Help with a recipe

[CrookedTail]

So last winter I tried brewing Northern Brewer's Irish Red Ale extract recipe kit. The beer was pretty good. This year I want to brew something similar, but with some more hop character, as irish reds typically have little or no hop character.

So I took the malt profile from the kit recipe, changed it a tiny bit and converted it to a partial mash:

3.15lbs Light LME
4lbs Two-Row
.5lbs Carapils
.25lbs Special Roast
2oz Biscuit
2oz Chocolate Wheat
1 cup Light Brown Sugar

That would bring the OG to ~1.054.

But now I'm not sure about the hops. I was thinking of doing this:

1oz Cascade (60 min)
2oz Cascade (20 min)
2oz Goldings (5 min)

That would bring the IBUs to 34.5. Making it substantially hoppier than the original recipe without making it overwhelmingly so.

What do you think? Should I try something different?

 

[pericles]

Why the brown sugar? I find it difficult to accurately predict how any particular brand - or batch even - of brown sugar will affect SG. I also don't get a whole lot of flavor our of brown sugar, since the vast majority of it will be fermented. I prefer dextrose, which is, in my experience, more consistent.

As for your hopping schedule: a bitterness of 34.5IBUs is substantially above the accepted range for an Irish Red Ale. I think your bittering regimen might be closer to a Strong Scotch Ale. For that, I would definitely balance the greater bitterness with more malt or LME, for an OG in the 1.08 range. I might replace one ounce of the 20 minute Cascade addition with Fuggles, too, for a more earthy aroma.

 

[CrookedTail]

Why the brown sugar? I find it difficult to accurately predict how any particular brand - or batch even - of brown sugar will affect SG. I also don't get a whole lot of flavor our of brown sugar, since the vast majority of it will be fermented. I prefer dextrose, which is, in my experience, more consistent.

As for your hopping schedule: a bitterness of 34.5IBUs is substantially above the accepted range for an Irish Red Ale. I think your bittering regimen might be closer to a Strong Scotch Ale. For that, I would definitely balance the greater bitterness with more malt or LME, for an OG in the 1.08 range. I might replace one ounce of the 20 minute Cascade addition with Fuggles, too, for a more earthy aroma.

Last year I added the brown sugar on the recommendations of one of the kit's reviewers. It didn't add any noticeable sweetness to the beer. I just left it in this recipe. I'll probably end up replacing it with some DME.

I'm not trying to keep it within the guidelines of any particular style. The original recipe was your typical irish red: malty, with little or no hop flavor. It was good, but seemed like it could be great with more hops added.

Maybe 34.5 IBUs is too high. Should I drop it to the mid-20s?

 

[pericles]

I'm not trying to keep it within the guidelines of any particular style.

I'm increasingly a believer in the value of brewing to style. The advantage is that you know what the malt-hop-yeast balance will be ahead of time. In this case, my instinct is that 34.5 IBUs is too high for your grain bill; you'll end up with a really muddy tasting IPA.

But there's no way to know until you try! Definitely give this recipe (or something like it) a shot, and let us know how it turns out.