[skyler]

I posted this in the "recipe ideas" category, but perhaps this is a better spot for it. I am only really looking for feedback regarding the chocolate rye malt, but nothing is really set in stone here.:

I got inspired to brew a brown ale that is something of a blend between Denny's Rye IPA (Wrye Smile) and Tasty McDole's Janet's Brown Ale, except a somewhat lower gravity (~1.060). In part this idea came about from my also wanting to use up my 2015 hops. I decided to go for a malt bill of:

20 lbs GW 2-row
4 lbs   GW Rye Malt
2 lbs   Bairds Dark Crystal (75L)
1 lb    Bairds Extra Dark Crystal (130L)
1-2 lbs Weyermann Chocolate Rye Malt (245L)

The hop bill is:

US Mount Hood   5.4 %   60 g First Wort Hopped
US Apollo           18.0 %     10 g 60 Min From End
US Cascade   9.3 %   90 g 10 Min From End
US El Dorado   12.0 %   60 g Whirlpool
US Columbus   13.8 %   60 g Whirlpool
US Cascade   9.3 %   60 g Dry-Hopped
US Columbus   13.8 %   30 g Dry-Hopped
US El Dorado   12.0 %   30 g Dry-Hopped

Though I may not dry hop half of it (I am thinking of fermenting half with S-04 and putting it on Nitro, then dry-hopping half and fermenting with an American yeast and putting it on CO2)

If I'm looking at just color, then 1 lb of the Chocolate Rye gets me to a nice 21 SRM - dark enough. But I haven't used this malt as the sole roasted malt before and I was wondering if I should push it deeper - is the flavor contribution of the Chocolate Rye so mild as to necessitate more (like Midnight Wheat)?

[hopfenundmalz]

I used it a couple of time with malted rye, and I like it.

[brewinhard]

If 1 total pound of chocolate rye malt gets you in the right color, then I would stick with that. Increased rye malt levels can make for a sticky mash that may (or may not) runoff too well.

Edit - I always run my rye malt through my mill 2x by itself to make sure I get it ground up enough since it is such a small, hard kernel.

[HoosierBrew]

That sounds really tasty to me. I agree on trying out the lb first - you could always bump up the rye character with some malted rye the next time.

[brewinhard]

That sounds really tasty to me. I agree on trying out the lb first - you could always bump up the rye character with some malted rye the next time.

He already has 4# of malted rye in there. I am assuming for a 10 gallon batch.

[HoosierBrew]

That sounds really tasty to me. I agree on trying out the lb first - you could always bump up the rye character with some malted rye the next time.

He already has 4# of malted rye in there. I am assuming for a 10 gallon batch.

Yep, missed it. I'm blaming this damn head cold.

[brewinhard]

Maybe some rye malt will help with that....

[HoosierBrew]

Maybe some rye malt will help with that....

Or in my case, Zpack. 

[brewinhard]

Maybe some rye malt will help with that....

Or in my case, Zpack. 

Does that come in chocolate form?

[denny]

I treat chocolate rye like chocolate malt in terms of how much to use  If I don't think I'll get enough rye flavor out of it, I'll use malted rye to bump up the flavor.

[brewinhard]

I treat chocolate rye like chocolate malt in terms of how much to use  If I don't think I'll get enough rye flavor out of it, I'll use malted rye to bump up the flavor.

Yep. Agreed. You definitely get more "chocolate roast" notes than rye from it.

[HoosierBrew]

Maybe some rye malt will help with that....

Or in my case, Zpack. 

Does that come in chocolate form?

Nope. Nice thought, though. About 400L should do it.

[skyler]

Yeah, this is for a 12 gallon batch. I have 4 lbs of rye malt on top of the 1-2 lb of chocolate rye. I use rice hulls to keep the wort flowing smoothly whenever I have more than a pound or two of wheat or rye.

[Steve Ruch]

The last porter I brewed was a rye porter with 18% rye malt and 10% chocolate rye malt. I also added some caraway seeds.