps that bottle conditioned natural carbonation you want with a rye ale.
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pootz
Thanks for the tip. My Rye is one of my fav's to brew so I'll have to try this next time I brew it
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