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Styles · Roggenbier

Beer style · BJCP 2021 27G

Roggenbier

Historical Beer

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.046–1.056
Final gravity
1.010–1.014
Bitterness
10–20 IBU
Color
14–19 SRM (28–37 EBC)
Alcohol
4.5–6.0 % ABV

What it is

A dark Bavarian rye beer fermented with weizen yeast, so spicy grain character meets banana and clove. Rye gives it a distinctive earthy sharpness and a full, slick body, while bitterness stays low and the head is dense and lasting.

Flavor

What a Roggenbier should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Hops stay in the background: none of their character belongs.

Malt

Grainy and bready/biscuit, with room for toasty, sweet/honey or caramel.

Fermentation

Fruity esters, banana and clove, with room for clean.

Hops that suit it

The traditional choice

What Roggenbier has classically been brewed with.

Nothing else on character: the hops here are there for bitterness and balance, and any variety whose aroma you would notice is out of place.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.