first red ale formulation

[zosomeone]

So I have been working on my first red ale and this is what I have come up. I've posted this before and not had one reply, so I don't know if that means its solid or so bad that it didn't warrant a response. Anyone have any changes or considerations that might improve this?

Recipe: Irish Red Ale TYPE: All Grain
Style: Irish Red Ale
---RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS-----------------------------------------------
SRM: 15.9 SRM SRM RANGE: 9.0-18.0 SRM
IBU: 28.3 IBUs Tinseth IBU RANGE: 17.0-28.0 IBUs
OG: 1.059 SG OG RANGE: 1.044-1.060 SG
FG: 1.018 SG FG RANGE: 1.010-1.014 SG
BU:GU: 0.482 Calories: 203.5 kcal/12oz Est ABV: 5.4 %
EE%: 72.00 % Batch: 5.00 gal Boil: 7.74 gal BT: 90 Mins

---WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS----------------

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9.25 gal Anaheim, CA Water 1 -
2.50 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 3 82.6 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.5 %
8.0 oz Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 6 4.3 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.3 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.2 %

Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 8.0 oz Total Hops: 2.00 oz oz.
---MASH PROCESS------MASH PH:5.40 ------
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD WATER CHEMICALS BEFORE GRAINS!!<<<<<<<
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 14.90 qt of water at 171.1 F 156.0 F 45 min
Mash Out Add 5.75 qt of water at 205.0 F 168.0 F 10 min

---SPARGE PROCESS---
>>>>>>>>>>-RECYCLE FIRST RUNNINGS & VERIFY GRAIN/MLT TEMPS
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD BOIL CHEMICALS BEFORE FWH
Fly sparge with 4.09 gal water at 168.0 F
---BOIL PROCESS-----------------------------
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.045 SG Est OG: 1.059 SG
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 90.0 FWH 8 9.7 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop 9 8.2 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 30.0 Hop 10 6.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 Hop 11 4.1 IBUs

---FERM PROCESS-----------------------------
Primary Start: 2/25/2012 - 4.00 Days at 67.0 F
Secondary Start: 2/29/2012 - 10.00 Days at 67.0 F
Style Carb Range: 2.10-2.60 Vols
Bottling Date: 3/10/2012 with 2.4 Volumes CO2:

I am also debating whether or not to dry hop with .5-1oz of Amarillo or Cascade

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

i think it looks pretty good, i'd brew it.

for a red like that, i'd skip the dry hopping with american hops, but it wouldn't be bad... just keep it restrained. something like fuggle or more EKG would be good if you want to dry hop. if you wanna brew a hoppy red, you could try something like Jamil's west coast blaster from his book, BCS. it has lots of citrus-y american hops late in the boil, and when i brew it i dry hop with one or both of the flameout hops.

 

[JakeFegely]

Overall this looks good to me. I probably would not use chocolate and would probably add 2 to 4 ounces of roasted. The FG looks a bit sweet, which may be related to the 156 mash temp (and may well be fine). Adding the dry hops would not be typical of the style, but might an interesting twist. Brew it and let us know what you think.

 

[zosomeone]

Thanks for the quick responses! This is my second beer ever and just decided to take a wack at recipe formulation! First beer was an AG IPA, which is bottle conditioning, which was too hoppy for the SWMBO.

I probably would not use chocolate and would probably add 2 to 4 ounces of roasted. The FG looks a bit sweet, which may be related to the 156 mash temp (and may well be fine). Adding the dry hops would not be typical of the style, but might an interesting twist. Brew it and let us know what you think.

I read somewhere that the splash of chocolate malt gives it a nice deep red/mahogany color, which I'm sure the roasted malt would do as well. This beer is geared towards the wife, since she likes them malty and somewhat sweet. I might just drop the temp to 154-155 just to make it a bit dryer. As long as it pleases SWMBO, I might get to stick to this hobby of ours and please her at the same time!

Happy Brewing!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I read somewhere that the splash of chocolate malt gives it a nice deep red/mahogany color, which I'm sure the roasted malt would do as well. This beer is geared towards the wife, since she likes them malty and somewhat sweet. I might just drop the temp to 154-155 just to make it a bit dryer. As long as it pleases SWMBO, I might get to stick to this hobby of ours and please her at the same time!

Happy Brewing!

i like to use a bit of chocolate or roasted barley in a beer like that. it adds a nice li'l malty touch, and it'll help with a reddish brown, mahogany type color. i'd think 154ish would be good for a malty beer with a bit of sweetness to the malt flavor, to dry it out a bit more, i'd mash at 152. but anywhere in there will get you a good beer.

 

[zosomeone]

I guess I'll take a happy medium and mash at 153-154

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll be sure to follow up and let you all know how it came out!

Brew on!

 

[zosomeone]

So I just transferred the beer into secondary after 4.5 days in primary. At racking, I got a nice maltiness and slight banana(isoamyl acetate) with light some light fruitiness(esters). This upped fruitiness I think came from the 1.5 days in which the beer was at 72-74 degrees (oops!). 9 more days and I should be bottling. 'til then!

Brew on!

 

[zosomeone]

Alright I guess this has been way over due, but I did manage to make a decent brew with this. It came out a little bit more like a brown than a red. It had a nice dark caramel flavor, with chocolatey notes and some nutty notes as well. In my opinion it could have used a little bit more hops, but then again I'm a hop head. The beer was mostly malty with a slight bitter edge that was hidden by the carbonation.

Overall it was a decent brown(notice I'm not referring it to a red anymore) that is a bit lighter than most browns but I give that to the way I created it as a red. Feel free to brew this and make changes.

Brew on!