Irish Red Ale Raging Red Irish Red Ale

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The OP lists his batch size as 5.5 gallons, which would be the amount into the fermenter. This should give you approximately 5 gallons into the keg. Over several batches you'll be able to tweak all your measurements along the way to account for your particular system and preferences.
Yea I saw that at the top. And he also used a starter which I didn't read but just got a stir plate and a 1L flask for it. I ordered all the ingredients last night for starter and for this recipe except the yeast. I'll drive and pick that up so it's fresh and cold.
 
For what it's worth the first time or two that I brewed this I was a novice brewer and didn't have a stir plate or flask, so I opted for just using US-05 dry yeast. The finished beer still came out very good. I guess what I'm saying is if you're new to brewing it may be wise to keep the first few batches simple. Propagating yeast isn't that hard but it does add an additional layer of complexity. Best to get the basic processes down first. Of course if you've already successfully brewed before, and have a good process, then go for it.
 
For what it's worth the first time or two that I brewed this I was a novice brewer and didn't have a stir plate or flask, so I opted for just using US-05 dry yeast. The finished beer still came out very good. I guess what I'm saying is if you're new to brewing it may be wise to keep the first few batches simple. Propagating yeast isn't that hard but it does add an additional layer of complexity. Best to get the basic processes down first. Of course if you've already successfully brewed before, and have a good process, then go for it.
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Without having the ingredients I just ordered in hand this is what my software is coming up with. I guess when morebeer ships it I can get exact facts from hops and grain
 
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Without having the ingredients I just ordered in hand this is what my software is coming up with. I guess when morebeer ships it I can get exact facts from hops and grain
Looks good, but one thing sticks out - I see is you list your mash temperature as 149° the OP mashed at 154° I believe. I'd recommend mashing at the OP's recommended temperature. You'll end up with a little less abv, but a fuller more enjoyable mouthfeel. I think mashing at 149° will dry the beer out too much for the style.

For grins I put the recipe in Beersmith using your numbers, (weights, AA%, SRM), and I get an OG of 1.060 and SRM of 14.7. Close enough to Brewfather, though a little different. Anxious to hear how this turns out for you.
 
I just realized I bought 004 yeast instead of the 001 yeast for this recipe. I was planning on brewing it this weekend on my only day off. Errrrrrrrr
 
I'd go with it, I'm sure it'll still be good.
I just swapped it in beersmith in case I can't get 001 in time. It dropped my profile for this beer from 6.0 to 5.7% alc with 70% efficiency

I wonder what the difference in flavor profile between the two as I'm new and haven't used either lol
 
Brewing this today. Shooting for 152* 60 min mash. While adding honey at flame out I plan to whirlpool it for 10-15min to get it to mix. Then turn it off so everything settles for maybe 5 -10 min. Then running through CfC and straight into unitank wish me luck lol
 
Brewing this today. Shooting for 152* 60 min mash. While adding honey at flame out I plan to whirlpool it for 10-15min to get it to mix. Then turn it off so everything settles for maybe 5 -10 min. Then running through CfC and straight into unitank wish me luck lol
It’s a very good recipe, and it’s on deck for me too before the end of this year.

Re: the honey. At flameout temperatures, with a good stir, it’ll be completely dissolved in seconds. I use a large whisk and have never stirred it for more than 20 or 30 seconds. Always comes out fine.

At any rate, good luck and keep us updated.
 
It’s a very good recipe, and it’s on deck for me too before the end of this year.

Re: the honey. At flameout temperatures, with a good stir, it’ll be completely dissolved in seconds. I use a large whisk and have never stirred it for more than 20 or 30 seconds. Always comes out fine.

At any rate, good luck and keep us updated.
It was a mini disaster of a day but a good learning experience lol. First. I realized I didn't have all the ingredients that I ordered. Morebeer gave me all caraaroma bags and not carafoam. So I had to just wing it. Used more base malt which I had golden promise lying around.


