Irish Red Ale Little Red Irish Ale

[Jeff...]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

Danstar Nottingham

Yeast Starter

Yes

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

No

Batch Size (Gallons)

6.0

Original Gravity

1.047 (75% efficiency)

Final Gravity

1.012

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60 minutes

IBU

20.5

Color

12 SRM

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

7 days @ 65

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 days @ 65

Additional Fermentation

None

Tasting Notes

Easy drinker, pours with a white head. It's clear and smooth without a hint of bitterness. It has a barley and woodsy flavor with an slight almost fresh cut hay (earthy) arroma.

PLEASE NOTE - Batch Size is 6 gallons

I developed this recipe because I don't like the burnt sugar/prune/raisin taste of Carmel/Crystal 120L. Nor do I like the burnt bitter coffee taste of 500L roasted barley. But I do like a smooth easy drinking Irish red ale.

If your going to brew this, Go easy on the boil
A gentle rolling boil is all that's needed. There no need to carmelize any sugars with this beer.

I use a 300 micron hop spider for the hop additions. And a 300 micron stainless dry hop spider, that I converted into a wort filter. The wort filter is used in between the kettle and mashtun and also in-between the kettle and the primary fermenter. It's amazing how much protein and kettle sludge it catches that doesn't make it into the primary.

300 micron stainless dry hop spider converted into a wort filter.

Finished Beer

Recipe

Mash Schedule

Enjoy

 

[bkboiler]

Nice! How would you describe the mouth feel of this beer? Does the head persist for very long?

Love the color! I've made several Irish ales and found that the ones I've done with s-05 were very good, but when I used the white labs "Irish ale" strain it added a very special ester. I never thought to use Notty!

 

[Jeff...]

Nice! How would you describe the mouth feel of this beer? Does the head persist for very long?

Love the color! I've made several Irish ales and found that the ones I've done with s-05 were very good, but when I used the white labs "Irish ale" strain it added a very special ester. I never thought to use Notty!

Thin persistent head with glass lacing and medium mouthfeel (mash temp is 153 degrees, so not all that heavy).

Pic of lacing

 

[coonmanx]

The color looks great.

 

[Jeff...]

The color looks great.

I agree, However it's quite a few SRM shades lighter than your standard Irish red. The difference being in the 300L vs 500L roasted barley and also the 40L vs 120L Carmel/Crystal.

At 12 SRM, It still falls within the Irish red style guidelines of 9 to 14 SRM though.

This is my 3rd tweak of the recipe and I'm quite happy with it. So I figured I would pass it along, for others to enjoy.

 

[coonmanx]

I agree, However it's quite a few SRM shades lighter than your standard Irish red. The difference being in the 300L vs 500L roasted barley and also the 40L vs 120L Carmel/Crystal.

At 12 SRM, It still falls within the Irish red style guidelines of 9 to 14 SRM though.

This is my 3rd tweak of the recipe and I'm quite happy with it. So I figured I would pass it along, for others to enjoy.

I am also not a fan of too much roasted barley so this may be the way to go. So far I have actually avoided using the roasted barley at all but I do believe it gives a much better red color. Will have to write this recipe down for sure.

 

[Jeff...]

I am also not a fan of too much roasted barley so this may be the way to go. So far I have actually avoided using the roasted barley at all but I do believe it gives a much better red color. Will have to write this recipe down for sure.

Sounds like our taste buds are kind of alike. I think beer should be enjoyable to drink. 500L roasted barley is a bit to bitter and strong for my liking. 300L (light roast) is about as far as I care to good with barley, then just a little bit at that.

Just a word of caution though, you will definitely taste the Barley in this beer. But it seems to marry pretty well with Maris Otter, so it's not overpowering.

If your brewhouse efficiency is lower than 75 bump up the Maris Otter a little bit to compensate.

 

[bwible]

What program do you use to calculate recipes? And depending on which formula you choose, you will get different values for color or ibu. There are different formulas you can choose to calculate each.

I use Beertools because I have a mac and its one of the few that run on a mac.

 

[Jeff...]

What program do you use to calculate recipes? And depending on which formula you choose, you will get different values for color or ibu. There are different formulas you can choose to calculate each.

