Munich Rye
Munich Rye is Riverbend's darker rye malt, made from Wrens Abruzzi, an heirloom rye that has been grown in the South for more than 200 years. It is the same grain as their Carolina Rye, taken through a hotter kiln from start to finish.
That extra kilning is the whole point. Where Carolina Rye reads herbal and peppery, this one goes to pumpernickel bread with cardamom and allspice behind it. Protein is high at 13.9%, which is normal for rye and part of why rye beers feel fuller than their gravity suggests.
Minimum diastatic power of 80 means it converts itself, so a modest addition will not cost you conversion elsewhere in the grist.
Using Munich Rye
- Riverbend publishes 5 to 25% of the grist.
- At 5 to 10% it adds a dry spice note and a darker cast without announcing itself as a rye beer.
- At 15 to 25% the pumpernickel character leads. That is where you want it for a dark rye lager or a rye bourbon mash.
- Rye is huskless and gets sticky in the mash. Above roughly 15% of the grist, add rice hulls and expect a slower lauter.
- Reach for Carolina Rye instead if you want rye spice without the bread crust and color.
Styles: Dark rye lager, rye IPA, roggenbier, saison, dunkel, and bourbon and rye whiskey mashes
Specifications
| Grain | Malted rye, Wrens Abruzzi heirloom variety |
|---|---|
| Max usage rate | 5 to 25% of grist |
| Min extract (FG, dry basis) | 82% |
| Protein | 13.9% |
| S/T ratio | 65 to 70 |
| Min diastatic power | 80 |
| Grain origin | North Carolina |
| Bag size | 50 lb |
Two figures are left off this table on purpose. Riverbend publishes conflicting color values for this malt, 25 to 35 SRM on their product page against 5 to 8 SRM in their 2026 catalog, and two different alpha amylase figures. We would rather leave a row blank than print a number you might build a recipe around. Ask us and we will get the current certificate of analysis from Riverbend for your lot.
About Riverbend Malt House
Brent Manning and Brian Simpson founded Riverbend in Asheville in 2010, the first craft malt house east of the Mississippi. It is now the first Certified Regenified malt house in the world. Grain comes from family-owned farms inside roughly a 500-mile radius of Asheville, across North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Florida. They still hand-rake grain on a traditional malting floor alongside modern germination-kiln vessels, and in 2025 they supplied more than 300 breweries and distilleries.