Double Red Based cat 23 beer

[jharres]

I have been given the opportunity to obtain 5 gallons of second runnings from a batch of Double Red that the brewmaster at our local brewpub is putting together.

The expected gravity of the SR is 1.050 and I'm currently waiting on the grain bill.

The reason I'm posting here is that I'm looking for interesting ideas of what to do with this. I don't want to just boil it and ferment, I'd like to use this as a base for an unusual beer.

Unfortunately, I'm not terribly familiar with Reds or Double Reds for that matter, so I'm looking for some input and ideas from the community.

 

[broadbill]

That's a great find...my guess is if the brewmaster is pulling the first runnings for a double red, the second runnings will be closer to an ordinary red OG, maybe a bit shy of one, if anything.

Not sure what to tell ya about using it as a base for an unusual beer...maybe you can provide more information on what you are considering "unusual"...there really are unlimited possibilities at this point!

If it were me, I would go buy some hops, yeast and some DME/LME in case the gravity comes in a bit lower than expected and make yourself a nice red ale and nothing more. The joy here comes with the savings of time and money...I'm sure you can check out some red ale recipes in the database here.

 

[jharres]

Haha, yeah fair enough. I guess I was a little vague on what I was looking for.

Would a red IPA would be good? Or maybe an Indian Red Honey beer. Hmmm...

I dunno, I've had a few tonight, so maybe it's the HB talking....

 

[velotech]

Hey Jacob, it's Dave (sat next to you at the RHBC meeting). I'm participating in this second runnings contest also. I suggest checking out the Specialty brewing recipes to see what would match up or look like it would work. The contest calls for creativity since it's a category 23, so my approach is to replicate some flavors I experienced in asian microbrews this last summer. Let me know if I can help with anything.

 

[jharres]

Hey Dave! Good to see a familiar face on here!

Asian microbrews...interesting. I'm not terribly familiar with Asian beer, aside from the standard lagers, such as Sapporo or Kirin, but I'm guessing that isn't what you are talking about.

 

[velotech]

No, not quite what I was talking about. These are some of my favorite Asian microbreweries:

Archipelago - Fal created some really interesting flavor combinations here.

Red Dot BrewHouse - Go to our beers and click on the tasting notes. Ernest uses Chinese YinYang to balance out the warming effects of alcohol with cooling herbs and flavors. Very refreshing beers!

I will still have to be selective to figure out what will work best with a red. And I need to make a decision quick, since we get the runnings in five days. My biggest hurdle is figuring out what extra fermentables to add and then which hops will get to the flavor I'm looking for.

 

[jharres]

No, not quite what I was talking about. These are some of my favorite Asian microbreweries:

Archipelago - Fal created some really interesting flavor combinations here.

Red Dot BrewHouse - Go to our beers and click on the tasting notes. Ernest uses Chinese YinYang to balance out the warming effects of alcohol with cooling herbs and flavors. Very refreshing beers!

I will still have to be selective to figure out what will work best with a red. And I need to make a decision quick, since we get the runnings in five days. My biggest hurdle is figuring out what extra fermentables to add and then which hops will get to the flavor I'm looking for.

Hmmm....those look interesting. Especially the Red Dot.

Are you going to mash, or go for extracts for the additional fermentables?

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do. Part of me wants to go with an Indian Red type beer and the other part of me wants to add some molasses and a bunch of malts and go for a Scotch Irish Ale. Of course a frambozen type beer may not be too bad either...