I use Beertools because I have a mac and its one of the few that run on a mac.

I'm using Wort Pro for android.

 

[Brooothru]

I agree, However it's quite a few SRM shades lighter than your standard Irish red. The difference being in the 300L vs 500L roasted barley and also the 40L vs 120L Carmel/Crystal.

At 12 SRM, It still falls within the Irish red style guidelines of 9 to 14 SRM though.

This is my 3rd tweak of the recipe and I'm quite happy with it. So I figured I would pass it along, for others to enjoy.

That is one fine looking beer, and quite a solid looking recipe. I used to do an Irish Red once a year right after New Year's to be ready for St. Patrick's Day. All the Irish relatives liked it with our traditional corned beef dinner.

Did you ever try subbing out some of the 300-500°L dark malt for a few ounces of melanoidin? That's the only tweak I might do to your recipe. Dang it, now I've got to get more grain.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

That is one fine looking beer, and quite a solid looking recipe. I used to do an Irish Red once a year right after New Year's to be ready for St. Patrick's Day. All the Irish relatives liked it with our traditional corned beef dinner.

Did you ever try subbing out some of the 300-500°L dark malt for a few ounces of melanoidin? That's the only tweak I might do to your recipe. Dang it, now I've got to get more grain.

Brooo Brother

I was thinking for version 4, about cutting back on the light roast Barley 2 to 3 ounces but then that messes up the red color. It never came to mind to replace the 2 to 3 ounces of light roast barley with melanoidin.

Would you completely omit the Barley altogether and replace it with melanoidin? Or, replace a small portion, like I said above?

 

[Brooothru]

I was thinking for version 4, about cutting back on the light roast Barley 2 to 3 ounces but then that messes up the red color. It never came to mind to replace the 2 to 3 ounces of light roast barley with melanoidin.

Would you completely omit the Barley altogether and replace it with melanoidin? Or, replace a small portion, like I said above?

Good question. I might do 2 oz Dehusked Carafa III, 8 oz CaraRed, and 2-4 oz melanoidin. Let me run it through BeerSmith to see what the color looks like.

A little melanoidin goes a long way. It adds 'something', but to my taste it can quickly become overwhelming. CaraRed adds another deep layer of color, but can get a bit too sweet if you overdo it, especially if your base malt is Maris Otter or something sweeter than domestic 2 row.

Even Munich III 9°L (not CaraMunich) can lend a deep red color but like CaraRed it's a delicate balance. Let me play with the recipe a little. I'm thinking this one is going to move up in the rotation.

Brooo Brother

Edit:

Ran a trial recipe through BeerSmith and here's what came out:

5.6 gallon batch
OG. 1.047
FG. 1.010
ABV 4.7%
IBUs 22.4
SRM. 13.7

8# Maris Otter (3.0L)
½# CaraRed (24.0L)
¼# Melanoidin (30L)
¼# De-husked Carafa III (470L)

East Kent 1.00 oz (28g) :60 minutes
East Kent 0.50 oz (14g) :30 minutes
East Kent 0.50 oz (14g) :20 minutes whirlpool @ 82C/180F

The numbers very closely matched your original recipe. Hop utilization increased slightly in the whirlpool vs flameout & chill. Color was very slightly darker, but the reddish hue appeared much deeper and richer, though the color graphic visual (beer glass) isn't a true representation. All parameters were within the BJCP style guidelines, though ABV was tickling the upper limit. Might want to cut back a few ounces on the M.O. if you use a high attenuating yeast. I'll use WLP-039 Nottingham, mostly 'cause it works so fast and drops so clear and doesn't get in the way of malt or hops if fermented at the low end of the temperature band, but Imperial "Pub" would also be an excellent yeast choice. Might do a split batch since I have both on hand.

Cheers!

 

[Jeff...]

Good question. I might do 2 oz Dehusked Carafa III, 8 oz CaraRed, and 2-4 oz melanoidin. Let me run it through BeerSmith to see what the color looks like.

A little melanoidin goes a long way. It adds 'something', but to my taste it can quickly become overwhelming. CaraRed adds another deep layer of color, but can get a bit too sweet if you overdo it, especially if your base malt is Maris Otter or something sweeter than domestic 2 row.

