Irish Red Ale Caffrey's Irish Ale clone

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Captain_Bigelow

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
803
Reaction score
11
Location
Los Angeles
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast London Ale 1028
Yeast Starter
Yes
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.047
Final Gravity
1.011
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
27.1
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
2 weeks @ 65-72
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
4-6 weeks @ 65-72
Tasting Notes
Smooth creamy caramel flavor.
This is my first recipe which I have posted on this forum. Caffrey's was one of my favorite beers in the UK before I moved to the USA. Unfortunately Coors bought the brewery which makes Caffrey's and canceled export to the USA a few years back.

This beer is kind of a hybrid. On CO2 it is a basic English bitter. But add your Nitrogen (beer gas) and you have your creamy tasting Irish ale.

If you have a stout faucet and looking for something lighter than a regular stout I recommend this. I have not had a real Caffrey's for several years, so can not comment on the taste compared to the original, but believe it is pretty similar.

It is very smooth and has a creamy caramel flavor. There is also some fruitiness from the 1028 yeast used.

Ingredients
9lb 8oz Maris Otter
7oz Crystal 60L
3oz Torrified Wheat
2oz Chocolate Malt

0.75oz Northern Brewer 9.7% - 60 mins
0.25oz East Kent Goldings 6.5% - 60 mins

1 Pkgs London Ale (Wyeast 1028)

Mash for 60 mins at 153

Boil for 60 mins

caffreys2.jpg
 
Sweet. Thanks for the post. I will try this one. I used to get Caffreys at the bars here but then.... poof. As you said. I'll give it a go!
 
I used to love Caffrey's - fell in love with it in some pubs in Wales and Ireland. Bitterly disappointed in Coors about discontinuing it here in order to support their Killian's swill. I've written them twice about making it available in the U.S. I'm going to try this soon. I make almost exclusively IPA's and IIPA's, but I love the "quaff-ability" of a true Irish Ale.
 
I am interested to hear your guys feedback. The color is darker than the real thing, but I like the taste. I found that this beer really gets better with age. I would recommend that you leave it at least 6 weeks before kegging.

Also like I said in my original post, the key to this recipe is the nitrogen set-up. Without it, you won't have anything similar to the original.
 
just finishing the last one. I used WLP 004 and a little more chocolate malt. Was good though. Definitely on the repeat list. This ones an easy drinker.......very close to a mild.
 
Wow, I am so happy to have found this. Makes me think that a nitrogen setup is something to try.

I first tasted McCaffrey's about a month before it disappeared from a local pub in Charlottesville, VA. It was a fantastic beer, I enjoyed two long nights of session drinking with it and went back for a third and it was gone forever. Definitely next on my list of what to brew.
 
Bumpity bump -- brewed this yesterday and it was smelling fantastic. That 1028 has a heck of an initial fermentation, am counting down the days to enjoying this great beer once again!
 
We just returned from a trip to the UK and I brought 8 nitrogen-pack cans of Caffreys back with me. We also found it on tap while there and I fell in love with it all over again. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe on my next brew day and seeing how it compares. Thanks for posting this!
 
I am not a kegger yet, still on the bottle. Any idea how this would fair in a bottle??? I drank Cafferys faithfully till it was lost, so finding this was great.
 
Thanks for this! I'm just getting started in all this but my ultimate goal was to eventually brew a quality Caffrey's-like beer. I was first introduced to it in RiRa's on church street Burlington, VT. The last time I found it was in a bar in Victoria, BC. I'll definitely be giving this recipe a try once I get the hang of home brewing basics. Thanks again for the post.
:mug:
 
Bump. I live in Northern Ireland. I can still get Cafferys. Although it depends what beer shop or pub you are in. Can be tricky to find.

I also have my eyes on this as a first all grain brew. Still a few steps to go for me.

The pictured beer does not seem to have that deep amber hue I'm familiar with though. Is it possible to shift the recipe towards the red with different crystals without losing the creamy caramel tone?

Edit, actually, if it tastes anything like Cafferys then I don't care what it looks like :D

BTW, the cans I last had, where "widget" cans. I think they are basically canned flat under pressure, with a sealed compartment at the bottom which is held down, sealed by the pressure of the beer. As soon as you crack the pull, the pressure drops, the false bottom lifts releasing a solid which releases nitrogen into the beer rapidly. I was told the best way to pour was to open the can wait 1 or 2 seconds and completely invert into your glass, then lift it out as it empties. Seems to work, gets a better head than pouring like a lager.

Guinness had a similar gizmo in their cans, don't know if they still do, been years since I had Guinness, not a big fan.
 
I did this last year and bottled it. It doesn't match the nitro keg, but was still very solid. Like others, I haven't had a Caffrey's in 10 years, but this invokes memories.

Caffrey's II in primary now. I am renaming it to McCaffery's in honor of Iowa Hoops Coach!

Will have ready just in time for St. Pat's!
 
I called Caffrey's 'nectar of the gods'. I fell in love with it the second day I was in England. Too bad Coors cancelled the imports. Less competition for them I guess. I will have to try this recipe.
 
I know this is an old post but i just transferred this to secondary and it taste delicious. I should brew another right now because i know how fast the first one will go. Do you carb with co2, then put it on beer gas? Thanx
 
Thanks for the reply. It has been several years since I did this, but I believe that I just put it in the key and used the nitrogen mix. Then using a stout faucet it came out creamy.
 
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