Secondly the spike solo was going good. Did a recirc For the last 5 min with CFC to sanitize it. And then the stupid me part. Had to change over a silicone tubing quick disconnect to whirlpool for 5-10 brain fart, didn't flip butterfly valves and shot boiling wort out losing a half gal or so but also roasting my hands. Now my hands are peeling and all blistered lolol. Other than that. It's in fermenter. At 1.054. So I failed to hit the mark
 
Ouch! Sorry about your burns. New equipment together with a new recipe can bring some challenges. It’ll get better of course. At 1.054 you’re not too far off the OP’s OG, so I wouldn’t sweat that at all. Plus, the changes to the grain bill you had to make aren’t all that drastic, so it will still be beer. And I bet it will still taste good, even if it’s not exactly what the OP had in mind when he shared the recipe.
 
Ouch! Sorry about your burns. New equipment together with a new recipe can bring some challenges. It’ll get better of course. At 1.054 you’re not too far off the OP’s OG, so I wouldn’t sweat that at all. Plus, the changes to the grain bill you had to make aren’t all that drastic, so it will still be beer. And I bet it will still taste good, even if it’s not exactly what the OP had in mind when he shared the recipe.
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its looking better. Not to bad on this hand lol I stirred the mash every 10 min in my filter basket. I don't know how much hit the floor so my post boil volume is not measurable. Not sure what I have in fermenter. Suppose to have 5.5g I'd guess 5 tops.
 
Today is 7days since brewing this at night.

I just pulled a sample. And while it sat at 10psi entire ferm it's got some carbonation. I just tested the sample with easydens after degassing. 1.014. Beersmith estimated 1.010. So missed the mark. But I'm gonna retested tonight and if it's still 1.014. I'll crash it. It's gotta a small fiZz coming from the spunding valve but I don't think that's anything except the beers carbonation. I don't believe it's fermenting still.
 
Today is 7days since brewing this at night.

I just pulled a sample. And while it sat at 10psi entire ferm it's got some carbonation. I just tested the sample with easydens after degassing. 1.014. Beersmith estimated 1.010. So missed the mark. But I'm gonna retested tonight and if it's still 1.014. I'll crash it. It's gotta a small fiZz coming from the spunding valve but I don't think that's anything except the beers carbonation. I don't believe it's fermenting still.
1.014 should be fine. The last few times I've brewed this it's finished around 1.013 for me. I'll be brewing it again next month or some time in January.
 
1.014 should be fine. The last few times I've brewed this it's finished around 1.013 for me. I'll be brewing it again next month or some time in January.
It's delicious out of my sampling port. It's carbing up in unitanks while it's cold crashing. Mines 5.3%. And with the changes I made due to the malts I had. It's smooooooth. It's def one I can drink all day pint after pint lol.
 
I have brewed this twice. Once in 2013 when I got back into brewing and earlier this year (or late last year) where I messed up when measuring out the grains for this and an Extra Stout. Not sure exactly what I mixed up but it turned out brown and not quite as good as the first time, eventough I have 10 more years brew experience. If I find time I'll give it another go this Winter and wont weight out the grain for 4 different beers together after a few beers :) I'll be using Tradition or Mittlefrüh with the Cascade.
 
I have brewed this twice. Once in 2013 when I got back into brewing and earlier this year (or late last year) where I messed up when measuring out the grains for this and an Extra Stout. Not sure exactly what I mixed up but it turned out brown and not quite as good as the first time, eventough I have 10 more years brew experience. If I find time I'll give it another go this Winter and wont weight out the grain for 4 different beers together after a few beers :) I'll be using Tradition or Mittlefrüh with the Cascade.
Well mines lacking the red. I call it a brown or amber. But it's really delicious
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I brewed this today but inspired by Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, when it’s done it’s going in a bourbon barrel for a few weeks.
 
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I brewed this today but inspired by Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, when it’s done it’s going in a bourbon barrel for a few weeks.
Where do u get a bourbon barrel to try this? A barrel that isn't a full size for a 6g batch of beer lol
 
Transfer in never going to avoid it. I just use a hose and try to avoid aeration Wood breathes so its going to get some exposure there. Out, I use one of @Jaybird's transfer tools but more for convenience than O2 exposure.

This is my second barrel. I did a porter a couple years ago that I still have a few bottles of that are really good. I did a stout a couple years ago that I no longer have any bottles of that was outstanding.

This barrel I first did a chocolate cherry stout that is really good now, can't wait to see what its like in a couple years. The red is definitely an experiment but Lexington Brewing and Distilling pulls it off very well.
 