Even Munich III 9°L (not CaraMunich) can lend a deep red color but like CaraRed it's a delicate balance. Let me play with the recipe a little. I'm thinking this one is going to move up in the rotation.

Brooo Brother

Edit:

Ran a trial recipe through BeerSmith and here's what came out:

5.6 gallon batch
OG. 1.047
FG. 1.010
ABV 4.7%
IBUs 22.4
SRM. 13.7

8# Maris Otter (3.0L)
½# CaraRed (24.0L)
¼# Melanoidin (30L)
¼# De-husked Carafa III (470L)

East Kent 1.00 oz (28g) :60 minutes
East Kent 0.50 oz (14g) :30 minutes
East Kent 0.50 oz (14g) :20 minutes whirlpool @ 82C/180F

The numbers very closely matched your original recipe. Hop utilization increased slightly in the whirlpool vs flameout & chill. Color was very slightly darker, but the reddish hue appeared much deeper and richer, though the color graphic visual (beer glass) isn't a true representation. All parameters were within the BJCP style guidelines, though ABV was tickling the upper limit. Might want to cut back a few ounces on the M.O. if you use a high attenuating yeast. I'll use WLP-039 Nottingham, mostly 'cause it works so fast and drops so clear and doesn't get in the way of malt or hops if fermented at the low end of the temperature band, but Imperial "Pub" would also be an excellent yeast choice. Might do a split batch since I have both on hand.

Cheers!

I added your recipe into wort pro and it's exactly as you said. I've never used Carafa III but it looks like a de-husked dark roasted spring barley ~ L525. I'm going to try it in your recipe and see how it tastes.

I really enjoy the barley flavor in an Irish Red style. For me, the barley is what makes it Irish instead of just a red ale. But I also learned one needs to very light handed with Barley, it's all to easy to brew up something that's not very enjoyable to drink... I was happy to see only 4 ounces in your recipe.

I ordered the grist, a few minutes ago. The only difference , I'll be using harvested Danstar Nottingham yeast since I already have it on hand.

I appreciate your reply, thanks again.

 

[Brooothru]

Good question. I might do 2 oz Dehusked Carafa III, 8 oz CaraRed, and 2-4 oz melanoidin. Let me run it through BeerSmith to see what the color looks like.

A little melanoidin goes a long way. It adds 'something', but to my taste it can quickly become overwhelming. CaraRed adds another deep layer of color, but can get a bit too sweet if you overdo it, especially if your base malt is Maris Otter or something sweeter than domestic 2 row.

Even Munich III 9°L (not CaraMunich) can lend a deep red color but like CaraRed it's a delicate balance. Let me play with the recipe a little. I'm thinking this one is going to move up in the rotation.

Brooo Brother

I added your recipe into wort pro and it's exactly as you said. I've never used Carafa III but it looks like a de-husked dark roasted spring barley ~ L525. I'm going to try it in your recipe and see how it tastes.

I really enjoy the barley flavor in an Irish Red style. For me, the barley is what makes it Irish instead of just a red ale. But I also learned one needs to very light handed with Barley, it's all to easy to brew up something that's no enjoyable to drink... I was happy to see only 4 ounces in your recipe.

I ordered the grist, a few minutes ago. The only difference , I'll be using harvested Danstar Nottingham yeast since I already have it on hand.

I appreciate your reply, thanks again.

I'm really anxious to hear how your recipe turns out. I'm psyched to give it a go. The de-husked Carafa gives you color and a deep, rich malt flavor without an overdose of bitterness. The melanoidin gives more maltiness, simulating a detoction mash without the hassle, and adds deep red color. EKG is the perfect hop

I think it's got the making for a perfect Red! Let me know.

Brooo Brother 9

 

[Immocles]

I won’t get around to it for months, but I’ve also added this to my beersmith recipes, subbing pale chocolate (250L)for the roasted barley. Hopefully have an update by this fall...

 

[Jeff...]

I'm really anxious to hear how your recipe turns out. I'm psyched to give it a go. The de-husked Carafa gives you color and a deep, rich malt flavor without an overdose of bitterness. The melanoidin gives more maltiness, simulating a detoction mash without the hassle, and adds deep red color. EKG is the perfect hop

I think it's got the making for a perfect Red! Let me know.

