Will my Irish Ale be Red?

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bigdaddybrew

bigdaddybrew

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My second all grain batch. Trying for a smooth Irish Red Ale.
All the numbers are predicted dead on for style but will it be red?

I have these ingredients ground and bagged together... (4.88 gallon batch)

7lbs of Maris-otter
1/2 lb 40L Caramel Malt
1/4 lb Roasted Malt
1/4 flaked Oats

1 oz of Cluster hop pellets at 25 min (18 IBU)

1 tsp Irish Moss at 15 min

Single Mash at 154 degrees, Double Batch sparge (about 76% efficiency)

Nottingham in rubbermaid thermowell held at 62 degrees

Will it be red?
I have a packet of Windsor Yeast vs Nottingham?
I have more Roasted Malt?
 
I'm pretty sure it will be red. I'm a fan of the higher crystals though. You could guarantee that it'll be red if you use 80+ Lovibond Crystal.

Also, the roasted malt will help a bit
 
Don't forget, the glass you pour it in will also affect the color.

The wider the glass the darker the beer would be. The thinner, the lighter.

If you're concerned with the amount of red, I'd pour in a thicker glass.
 
It might be a little light. I'm with haputanias, replace the C40 with C80 or even C120. 1/2lb of C120 works very well in a red

*edit* I read too fast, and didn't notice you already had the ingredients mixed together. I would just leave it as is, or add like 3-4oz of crystal 120. Any other adjustments will start to take away from what will be a good tasting recipe.
 
Light red? That'll work. Many red recipes called for the roasted malt for the color and toasted flavor noted for the style. Others called for cara-red for the color but the LHBS didnt carry it. I added the 40L caramel for the flavor and body.

I didn't think about c90 or c120 being red would these have the toasted flavor?
If I added more roasted malt it might be darker but how would it taste?
Anybody ever cheat and add food coloring? I won't but just curious.
 
Best red coloring I have found yet was a 4:3(ish) mix of 60 and 120.
 
Drinking the irish red recipe now. It turned out dark amber with a slightly red tint. Lightly toasty and a slightly fruity, lightly bitter. I think I will try a darker crystal next batch but overall quite delicious.
 
If you want a deeper red colour, use a touch (1%-2%) of very dark malt - roasted barley, if you want a roastier character; or, black malt, if you want a bit less roastiness. You can use de-bittered black malt, if you want the colour without any noticeable roastiness.

This will alter the colour towards the red end of the spectrum without changing the flavour profile as significantly than if you change or increase the crystal malt. I find that less is more with crystal malt. Just a personal preference, as I brew a lot of session beers where there is much less room for an excessive amount of a specific malt without completely dominating things.

Best of luck :mug:
 
Nugent said:
If you want a deeper red colour, use a touch (1%-2%) of very dark malt - roasted barley, if you want a roastier character; or, black malt, if you want a bit less roastiness. You can use de-bittered black malt, if you want the colour without any noticeable roastiness.

This will alter the colour towards the red end of the spectrum without changing the flavour profile as significantly than if you change or increase the crystal malt. I find that less is more with crystal malt. Just a personal preference, as I brew a lot of session beers where there is much less room for an excessive amount of a specific malt without completely dominating things.

Best of luck :mug:
Click to expand...

+1000 I was just about to post the same thing.

Roasted barley is BY FAR the best coloring for an Irish Red. You need hardly any of it, and any flavor change it provides is actually style appropriate. You can also layer the reds for a better hue, i.e., 0.25# roasted barley and 0.25# (or less) c80+
 

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