Finally got to brewing this today. Easy brew day, no issues. I let it mash for 2 1/2 hours while I met some friends out for lunch. When I returned I removed the blankets and took a temperature reading and found it only dropped about 5 degrees, 154° to 149° It was a nice 70 degree sunny day, so that helped.

Loving the color already.
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The barrel aged experiment turned out well. It ended up being in the barrel for 4 weeks which is longer than I'd planned but was too sick at 3 weeks. At first I thought it was past its prime but now that its been in the brite tank for a week its really come around. Unfortunately I forgot to save a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale for comparison, but it definitely resembles that beer.
 
Finally got to brewing this today. Easy brew day, no issues. I let it mash for 2 1/2 hours while I met some friends out for lunch. When I returned I removed the blankets and took a temperature reading and found it only dropped about 5 degrees, 154° to 149° It was a nice 70 degree sunny day, so that helped.

Loving the color already.
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That's beautiful.
 
Put in the grain order for this one and yanked out some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale yeast from the freezer. Plan on brewing this one over the weekend. This has been on the to do list for many o years lol Going to pressure ferment it and see what happens
 
Put in the grain order for this one and yanked out some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale yeast from the freezer. Plan on brewing this one over the weekend. This has been on the to do list for many o years lol Going to pressure ferment it and see what happens
It’s supposed to have some esters so I wouldn’t go too crazy suppressing them…
 
It’s supposed to have some esters so I wouldn’t go too crazy suppressing them…
I'll probably run with an airlock the first 3 days then spund it to 15 psi. Plan is to brew this Sat and let it ride. I'll spund it Tuesday evening to 15 psi and let it go. We have a quick trip coming up (leaving Wed morning way early) so figure it wouldn't hurt anything since ester development is done in the first 48ish hours anyways
 
I'll probably run with an airlock the first 3 days then spund it to 15 psi. Plan is to brew this Sat and let it ride. I'll spund it Tuesday evening to 15 psi and let it go. We have a quick trip coming up (leaving Wed morning way early) so figure it wouldn't hurt anything since ester development is done in the first 48ish hours anyways
Hopefully that will work. I did one iteration of this spunding with 10 psi from the beginning, and it turned out as dull and drab as Felix Unger.
 
Hopefully that will work. I did one iteration of this spunding with 10 psi from the beginning, and it turned out as dull and drab as Felix Unger.
Found this so that's a plus! Will try and report back. Thankfully Chico (at least the real one) is not usually a fruity strain so that's a plus lol

https://www.kegland.com.au/blogs/keglearn/blog-post-a-comprehensive-guide-to-pressure-fermentation
In most cases, you will want to ferment as normal – no pressure and at your yeast’s recommended temperature for the first 24-48 hours. Once fermentation is underway, then simply close up the Spunding Valve until the fermenter is venting at the desired pressure.

That’s it! You are now pressure fermenting! It’s a piece of cake, really.
 
Well fermentation fired right off! Was happily surprised that 3 year old Chico (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale dredges) from the freezer bank was ready to go! I got lazy and just set the spunding valve to 15 psi with the ferment temp at 66F. It naturally built pressure over 24 hours and it's been holding steady. I'll raise the temps to 70F tomorrow which would be over 72 hours from yeast pitch. We will be heading out of town Wednesday for the week so hoping this will be ready to cold crash by the time we're back. Either it'll be bland or it'll be free carbonation lol We will see :)
 
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I had to tweak the recipe a little because I couldnt get the exact ingredients local. It turned out dark but the red comes through with some light behind it, Still tastes good!

I'll order what I need and try the original soon.
 

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Just pulled a sample. At 15 days it's ready to cold crash. This taste very promising warm and carbonated. I'm really eager to see how the finished product comes out! Just pulled wlp838 out of the freezer for an Easter Helles. Going to brew the 1st place Augustiner recipe from these forums under pressure :) Man....Already in the mood for Shepards pie!
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Just pulled a sample. At 15 days it's ready to cold crash. This taste very promising warm and carbonated. I'm really eager to see how the finished product comes out! Just pulled wlp838 out of the freezer for an Easter Helles. Going to brew the 1st place Augustiner recipe from these forums under pressure :) Man....Already in the mood for Shepards pie!View attachment 842635
Easter’s early this year, better get brewin’😉

That beer’s lookin’ mighty fine.
 
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