Brooo Brother 9

Going for the gusto... with the best grist morebeer has available for this style. I have a good feeling, v4 is going to be a heck of an awesome brew. I decided to go with Crisp No.19 MO for the base malt. Looking through my hop stash, I have 1 1/2 ounce EKG 6.0 alpha and several ounces of UK Fuggles 2.9 alpha. So I changed up the hop schedule to match what I have on hand. I used UK Fuggles for V1 and it had a great arroma.

Here's my recipe for brew day @ 80% efficiency. Yeast will be Danstar Nottingham, 1 week primary @ 65F, 2 weeks secondary @ 65F

I appreciate your reply... I'm glad I decided to HBT.

 

[Brooothru]

Going for the gusto... with the best grist morebeer has available for this style. I have a good feeling, v4 is going to be a heck of an awesome brew. I decided to go with Crisp No.19 MO for the base malt. Looking through my hop stash, I have 1 1/2 ounce EKG 6.0 alpha and several ounces of UK Fuggles 2.9 alpha. So I changed up the hop schedule to match what I have on hand. I used UK Fuggles for V1 and it had a great arroma.

Here's my recipe for brew day @ 80% efficiency. Yeast will be Danstar Nottingham, 1 week primary @ 65F, 2 weeks secondary @ 65F
View attachment 675746

I appreciate your reply... I'm glad I decided to HBT.

Yep. Fuggles would be a great complimentary hop with EKG in an Irish Red. Top notch choice on the grains as well. I was doing an inventory of the beer fridge as well yesterday and came across three sachets of Danstar Nottingham I'd squirreled away a few years back. Less than 3 years old, always refrigerated, should be good. That yeast is a BEAST!

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

Yep. Fuggles would be a great complimentary hop with EKG in an Irish Red. Top notch choice on the grains as well. I was doing an inventory of the beer fridge as well yesterday and came across three sachets of Danstar Nottingham I'd squirreled away a few years back. Less than 3 years old, always refrigerated, should be good. That yeast is a BEAST!

Brooo Brother

I really like Danstar Nottingham. It plows through wort like a freight train and finishes fairly neutral, dry and drops clear. Occasionally and depending on the style, i
even like to treat it as a lager yeast. By fermenting it on the lower temperature range and 4 weeks of lagering. Even though, it's obviously not a lager yeast. It does seems to have some lagering characteristics.

 

[Jeff...]

Grains finally arrived from morebrew today. I ordered them April 14 (13 days ago). My first time ordering from morebeer. I suspect "the virus" had something to do with why it took morebeer so long to ship my order.

I was pretty disappointed... The crush on the Crisp no. 19 is very poor (if crushed at all). I'm going to have to run it through one of my Corona mills. I really didn't want to have to mill the grains myself, because my Corona mill is a pain to use. But looks like I have no choice but to mill them myself now. I plan on brewing tomorrow morning.

 

[Dgallo]

Grains finally arrived from morebrew today. I ordered them April 14 (13 days ago). My first time ordering from morebeer. I suspect "the virus" had something to do with why it took morebeer so long to ship my order.

I was pretty disappointed... The crush on the Crisp no. 19 is very poor (if crushed at all). I'm going to have to run it through one of my Corona mills. I really didn't want to have to mill the grains myself, because my Corona mill is a pain to use. But looks like I have no choice but to mill them myself now. I plan on brewing tomorrow morning.
View attachment 677603

the crush on the grains they sell is extremely poor. Last time my grains were crushed so poorly I only had 56% mash efficiency. Since I’ve been using farmhouse brewing supply and Great Fermentation. I am looking and reading reviews on mills. Will most likely invest in one by end of May

 

[Jeff...]

the crush on the grains they sell is extremely poor. Last time my grains were crushed so poorly I only had 56% mash efficiency. Since I’ve been using farmhouse brewing supply and Great Fermentation. I am looking and reading reviews on mills. Will most likely invest in one by end of May

Thanks for the reply. It's good to know it's not just me. I suspected my efficiency would have suffered greatly, if I would mash the MO as is. I usually order from Ritebrew, Neil is a great guy. But Ritebrew didn't have what I needed.

