Brewers Best - Red Ale

I just picked up this kit from my local brewing supply store. This will be my first brewing attempt. Has anyone ever tried/brewed this particular beer? Seemed like a good, simple beginner batch to start with.

That was the second kit I ever brewed. It turned out great. Brewer's best makes great kits, but I'd recommend buying a new yeast. I think I used Wyeast Irish Ale on that kit.

I made the kit for my very first brew, and it turned out great. Two weeks primary, two weeks in bottles. It hits its stride at about two months in the bottle. I used the yeast that came with it, Danstar's Nottingham. I would use the dry yeast as its easy and pretty fool proof for a first beer.

kammee said:

I made the kit for my very first brew, and it turned out great. Two weeks primary, two weeks in bottles. It hits its stride at about two months in the bottle. I used the yeast that came with it, Danstar's Nottingham. I would use the dry yeast as its easy and pretty fool proof for a first beer.

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Nottingham has had a lot of issues lately...that's why I say go with a different yeast.

Because this beer has a pretty low IBU. I thought about dry hopping it in the secondary to give it a little more hop aroma and bitterness. Do you guys think that might be a bad idea?

Bad idea. Stick to the basics for your first beer. This beer had a perfect balance from what I remember, I'd leave it alone.

I agree thAt this kit is well balanced and doesn't need it.

Good stuff I was thinking about this exact kit for my second brew (Irish Stout is my first and it is in the secondary).

I was thinking of ditching the dry yeast for liquid, any suggestions?

How is the body, I like a full bodied brew. I like "dessert beers"?

As others have said, don't mess with it.

And FYI, dropping hopping doesn't add IBUs (bitterness). The alpha acids in the hops need to be isomerized through heat to convert to a taste that registers as bitter.

brew2enjoy said:

Because this beer has a pretty low IBU. I thought about dry hopping it in the secondary to give it a little more hop aroma and bitterness. Do you guys think that might be a bad idea?

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My preference would be, since its a first beer, to get a fresh packet of dry yeast, Safale 05, if your brewshop has it if you're concerned about the yeast with the kit. Make sure you rehydrate it per the instructions on www.howtobrew.com. If you were going to swap for liquid, get a Wyeast smack pack of American Ale (1056). It would go well in this beer and you can smack it the night before or at the start of your brew day and it will be ready to pitch when your beer is cool. I would also suggest WLP001 from White Labs, but that would be best used if you made a starter which you shouldn't really concern yourself with in at least the first couple brews, so I would go with the Wyeast version if you're inclined to swap out the dry for a liquid yeast.

I have brewed this kit twice, but I used the Wyeast Irish Ale instead, just make sure you chill it properly before you pitch, I made that mistake the first time.

Has anyone used WLP060. I have researched it a bit and only here good things. My thought it would give the Red Ale the body I am looking for. I really like a good lager, but at this point I will not be able to lager until I get the right ferm set up for that. So ales it is for sometime.