Looks great to me. My advice based on experience: Add 1 lb rice hulls or the mash will get stuck (unless you're BIAB in which case it doesn't much matter). And ditch the lactic acid, no need.

 

I agree looks good! The rye character should really come through. I do a hoppy red rye with only about 20% rye and it’s the sweet spot for me.

 

Good to see you back!
Ya, either Lactic, or acidulated malt, not both.
I use acid malt, I otherwise forget to add it...

 

2565 or 1007 would turn out really nice. The problem with both of these yeasts is that they take 5-6 weeks to clear. I'm patient but not always THAT patient. And their dried "equivalents" really aren't as good -- I've tried them and they turn out more tart and take even longer to clear.

I've had great success using S-189 lager yeast at room temperature, LOVE the results. Same with S-04, it's way cleaner than you might think, I dare say it's about as clean as a "lager" yeast. If you don't want to go with US-05 but want to try something else dried, these give me great results every time. A lot of folks swear by W-34/70 lager warm too -- I haven't tried that one warm yet but it's in my short list of future batches.

 

I misread the earlier post suggesting to ditch the lactic acid, sorry to confuse you on that.
I personally use acidulated malt to manage pH, always have... huh

 

I mash at a higher pH than many, about 5.6. No ill effects, try it. I add a glug of vinegar if needed. In amber or dark brews, it would typically not be needed.

 

Really? I have never heard or seen anyone use vinegar. Lactic or phosphoric to avoid unwanted flavor additions, but not vinegar. I'm making a beer, not a salad.

 

I came up with the idea. I can promise you, the finished beer doesn't taste like vinegar. I mean, I'm using like 1 ounce out of 5 gallons or whatever, almost 1000 ounces, so who cares. Steer away from balsamic reductions, of course. But an ounce of white vinegar or cider vinegar is not detectable.

 

Don't want to take this too far off topic but could you expand on 189 at warmer temps? What temp? How many packets?

I finally got around to doing 34/70 warm (65F) and the results were as hoped.

 

About 67 F the entire time, pitched at standard ALE amounts, so 1 pack per 5 gallons. Zero diacetyl (for a change!), zero esters, just a beautiful "lager". If it smells like a lager and tastes like a lager, it's a lager -- right?!

Cheers on the W-34/70 experience. I want to give that one a try soon. And Diamond lager as well.

 

At 96% I'm adding 1ml tops of phosphoric acid
I've herd good things about Lutra there @Texas Ale Works I look forward to hearing what you think about it.

 

Ewww! We go to great lengths to keep acetobacter out of our beers and someone wants to add their excrement to a beer? ONLY if trying to cheat on a Lambic and even then.... No. Just no.

 

Could do a lot worse. Enjoy your cat piss.