I'll be sure and check out farmhouse brewing supply and Great Fermentation.

 

[Jeff...]

After putting a proper crush on the grains from morebeer, with my Corona mill, I felt much better and proceeded to brew.

I thought I had another ounce of KEG hops. But then I remembered I gave my son in law a ounce. So last minute hop adjustment to 16g FWH and 14g with 15 minutes left to flame out.

I over shot my sparge by a good quart. Instead of extending the boil, i just rolled with it... however adjusted for temperature ~80 degrees wort came in right around 1.044. So I managed to squeeze out around 87% efficiency. I would say that's a darn good crush for a Corona mill

Wort is a beautiful deep ruby red and came out of the boil good and clear.

My chickens love me long time, lay me many eggs

 

[Jeff...]

@Brooothru

Just an update... Primary is wrapping up. It fermented pretty dark at around 62F. I'll most likely rack and batch secondary into my 6 1/2 gallon glass carboy the next couple of days.

I currently have it spilt into a fermention bucket and a gallon jug. We'll see how it looks when it drops clear. But If anything this has to be one tasty brew. If it doesn't drop red, it'll be an English Barley Brown Ale it smells awesome at this point with the late Fuggle addition.

Maybe back off a little on the Carafa III, 2 or 3 ounces instead of 4? IDK... But we'll see.

 

[Brooothru]

Looking Gooood!

I just received an order from Austin Homebrew with ingredients for the "red". I made some modifications so when I get to my computer I'll shoot you the recipe. The biggest mod is using Best Malz Red X. It's supposed to bring out a really deep red mahogany color. Also decided to go 50/50 with the hops split between Fuggles and East Kent. Should be really good.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

Looking Gooood!

I just received an order from Austin Homebrew with ingredients for the "red". I made some modifications so when I get to my computer I'll shoot you the recipe. The biggest mod is using Best Malz Red X. It's supposed to bring out a really deep red mahogany color. Also decided to go 50/50 with the hops split between Fuggles and East Kent. Should be really good.

Brooo Brother

I believe there's hope for a deep red. I just pulled a hydro after 5 days of primary. It's currently around 1.014 or about 4% ABV.

I think it will drop clear red. It smells like a Irish red, but still a little to sweet. Irish red needs to be dry. It's amazingly smooth for a green beer. I'll give this my standard 1 week in primary and 2 weeks secondary. Then keg & cold crash, we shall see then.

 

[Brooothru]

Assuming you went with the Nottingham? If so, you probably have another 5 points or so before reaching FG. I'm anxious to get mine going. Weather here has been either cold and rainy or sunny but windy. I've got a West Coast IPA ready to brew for the last 10 days, so the 'red' will be the next to go after the IPA. Lagers have been taking up brew space lately but I've got two conicals open now so I'll probably get around to it in the next week or so.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

Assuming you went with the Nottingham? If so, you probably have another 5 points or so before reaching FG. I'm anxious to get mine going. Weather here has been either cold and rainy or sunny but windy. I've got a West Coast IPA ready to brew for the last 10 days, so the 'red' will be the next to go after the IPA. Lagers have been taking up brew space lately but I've got two conicals open now so I'll probably get around to it in the next week or so.

Brooo Brother

Yep, I pitched a Danstar Nottingham starter. The yeast is a beast, it plows through wort like a freight train. It usally finishes around 1.008 or so, when I mash in the upper 140s. I mashed this batch @ 153. So I'm expecting a slightly higher final gravity. I would be happy if it finishes at 1.010. I'm not set up to step mash yet. I'm limited to a single step and batch sparge.

 

[Brooothru]

It's been 5 or 6 years since I haven't done a step mash. That's when I got a Braumeister electric brew kettle. It's a great setup and is fully programable and automated to run a 5 step mash (I usually do a 2 or 3 step mash).

I was reading up on Best Malz Red X malt and came across a write-up by the head maltster there who said that it wouldn't provide good results without using a step mash. He recommended a specific step mash profile that identically matches the one I came up with and generally use for lagers. I'll use it for the Irish Red Ale with Red X as well.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

It's been 5 or 6 years since I haven't done a step mash. That's when I got a Braumeister electric brew kettle. It's a great setup and is fully programable and automated to run a 5 step mash (I usually do a 2 or 3 step mash).

