hopped up red ale suggestions

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buzbey

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Location
best valley schity
12lb two row
1lb munich
1lb crystal 60
1/2lb carapils
1/2lb flaked oat
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2z magnum 60m
1/2z simcoe 30m
1/2z simcoe 15m
1/2z cascade 10m
1/2z cascade 5m
1z centennial dry hop


Input very much appreciated
 
I like more Munich in my reds, but that seems to be controversial. However, if you really want a nice red color, you need some black malt or roasted barley. 2 oz should be enough. If you don't want the roasted flavor, use the dehusked Carafa and/or add it at the end when you vorlauf.
 
Looks tasty! I prefer a 20m addition to a 30m for flavor, and with all that crystal malt I don't think you'll be lacking for body so you may not need the oats. Let us know how it turns out.
 
Seems to me that wouldn't be very red. I'd change the C60 to C120 and I'd move the 30 min hops to flameout. I would probably also changeout one of the cascade additions for 1/2 oz of centennial and then dry hop with the remaining cascade & centennial.
 
I'll second everything above - feel free to use more Munich and/or replace some of the 2-row with Vienna. 2oz of roasted barley will give you a great red color without really adding any roasty flavor. I'd also up the late hops - maybe move the 30m simcoe to 5-0m (and bump up magnum to compensate for bittering), and throw in another ounce of dry hops. But that's just personal preference... :mug:
 
Plug it into some brewing software and see what the color comes out as - depends on how dark you're aiming for, but a pound of C120 would probably make it plenty dark without the roasted barley. It'll also add some more syrupy/raisiny caramel flavors vs. the C60.

For yeast: try Wyeast 1450 (Denny's Favorite). Also my personal favorite for these kinds of beers.
 
Ok recipe now looks like this

10# 2-row
2# munich
2#vienna
1#crystal 120
1/2# carapils
1/2# flaked oat
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1z magnum 60m
1/2z simcoe 15
1/2z cascade 10
1/2z cascade 5
1/2z simcoe 5
1z centennial dry
1z cascade dry

And wyeast 1450 sounds like what I want so ill go with that
Does this look better?

52 ibu and 16.7 srm

Thanks everyone
 
I think overall it looks like a really good starting point. I love hoppy amber ales and brew them a lot. This is in the ballpark of what I brew.

I go about 60/40 or 70/30 2 row to munich.

The flaked oats is awesome - keep it for sure, and even go a pound - makes for a nice creamy ale.

I think your hops look great. I usually go with falconers flight, but what you have looks perfect as well.

1450 would be a good yeast - I am meaning to try it in the near future. I usually use 1272.

Differences for me -

a pound of crystal 120 is a lot in my opinion. I usually use about a half pound of caramunich III and maybe a quarter pound of crystal 80 and then use tiny amounts of crystal 120 and chocolate to get to a color in the 14.5-15.5 range. I do like a little of the chocolate, or debittered black because it gives a "ruby" hint to it. I am talking 1-2 ounces of the crystal 120/chocolate

Also, not sure what your efficiency is/batch size . . . but seems like a lot of grain. I shoot for gravity in the 1.055-1.065 range.

looks like a good recipe though IMO.
 
Dumb question maybe, but why the oats and brown sugar? that's very odd, especially the brown sugar, in a hoppy red.

I'd leave those out (oats do give a creamy "slick" mouthfeel, but they can also wreck head retention, and brown sugar just doesn't taste very good when it's fermented out in my opinion plus thin and dry the beer), and change the hops a bit. Of course 1/2 cup is meaningless as it's such a small amount so I'd just leave it out entirely.

A pound of 120L is too much. I'd use some lighter crystal in there instead of all 120L- maybe .75 pound of 40L and .25 pound of 120L as an example.

For a "hoppy" beer, I'd move the 30 minute hops to 15 minutes, and have all the additions at 1 ounce instead of smaller amounts later in the boil.
 
Agree with Yooper - it depends what you're going for, but if this was my recipe I'd do the following:
- Change 1# C120 to 12oz C40, 4oz C120
- Drop the brown sugar
- Drop the carapils
- Add ~2oz roasted barley to adjust color close to 16srm
- Bump up the 5min additions to 1oz each
 
My efficiency is horrid I usually get about 60 that's why so much grain so it would be about 1.065 but if I hit higher this time ill be happy. Gonna try some new tricks... ill drop the 120 to half pound? And add a half pound of crystal 80? Just curious what would the outcome be if I did go with the full # of 120?
 
The brown sugar is there just because I wanted to experiment with it having never used it before.. sounded like a good recipe to throw it in. People that have used it what flavors does it impart?
 
My efficiency is horrid I usually get about 60 that's why so much grain so it would be about 1.065 but if I hit higher this time ill be happy. Gonna try some new tricks... ill drop the 120 to half pound? And add a half pound of crystal 80? Just curious what would the outcome be if I did go with the full # of 120?

If you're going to go ahead and change up the crystal, don't use .5 pound of 120L and .5 of 80L. They are too dark and raisiny, and you'd get better flavor and results with .75 pound of 40L (or maybe even 60L if you really want) and .25 pound of 120L. Or Special B instead of the 120L.

