GOLDEN RYE

"Just pure spicy rye goodness" says Vinny when he describes our eighth and latest cask beer, Golden Rye. Coming in at 4.5% this golden ale pairs heritage barley, Golden Promise, with malted rye for a combination of sweet malt and a spicy, peppery quality.

Packed full of American hops, Sultana and Azacca, with even more Azacca in the dry hop for a citrus-tropical combo. A smooth golden beer with lively hop character. 

Golden Promise is named after the malt.

WHAT IS MALT?

Malt is actually a shorthand for malted barley. Malted barley is barley grains which have gone through the malting process.

Each grain of barley - or kernel - contains a store of starch inside. These are used by the plant as energy reserves for growing but they're kept safe until the conditions are just right to support germination. Malting the barley is the process whereby it can be tricked to germinate, making all those starches retrievable. More about the malting process.

WHY IS MALT IMPORTANT IN BEER?

Malt is used as one of the four main ingredients in beer because we use those starches for a very important job in brewing.

Base malts, such as Golden Promise, used in beer are rich in starch and the enzymes needed to convert starch into sugar - this happens as brewers "mash in". These sugars are later converted by the yeast into alcohol and CO2 during the fermentation process.

We also use speciality malts in beer just to add colour or flavour to the beer, not as a sugar source. They are roasted at a much higher temperature to give dark colours and chocolate or coffee-like flavours.

THE ADDITION OF RYE

With this cask beer being made up of 81% Golden Promise malt in the malt grist, the other 19% is Malted Rye.

Malted Rye, unlike its Crystal Rye cousin, has a more pronounced spicy rye flavour and less toffee notes. Vinny wanted to showcase the simplicity of what plain malted rye can do, an oft forgotten grain.