I was reading up on Best Malz Red X malt and came across a write-up by the head maltster there who said that it wouldn't provide good results without using a step mash. He recommended a specific step mash profile that identically matches the one I came up with and generally use for lagers. I'll use it for the Irish Red Ale with Red X as well.

Brooo Brother

I'm just getting back into brewing after about 30 years of not brewing. Oddly enough one of my college professors turned me on to home brew. And even more amazing I still have the notebook that I wrote notes and recipes of the beers we brewed. Spent many brew sessions in his kitchen with his wife, listening to Yes and Jazz learning about brewing.

I'm set up with a propane burner, 20 gallon kettle, a 10 gallon Rubbermaid HLT and MLT, a chugger pump and hoses. I could step mash, but it would most likely turn out to be a disaster I'm digging on your Braumeister that looks like a nice setup for sure. Maybe when I grow up I'll spring for something like that.

 

[Jeff...]

I racked into secondary fermention. Best I can tell, gravity 1.011~1.012. I'm still amazed how smooth this beer is for just fermenting 8 days. Premium grain bill = Premium beer.

I'm still hopeful for it to drop clear red, it's looking like it's gonna.

 

[Jeff...]

Racked into keg to cold crash and until I get an open faucet. Best I can tell, it finished secondary @ 1.011 or about 4.3% ABV.

 

[Brooothru]

Racked into keg to cold crash and until I get an open faucet. Best I can tell, it finished secondary @ 1.011 or about 4.3% ABV.
View attachment 680613

Hey, Jeff.

My 'red' is into Day 3 of fermentation and looking really good so far. I hit all my numbers on brewday, and SG is sitting at 1.016, down from 1.044 at pitch. Target is 1.009 FG and an ABV ~ 4.8%. The color is darker and more brown/red than mahogany but I'm hoping the hues will deepen and redden as it clears. Still too early for a final judgment on taste but the sample hints strongly of a malty beer. The combo of Fuggles and EKG was definitely the way to go. It should be in the range for all BJCP guidelines for style. This will be a keeper.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

Hey, Jeff.

My 'red' is into Day 3 of fermentation and looking really good so far. I hit all my numbers on brewday, and SG is sitting at 1.016, down from 1.044 at pitch. Target is 1.009 FG and an ABV ~ 4.8%. The color is darker and more brown/red than mahogany but I'm hoping the hues will deepen and redden as it clears. Still too early for a final judgment on taste but the sample hints strongly of a malty beer. The combo of Fuggles and EKG was definitely the way to go. It should be in the range for all BJCP guidelines for style. This will be a keeper.

Brooo Brother

Sounds like you also having success. I'm quite happy with your recipe tweaks on V4. Late kettle addition of Fuggles is most definitely the way to roll, along with East Kent Golding early addtions for the Irish Red Ale style.

 

[Brooothru]

Sounds like you also having success. I'm quite happy with your recipe tweaks on V4. Late kettle addition of Fuggles is most definitely the way to roll, along with East Kent Golding early addtions for the Irish Red Ale style.

My final recipe was V4, with two tweaks:

Instead of 9# M.O., I went with 7# M.O. and 2# Best Malz Red-X (which contains 'some' melanoidin), and the 4 oz roasted barley was subbed with 2 oz Dehusked Carafa III + 2 oz Black Prinz.

We'll see how the final color comes out after clarification and conditioning. V5 may drop the Red-X in favor of 4 oz melanoidin and 1.5# of CaraRed.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

@Brooothru V4 is smooth, flavorful and easy drinking but it didn't finish red, so we'll call it a Nice English Brown Ale.

This is a pour from a 1/2 gallon growler I primed with .5 oz of table sugar and gave my Daughter In Law. She left it on the kitchen counter 2 weeks, then stuck it in the fridge for a few days. Not the best photo, sorry.about that.

Edit... Maybe Barley Brown Irish Ale?

 

[Brooothru]

@Brooothru V4 is smooth, flavorful and easy drinking but it didn't finish red, so we'll call it a Nice English Brown Ale.

