Irish Red recipe - no Crystal 60 @ LHSB, had to sub Crystal 45

[leedspointbrew]

Original grain bill :

5.75 lbs Crisp Maris
.75 lbs Crystal 60
.25 lbs roasted barley

LHBS had no Crystal 60, so :

5.75 lbs Crisp Maris
.75 lbs Crystal 45
.25 lbs roasted barley

.75 oz Fuggles @ 60
.75 oz EKG @ 30

Normally, I wouldn't be concerned, except for the fact that this Irish Red was one of my more successful beers last year, and I was hoping to try to duplicate it. Hoping that what seems like a fairly minor change won't radically alter it.

 

[DBhomebrew]

That's a swap I wouldn't give two thoughts about. Going up to 90 would be a different story. 45/60 are both in the caramel/toffee range. 90 gets into the dried stone fruit stuff. You're talking the difference between light and dark brown sugars.

 

[leedspointbrew]

That's a swap I wouldn't give two thoughts about. Going up to 90 would be a different story. 45/60 are both in the caramel/toffee range. 90 gets into the dried stone fruit stuff. You're talking the difference between light and dark brown sugars.

That's what I thought (hoped) would be the case. Thanks for your input.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

LHBS had no Crystal 60, so :

I agree that 45 vs 60 is a fine swap. You are more likely to see some different character from maltster to maltster, say Briess (US) vs Crisp (English). Where possible, I will reach for UK ingredients for UK styles, but that is just a personal preference. I notice the Crystal malts I get from a local US maltster have more toast and dark fruit character than Briess.

 

[leedspointbrew]

I agree that 45 vs 60 is a fine swap. You are more likely to see some different character from maltster to maltster, say Briess (US) vs Crisp (English). Where possible, I will reach for UK ingredients for UK styles, but that is just a personal preference. I notice the Crystal malts I get from a local US maltster have more toast and dark fruit character than Briess.

Just checked the beer, and from what I can see visually, the color looks no different. From DHomebrew's post above, this makes sense. From my limited experience with Irish Reds, I would think that the roasted barley has more impact on flavor.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

From my limited experience with Irish Reds

You may find these useful reading :

https://zythophile.co.uk/2021/08/25...elped-launch-an-entirely-bogus-style-of-beer/https://beerfoodtravel.blogspot.com/2021/09/brewing-history-irish-red-ale-part-iii.html
They're not Irish and not red...

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

That zythophile link was a hoot to read, thanks for posting it!

One result was that the advertising for the beer, which still tried to claim authentic Irish roots, became even more madly unconnected with historical truths, as Coors declared that “In 1864 in Enniscorthy, Ireland, George Henry Lett brewed the first batch of a full-bodied, red-colored lager that would eventually become known as George Killian’s Irish Red,” which manages to cram five pieces of utter nonsense into less than 30 words.​

 

[leedspointbrew]

You may find these useful reading :

https://zythophile.co.uk/2021/08/25...elped-launch-an-entirely-bogus-style-of-beer/https://beerfoodtravel.blogspot.com/2021/09/brewing-history-irish-red-ale-part-iii.html
They're not Irish and not red

You may find these useful reading :

https://zythophile.co.uk/2021/08/25...elped-launch-an-entirely-bogus-style-of-beer/https://beerfoodtravel.blogspot.com/2021/09/brewing-history-irish-red-ale-part-iii.html
They're not Irish and

You may find these useful reading :

https://zythophile.co.uk/2021/08/25...elped-launch-an-entirely-bogus-style-of-beer/https://beerfoodtravel.blogspot.com/2021/09/brewing-history-irish-red-ale-part-iii.html
They're not Irish and not red...

Thanks.