I'm going to brew an Irish Red Ale on Saturday (or maybe Sunday) and I'm looking to do this to style and include it in some beers I'm entering in a local competition in March. The style category is 9D.
The last Red I brewed, I used Edinburgh yeast (WLP028) but I wasn't brewing that one to style, really. One advantage to me of of using Edinburgh is I use it a lot and know it well, am comfortable with how to manage it. I was also considering using a tried-and-true Nottingham, fermented very low to get as clean a yeast profile as possible, so that the malts, especially the Munich and caramel, can shine through.
I've never used the Irish ale yeast (WLP004), but wonder if I should, because, well, I'm brewing an Irish Red. The description on the White Labs site says it comes from a stout brewery, though, which doesn't seem to really apply to brewing a Red.
Thoughts, suggestions, musings?
The last Red I brewed, I used Edinburgh yeast (WLP028) but I wasn't brewing that one to style, really. One advantage to me of of using Edinburgh is I use it a lot and know it well, am comfortable with how to manage it. I was also considering using a tried-and-true Nottingham, fermented very low to get as clean a yeast profile as possible, so that the malts, especially the Munich and caramel, can shine through.
I've never used the Irish ale yeast (WLP004), but wonder if I should, because, well, I'm brewing an Irish Red. The description on the White Labs site says it comes from a stout brewery, though, which doesn't seem to really apply to brewing a Red.
Thoughts, suggestions, musings?