This is a pour from a 1/2 gallon growler I primed with .5 oz of table sugar and gave my Daughter In Law. She left it on the kitchen counter 2 weeks, then stuck it in the fridge for a few days. Not the best photo, sorry.about that.
View attachment 683889

Edit... Maybe Barley Brown Irish Ale?

Finally got mine tapped. It really tastes gooood, but it came out darker than I wanted. It cleared on it's own without fining though you can't really see it since it's so dark. 4.6% ABV, hit all my numbers, so I'm quite happy. Next time I'll dial back the Carafa and/or Blackprinze. 4 oz melanoidin worked out well, but won't use an ounce more than that.

Brooo Brother

 

[Jeff...]

Finally got mine tapped. It really tastes gooood, but it came out darker than I wanted. It cleared on it's own without fining though you can't really see it since it's so dark. 4.6% ABV, hit all my numbers, so I'm quite happy. Next time I'll dial back the Carafa and/or Blackprinze. 4 oz melanoidin worked out well, but won't use an ounce more than that.View attachment 689675

Brooo Brother

Looks yummy

 

[dwightr8]

Any updates?

 

[Brooothru]

Any updates?

Actually, six months after brewing, the keg is finally about to kick, aided by my son's family (and his Irish mother-in-law) who came to dinner three nights ago. It's still pouring clear and smooth, though the hops are starting to fade ever so slightly. My lasting impression is still the same as my initial impression: it's a very authentic example of the style, but is just a bit darker than I'd hoped it would be. The melanoidin definitely needs to be included in the grist and I think 4 oz for a 5 gallon batch is exactly the right amount. OTOH, 2 oz of dehusked Carafa III + 2 oz BlackPrinze could be reduced to 1 oz each while adding an additional amount of CaraRed (2#) to the Maris Otter base malt.

It's a killer recipe that I think will be made even better with the above mentioned changes. Definitely go with both EKG and Fuggles, and don't be afraid to go on the heavy side rather than lighter with the hops. Nottingham worked quite well in this recipe, though A09 "Pub" (Windsor, IIRC) or a dedicated Irish Ale yeast would work just as well. This one is definitely on the "re-brew" list for St. Patty's Day.

 

[Immocles]

I won’t get around to it for months, but I’ve also added this to my beersmith recipes, subbing pale chocolate (250L)for the roasted barley. Hopefully have an update by this fall...

Oof. That didn't age well. I'm first getting around to brewing a red ale based on this tomorrow, but not following the recipe exact (using a sprinkle of roasted barley and 120L, which I know is not at all in the original recipe) since I'm forcing myself to sub ingredients instead of purchasing additional grains. Aiming to keep the color a light red, closer to the base recipe. Pretty excited for it though. I'll be excited to have something fun and festive for st Pattys day.

Actually, six months after brewing, the keg is finally about to kick, aided by my son's family (and his Irish mother-in-law) who came to dinner three nights ago. It's still pouring clear and smooth, though the hops are starting to fade ever so slightly. My lasting impression is still the same as my initial impression: it's a very authentic example of the style, but is just a bit darker than I'd hoped it would be. The melanoidin definitely needs to be included in the grist and I think 4 oz for a 5 gallon batch is exactly the right amount. OTOH, 2 oz of dehusked Carafa III + 2 oz BlackPrinze could be reduced to 1 oz each while adding an additional amount of CaraRed (2#) to the Maris Otter base malt.

It's a killer recipe that I think will be made even better with the above mentioned changes. Definitely go with both EKG and Fuggles, and don't be afraid to go on the heavy side rather than lighter with the hops. Nottingham worked quite well in this recipe, though A09 "Pub" (Windsor, IIRC) or a dedicated Irish Ale yeast would work just as well. This one is definitely on the "re-brew" list for St. Patty's Day.

I'm going the melanoidan malt route as well. You mention Windsor yeast. I've used it once, in a brown ale, and really like it. You've got me second guessing which yeast to use (notty or Windsor). I have both, but my notty is opened, so I think I might force myself to go that route. Plus that stuff drops like a rock for me How quickly does Windsor drop clear? Hard for me to tell in my brown ale ( which is bordering on stout SRM, if i'm being honest)