Homebrewed Rye Wheat Ale

A couple of months ago, I decided to create a unique beer that I hoped to enjoy during the summer. I'm not a big fan of commercial summer beers, because I feel they're usually less interesting and flavorful than beers from other seasons. I had a container of Briess Wheat malt extract and decided to base my summer beer around it. I also had a good supply of malted rye, so that went into the wort as well. I then added some traditional wit beer elements - coriander and orange peel - and came up with my Rye Wheat Ale. It has the citrusy elements of the wheat malt, along with a spicy touch added by the rye. Some hops rounded it out, and I'm pleased with the results. Here's the recipe I used for 2.5 gallons:

3.3 lbs Briess Bavarian Wheat LME
6 Oz Rye Malt
4 Oz Wheat Malt
4 Oz 30L Crystal Malt
.3 Oz Orange Peel
.3 Oz Coriander-crushed
1/2 oz Perle hops - 60 minutes
1/2 Oz Spalt Hops - 15 Minutes
1/4 Oz Hallertau Hops - 5 minutes

I fermented using Safale's new wheat yeast - WB-06 and primed with corn sugar. My only problem is that it gets warm too fast in that big glass!

Redhook Sunrye Summer Ale

Since Autumn starts on Monday, I decided to have 1 last summer beer, namely Redhook Brewery's Sunrye Summer Ale. This is a very typical summer ale. It's light, and has a very lightly sweet, modestly malty taste, with a hint of citrus. It has very little in the way of hop bitterness. It poured a clear golden color with a head that lasted as long as it took to empty the bottle into the glass. I didn't taste a lot of rye in the brew, so when all is said and done, it's just a light summer ale. I guess I'm over the whole summer thing - it's Octoberfest time!

Terrapin Beer Company Rye Pale Ale

Terrapin Beer Company is based in Athens, Georgia, and this is the first beer I have tried from them. Since I recently brewed my own version of a Rye Pale Ale, I was compelled to give this a taste. Besides, the label was irresistible. The color was a medium amber, with a nice head that left plenty of lace on the glass. I was very impressed with this ale, it was malty and had a healthy dose of citrusy Cascade and Amarillo hops. It wasn't as hoppy as an IPA, but it was close. Terrapin has a beer they can be proud of, and I hope to find more of their varieties soon. I do have to say that my own Rye pale ale was not as hoppy as this one, but could definitely hold its own in a comparison.