Rye beer is a

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...

in which

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

is substituted for some portion of the

malted Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, mo ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley ...

. ''Roggenbier'' is a beer produced with up to 60% rye malt. The style originated in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, and is brewed with the same type of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to consti ...

as a German '' Hefeweizen'', resulting in a similar light, dry, spicy taste. In the United States, rye beer is produced by

homebrewers Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...

and microbreweries. In some examples, the

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to wh ...

presence is pushed to the point where they resemble American India pale ales (IPAs). This style is often called a

Rye IPA Rye India pale ale is a style of rye beer with a strong hoppy character, comparable to India pale ale. In this beer style, malted rye grains in the mash ingredients add a tangy or spicy character to the beer. History Rye was a traditional brewi ...

, or "Rye-P-A". Finnish '' sahti ''is produced by brewing rye with juniper berries and wild yeast. The traditional Slavic'' kvass'' is made using rye bread that has been

steeped Steeping is the soaking of an organic solid, such as leaves, in a liquid (usually water) to extract flavours or to soften it. The specific process of teas being prepared for drinking by leaving the leaves in heated water to release the flavour a ...

and fermented.

Roggenbier

, rye

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, ...

was used for brewing beer until the 15th century. After a period of bad harvests, though, it was ruled that rye would be used only for baking bread, thus only

was to be used for beer; see the law known as the '' Reinheitsgebot''. ''Roggenbier'' disappeared for almost 500 years. In the late 1980s, the Spezialbrauerei Schierling near Regensburg created the first modern ''Roggenbier'', Schierlinger Roggen, using a modified, patented mashing regimen to cope with the effects of the highly viscous rye wort. The modern version of ''Roggenbier'' is typically about 5% ABV and is fairly dark in colour. The flavour is grainy, often having a hearty flavour similar to pumpernickel bread. Typically, at least 50% of the malts used to make the beer are made from rye.

References

{{Beer Styles Beer styles Rye-based drinks