Historical

Roggenbier

BJCP 27

A Bavarian rye beer fermented with weizen yeast: rye spice and a dense, slick body meeting banana and clove. Rye was banned from brewing for centuries so bakers could have it.

Vital statistics

Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles

Original gravity

1.046 - 1.056

Final gravity

1.010 - 1.014

Bitterness

10 IBU - 20 IBU

Colour

14 SRM - 19 SRM

Alcohol

4.5% - 6%

Colour also 28-37 EBC

What goes wrong

Not planning the lauter. Rye is huskless and gummy, and at 50% of the grist a stuck mash is close to guaranteed without rice hulls.

Commercial examples

Thurn und Taxis Roggen

Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.

Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.

The rest of the historical family

Kentucky Common

4-5.5% · 15-30 IBU

Piwo Grodziskie

2.5-3.3% · 20-35 IBU

Lichtenhainer

3.5-4.7% · 5-12 IBU

London Brown Ale

2.8-3.6% · 15-20 IBU

Pre-Prohibition Lager

4.5-6% · 25-40 IBU

Sahti

7-11% · 7-15 IBU

Plan a batch to these numbers.

Bitterness Colour Alcohol