How much C120 is too much C120 - I want it RED

[JJL]

So, I've been reading this forum for a while. It has really great info especially if you take the time to surf around a little and read. I've posted a few replies now and again if I feel like I've got a little useful info. I have been brewing extract and PM for a couple of years now and my schedule for moving up to all grain brewing got accelerated by swmbo a couple of months ago. Over the course of about a month for Valentine's and my birthday she bought me a 30qt ss pot, and 45k btu burner, a wort chiller, and a grain mill. I've got no excuses left for not making the leap. The next week I built myself an MLT. So, I am going to do my first batch of AG in a couple of weeks. I have had this obsession lately with brewing a REALLY deep red colored american red ale. I've sketched out a general ingredients list, but I am looking for some ideas on quantities, variations, tips, suggestions. I want to make it relatively balanced in flavor, maybe a little on the sweet side, but not syrup-ey sweet. So here are the basic ingredients.

8-10 lbs of 2 row pale
1-3 lbs C120 - not sure
Northern Brewer for bittering
Cascade for flavor/aroma
I figure I'll mash a little high at around 152F for 60 min
Batch sparge
Probably a 5gal boil to break in the burner and the pot

I'll likely taste test it after it's been in the secondary for a week to see how sweet it is. If it's too sweet, I'll likely add some more Cascade to dry hop.

Comment away.

 

[big supper]

I'd use 1lb max. Maybe try using a mix of crystal 40 and 120. Add a bit of roasted grain (roasted barley, chocolate, Black malt, etc) to deepen the colour.

 

[Clonefarmer]

It's easy to over do it with Crystal 120. It has a dried fruit, toffee sometimes Burnt caramel flavor that can overpower the beer. Personally I would leave it out all together. For red color I would add about 1-2 oz of roasted barley. Also 1/2 lb of crystal 60 for flavor.

 

[weirdboy]

You could try using some Munich or Vienna malt as well.

 

[Clonefarmer]

You could try using some Munich or Vienna malt as well.

Mmmm, Munich would be good too. Great tasting grain.

 

[JJL]

I do like crystal 60...and the munich malt had crossed my mind briefly as well. And Philip J Fry is rarely ever wrong.

 

[Buffman]

What about Cara Red? http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0101499/weyermann-cara-red-

I have it in a fermenting amber right now.

 

[Clonefarmer]

And Philip J Fry is rarely ever wrong.

A fellow fan.

 

[jescholler]

You could probably get a good idea by doing some experiments. Do a couple of small scale steeps and then pour the wort through a coffee strainer. Maybe add a little DME to act as the base malt. The biggest problem might be having a scale that measures in grams, or maybe 10ths of grams depending on how small scale you decide to go.

 

[Brewsmith]

I would go no more than a pound of C120, but more realisticly, maybe 0.5 - 0.75 lb and then add 0.25 - 0.5 lb C40 in there. For the rest of the color add a little chocolate malt, a couple ounces and maybe an ounce or two of roasted barley if you need to adjust it darker. My amber looks like this:

9.5 lb Pale Ale
0.75 lb Munich
0.5 lb C 40
6 oz Victory
6 oz C 120
4 oz Pale Chocolate malt

Going regular chocolate instead of the Pale Chocolate malt would darken it up from amber to deeper red. This recipe is not very sweet, just enough to balance. You can bump the C120 if you like, to a half pound or even 10-12 oz. You won't really get much more sweetness, but more burnt caramel/fig/plum notes.

 

[JJL]

All good suggestions. Thanks for the input. I'll let you know what I finally decided to do and how it turned out once I get to brewing this. If anyone else has any thoughts, fire away. I'll check back later.

 

[JJL]

A fellow fan.

Futurama left us way too soon.

 

[Clonefarmer]

Futurama left us way too soon.

Indeed.

 

[passedpawn]

Careful with that 120. You have to really like the dark fruit raisins/prunes. Me, I don't. I would guess that Sam Adams uses something like this in their imperial stout and I am not a fan of it.

It might sound like cheating but if you want red you could set a beet in a bowl of water for a while (or add it to your boil). They bleed red. You wouldn't be the first to do this.

[edit] oh, don't worry about the beet adding flavor. I don't believe there is any change to flavor here. I don't like beets and I did this and it had no affect on flavor at all.

 

[Clonefarmer]

Careful with that 120. You have to really like the dark fruit raisins/prunes. Me, I don't. I would guess that Sam Adams uses something like this in their imperial stout and I am not a fan of it.

It might sound like cheating but if you want red you could set a beet in a bowl of water for a while (or add it to your boil). They bleed red. You wouldn't be the first to do this.

I use beets in my pickled eggs and they always come out a pink/purple. Do they have a different effect in beer?

 

[Malticulous]

Ken's Homerun red is worth a look if you want to make a dark crystal red beer.
http://kenlenard.webs.com/recipes.htm

 

[StAnthonyB]

You could probably get a good idea by doing some experiments. Do a couple of small scale steeps and then pour the wort through a coffee strainer. Maybe add a little DME to act as the base malt. The biggest problem might be having a scale that measures in grams, or maybe 10ths of grams depending on how small scale you decide to go.

A triple beam balance is only like $80 bucks tops. (That's the gizmo from 9th grade science lab.)

I use it to measure my hops and water salts. Best of all it doesn't require batteries or have a spring wear out and lose it's constant.

 

[passedpawn]

I use beets in my pickled eggs and they always come out a pink/purple. Do they have a different effect in beer?

Magic Hat does it. Judge for yourself:

 

[SumnerH]

Futurama left us way too soon.

Comedy Central has picked up a new season of 26 episodes. All the original major voice actors have signed on. First episode airs Thursday, June 24 this year.

http://tv.ign.com/articles/107/1074312p1.html

 

[arturo7]

Another vote for small amounts of roasted barley.

 

[BuzzCraft]

of the suggestions given above, i'd throw my vote in with an ounce or so of roasted barley.

 

[EricCSU]

Why not brew a tried and true american amber recipe? Brew the AA or Imperial AA from Brewing Classic Styles. Both are fantastic. Many people on HBT have brewed these with great success.

The AA has 0.75lb C-40, 0.5lb C-120, and 0.5lb Victory.
The Imperial AA has 1lb C-40, 0.5lb C-120, 0.5lb Victory, and 3oz Pale Chocolate.

I wouldn't use more than 0.5lb C-120.

Eric

 

[StAnthonyB]

Magic Hat does it. Judge for yourself:

Yeah, but Magic Hat is from Vermont. And, only Vermont could make a whacked out place like Massachusetts, where the courts make the laws and democracy is supressed, look freedom loving and normal.

Pretty beer... how's it taste?

 

[Clonefarmer]

Yeah, but Magic Hat is from Vermont. And, only Vermont could make a whacked out place like Massachusetts, where the courts make the laws and democracy is supressed, look freedom loving and normal.

Pretty beer... how's it taste?

Not a bad beer. Typical Magic Hat, it's not big on flavor. It doesn't taste like beets. Not something I would want to drink again though.

 

[kegtoe]

i make a red, not deep but similar to a Bass Ale on draft. I use a lot of 2 row some munich and then a bit of Special B (like 4 ounces) good red color. I also did it with extract. Use an amber LME some pale DME and then 12 ounces of steeping grains 8 ounces 40L crystal, 4 ounces Briess SPECIAL B, and 4 ounces Briess Belgium Roast.

Like the rest said, avoid the dark unless you are looking for a raisen like taste. Id also stay away from chocolates - it doesnt take much of that stuff to dominate a beer.