How would you guys classify this?

Dougan · 05-22-2009, 03:13 AM

I wanted to make a "darker" beer for some friends who tell me they like "red" beers. When I hear that, I usually think people just want something like Killians.

Anyway, went with this recipe:

5gal:
6 lb 2-row
4 lb dark munich (weyermann munich II 8-10L)
1/4 lb caramunich ~45L
1/4 lb crystal 120L

Infusion Mash @ 150 for 70 minutes (I managed to pull off 86% efficiency on this one!)

1/2 oz EK Golding @ 60
1/2 oz EK Golding @ 30
1/2 oz EK Golding @ 15
1/2 oz EK Golding @ 5

Didn't really feel like making this my first lager so I used some pacman yeast I built up from some 22oz rogue stouts.

Anyway, I kegged it after about two weeks and tasted it after it was pretty much carbed up. Tasted green but pretty good! I was actually pleasantly surprised by the way the hop bitterness and faint aroma really balanced this beer. The color isn't quite what I wanted (I think I should have used caramel 60 instead of 120) but it's close enough.

I am having a hard time classifying this recipe though. As the first beer I'm really unleashing on my friends in more than a controlled setting, I'd like to be able to say something more than "i don't know what the crap it is". Right now I'm saying Irish Red, because my intent was to brew something for Killians fans. But it's definitely not an irish red with the hops and yeast. Any direction?

I guess I haven't tried the final product but at this point I say I already approve. The hop balance really surprised me and I think I outdid myself in this department. I think there's enough hops to satisfy me but not enough to make my friends complain about it being a "hoppy" beer. Next time I brew this I'll probably try swapping out some/all of the 2-row with pils, get a "normal" munich, and maybe try 1/4 oz crystal 60 1/4 oz crystal 40 in place of the 120. The pacman yeast got me to 1.010 which I'm sure will give me a very clean taste after this ages a bit. I'll probably continue brewing with that.

**TexLaw** · 05-22-2009, 03:19 AM

"It's beer" is a perfectly acceptable answer. A taste is worth a million words, too. You don't have to put a beer in a pigeon hole to make it good. Have fun out there!

TL

pizzaman · 05-22-2009, 03:29 AM

If I calculated correctly, here's what you should've gotten with that:

OG 1.052
FG 1.013
IBU 11
ABV 5.0 %
SRM 12

Looks like a heavy scottish ale to me, though those usually range in abv from 3.2-3.9 So you've got a high alcohol scottish ale? I'm only guessing based on what I know from using this tool, my answer is not based on the actual ingredients used, only the style comparison chart of gravity, ibu, and srm.

Hell, if anyone asks, tell 'em its a Scottish Red Ale!

beesy · 05-22-2009, 04:27 AM

i guess it could be close to a 80 or 90 shilling if you wanted to classify it, but think the ibu would be out of wack. **off top of head - not checking style guideline** As stated earlier, why does it have to be anything? I make a few beers i really like that would not do well in any classification because they don't fall within the set guidelines. Enjoy it and call it what you want.