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Beer Styles: What is a Rye Beer?

Rye beers: the diverse, malt-forward beer. Learn about what a rye beer tastes like, how it’s made and more.

By The Beer Community on Mar. 09, 2022

Beer Styles: What is a Rye Beer?

About Rye Beer

Rye beers are a specialty type of beer known for their roasted malt flavours.

They can be made using lager or ale yeast and the roasted malt results in caramel flavours. The style has medium hop bitterness. It’s a very diverse beer style, so it’s often explored by brewers by adding adjunct ingredients like herbs, spices, fruit and so on. Rye-style beers can contain a variety of flavouring, alcohol content, colours, carbonation, hop presence and more.

 

 

Rye Beer Style Essential Information:

 

Appearance:

Rye beers can come in a variety of colours. They are typically dark amber to dark brown in colour, however, some come in lighter colours like copper or straw. (Typically with an SRM between 1 and 40).

 

Flavour profile:

Dark & Roasty or Sweet & Malty.

 

Flavour & Aroma of Rye Beer:

Ryes are known for their dark, malty and roasted or sweet flavour profiles. Typically these beers are known for an abundance of caramel or biscuit-y flavours. Ryes have a varying hop presence, it is dependent on the brewer.

 

Rye Beer Palate & Mouthfeel:

Ryes are a diverse beer style. You can expect a variation in carbonation and body.

 

Alcohol Content of a Rye Beer

The alcohol content of ryes also are dependent on the brewer.

 

What Foods Pair Well With Rye Beers?

Ryes pair well with desserts like bread pudding and meats with strong flavour like jerk chicken.

 

How to Serve a Rye:

Ryes are best served at 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 8-12°C) in a Vase glass.

 

 

Now that you know all about rye style beers, Learn more about other beer styles.

Refer to our beer style guide covering over 40 types of beer or check out some of the most popular styles below:

Amber & Dark Ale
Barleywine
Belgian IPA & White India Pale Ale
Berliner Weisse
Black or Cascadian Dark Ale
Bock
Double or Imperial IPA
Golden or Blonde Ale
Golden or Pale Lager
Gose
Gruit Beer
Hefeweizen
India Pale Ale (IPA)
Pilsner
Porter
Saison
Sour or Wild Ale
Stout
Strong Ale
Weizenbock
Wheat Beer

 

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