Sometimes it seems like every beer in the world is an IPA. It isn’t true—even if IPA may be over-represented on tap lists and overused as a marketing term. Don’t let the ubiquity of IPA stop you from brewing a great one for yourself—especially if it’s a unique and interesting interpretation. For me, that’s the appeal of rye IPA. It’s hop-forward but with a more substantial grist than other American IPAs. Rye is an excellent ingredient (for more on why I love it, see Let’s Demystify Rye), and it pairs nicely with bright, clean hop flavors.
Style: Guidelines are just that—guidelines. And when it comes to rye IPA, I have a bone to pick: Many guidelines seem to de-emphasize the rye character. That never made sense to me, especially because the commercial examples are almost all patently “rye-ish.” So, I argue for going heavier on the rye character. Other than that, the parameters jibe with classic American IPA: modestly strong (5.5 to about 8 percent ABV), pale to amber in color (many of the best are straight-up red), and firmly bitter with assertive hop aroma and flavor.
Ingredients: Process always matters, but this beer is made in the recipe. At times I’ve tried to simplify it by cutting out some ingredients—a good practice, in my experience—but with this beer, when I do, it always gets worse. There are three major portions of our malt base: pilsner and rye in equal portions, then almost as much Vienna. Why Vienna? Because we want people who drink this beer to think it tastes like rye. Over the years I’ve noticed that people associate Vienna’s flavor with a mild spice character, which they then attribute (often incorrectly) to rye. So, why not turn into the skid and use it to augment the rye malt? Next, we’re going to keep it a bit old school with some lighter layers of crystal (45°L and 90°L) and Victory. Those will add complexity and complement the relatively classic hopping.