Finally brewed my Red!?!

[brentt03]

All the numbers came out spot on, seems a little brown for a red, what ya think??
SRM: 17.6

Excited to see how this one turns out!

 

[xdalisx]

I did a red a couple weeks ago and it looked almost exactly like that, once fermentation slowed and it has sat for a a little while it has cleared nicely and has a nice red tint to it.

 

[HokieBrewer]

Color always looks darker in the fermenter. My wit beer with an SRM of 4 looks almost brown.

 

[mantooth]

what was your recipe? I'm looking to do my first red ale soon and and can't decide which one to do.

 

[brentt03]

what was your recipe? I'm looking to do my first red ale soon and and can't decide which one to do.

Here it is.....

Brewer: Salty Nut Brewery, LLC
Style: Irish Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
NAME: Imperial Moustache Red


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.72 gal
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated Color: 17.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 41.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item
8.00 lb Golden Promise (2.7 SRM)
1.00 lb Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM)
0.25 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
0.15 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
0.15 lb Roasted Barley (625.0 SRM)
0.10 lb Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Challenger [7.00 %] (60 min)
1.00 oz Whitbread Golding Variety (WGV) [5.00 %]
0.50 oz Progress [6.25 %] (10 min)
1 Pkgs Irish Ale (White Labs #WLP004)

Total Grain Weight: 9.65 lb

 

[brentt03]

So after tasting this red it seems a little watered down and not very full in body.....how does the grain bill percentages look?? To me it seems as though the base malt is overpowering to the specialty malts....?

 

[SethMasterFlex]

I'm guessing this is because of the .15lbs of crystal malt in 5 gallons. That is a very low amount for a red IMO. Too low of a mash temp could affect your body too, but I'm guessing crystal is the culprit here.

 

[brentt03]

I'm guessing this is because of the .15lbs of crystal malt in 5 gallons. That is a very low amount for a red IMO. Too low of a mash temp could affect your body too, but I'm guessing crystal is the culprit here.

I upped the Golden Promise to be 10lbs, as I want to go from 4.3% to 5.3% (for the next batch)

How do you recommend I tweak the grain bill to up the 120 and keep the range of SRM for a Red??

 

[brentt03]

I upped the Golden Promise to be 10lbs, as I want to go from 4.3% to 5.3% (for the next batch)

How do you recommend I tweak the grain bill to up the 120 and keep the range of SRM for a Red??

How about taking out the C-120 and adding C-60 @1lb?

I backed the Chocolate and Barley down to .10lbs as well; this leaves me at a SRM of 18.2

 

[SethMasterFlex]

If you're worried about SRM go with a lighter colored crystal...60 perhaps. C60 will be more caramely and c120 will be more plum/raisin flavored. You can mix them to achieve desired results. I'd worry less about percent and more amount. 1lb in 5 gallons is 1 pound in 5 gallons regardless of other malts. Percents are a good guideline but can be deceiving especially when adjusting for efficiency. If you want a heavier red I'd go with a pound of crystal, but look around at other recipes to see what they add. Worry less about SRM being on the dot unless you are entering it in a contest.