If you go with a full pound of 120L, it'll have a strong "burnt sugar and raisin" type of flavor.
 
The brown sugar is there just because I wanted to experiment with it having never used it before.. sounded like a good recipe to throw it in. People that have used it what flavors does it impart?

Brown sugar is white sugar with added molasses flavor/color. Once molasses is fermented out, it tastes like molasses but not sweet molasses. I hate it, but there are some that would like it in a very dark beer.
 
See I enjoy the raisin flavor in red ales but I don't want it over powering. Will 4oz of 120 impart flavor or is it there just for the color?
 
See I enjoy the raisin flavor in red ales but I don't want it over powering. Will 4oz of 120 impart flavor or is it there just for the color?

Yes, you'd get flavor from that. If you really like the burnt sugar flavor, you could increase it a bit more than that. I wouldn't go over 8 ounces, though, and my preference is for more like 4.
 
Agreed with yooper on the crystal recommendations for that very reason.

Yooper - Curious in regard to the head retention/oats comment. Why does flaked oats hurt head retention. In my experience, it is the opposite it seems. I use a half pound of flaked oats and half pound of wheat in many, many of my beers (regardless of style) specifically for head retention and mouth feel.
I have an APA I drank last night (standard grain bill of about 10-11lbs 2 row and a pound of crystal 40.) I add the half pound of wheat and oats. The beer poured with a thick creamy head about 1 inch thick and it held at a half to three-quarter inch for a half hour. I feel that is fairly common when I use oats/wheat in beers together. Is the wheat just cancelling out the effect of the oats in some way? Just curious about your comment and why that is??? Thanks
 
Also agree on the brown sugar. I don't use it, but strikes me as having a drying effect on the beer like any other sugar. Try it if you want to see, but I am not sure what benefit you would get out of it.
 
Agreed with yooper on the crystal recommendations for that very reason.

Yooper - Curious in regard to the head retention/oats comment. Why does flaked oats hurt head retention. In my experience, it is the opposite it seems. I use a half pound of flaked oats and half pound of wheat in many, many of my beers (regardless of style) specifically for head retention and mouth feel.
I have an APA I drank last night (standard grain bill of about 10-11lbs 2 row and a pound of crystal 40.) I add the half pound of wheat and oats. The beer poured with a thick creamy head about 1 inch thick and it held at a half to three-quarter inch for a half hour. I feel that is fairly common when I use oats/wheat in beers together. Is the wheat just cancelling out the effect of the oats in some way? Just curious about your comment and why that is??? Thanks

Wheat and flaked barley definitely enhance head. But oats are oily, and "slick" feeling, and so creamy tasting in the beer. This slickness and oiliness tends to reduce the head.

When I make an oatmeal stout, I add crystal malt and flaked barley to enhance foam and head retention.
 
Yeah come to think of it a pound of 120 is probably too much in this beer.

I did a big hoppy red ale (OG was around 1080, maybe more) for christmas and used a pound BUT my IBUs were also around 100 on it so it balanced out. FWIW, I think it turned out great.
 
Alright before I pick up my grains does anyone see anything wrong with my finale revised recipe?


9#2-row
3#munich
2#vienna
3/4# crystal 60
1/2# carapils
1/4# crystal 120
1oz roasted barley
1/2# flaked oats
1/2# wheat

1oz magnum 60
1/2oz simcoe 15
1/2oz cascade 10
1/2oz cascade 5
1/2oz simcoe 5
1oz cascade dry
1oz centennial dry


Wyeast 1272

Ibu 55. Og 1.062- 1.078. Srm 17
 
Looks good to me. I use Maris Otter, Crystal 60L, Roasted Barley, and Crystal 80L in my red which is slightly hop forward. Yours should have a cleaner taste profile to make the hops stand out more.
 
Thanks, I took the carapils out because I have so much stuff in there to add body and didn't think I needed it at the end. Excited to brew it, ill report back how it turns out
 
I think overall it looks like a really good starting point. I love hoppy amber ales and brew them a lot. This is in the ballpark of what I brew.

I go about 60/40 or 70/30 2 row to munich.

The flaked oats is awesome - keep it for sure, and even go a pound - makes for a nice creamy ale.

I think your hops look great. I usually go with falconers flight, but what you have looks perfect as well.

1450 would be a good yeast - I am meaning to try it in the near future. I usually use 1272.

Differences for me -

a pound of crystal 120 is a lot in my opinion. I usually use about a half pound of caramunich III and maybe a quarter pound of crystal 80 and then use tiny amounts of crystal 120 and chocolate to get to a color in the 14.5-15.5 range. I do like a little of the chocolate, or debittered black because it gives a "ruby" hint to it. I am talking 1-2 ounces of the crystal 120/chocolate

Also, not sure what your efficiency is/batch size . . . but seems like a lot of grain. I shoot for gravity in the 1.055-1.065 range.

looks like a good recipe though IMO.

If you like 1272,you'll love 1450! I've used it in stouts and lipase and it's great.
 
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