Irish Red Ale Irish Red (1st place HBT comp)

[Saccharomyces]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

Wyeast 1272

Yeast Starter

1.25L x2

Batch Size (Gallons)

10.5

Original Gravity

1.051

Final Gravity

1.011

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

21

Color

Ruby red

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

10 @65*F

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 @72*F

Tasting Notes

Roasty, malt forward but dry finish. Modeled after Smithwicks, the \"gold standard\"

My house Irish Red ale. It is best after 4 months of aging, so I brew 10 gallon batches and re-brew when the first keg kicks. The key to this style is malt forward but with a roasty, dry finish. Hop flavor is barely noticeable and there is no hop aroma. If you can lager, even better, use a clean lager yeast (eg. WLP840, WLP833). I only do ales though so I pitch Wyeast 1272, and ferment on the low end of the range to suppress ester production. Wyeast 1272 American Ale II is a nice, clean ale yeast that accentuates malt character. WLP051 is an exact sub for this yeast (it is the Anchor Liberty strain). If you use dry yeast, Nottingham or US-05 will work fine for this style, but if using the dry I recommend increasing the mash temp to 152*F.

This style should be crystal clear in the glass and shine ruby red when held up to a light. If you bottle condition, I recommend a two week secondary followed by pitching some English yeast like a half package of S-04 in the bottling bucket so the beer finishes nice and clear in the bottle.

Malt Bill for 10 gallons:

12# Maris Otter (70%)
4# Vienna (24%)
12oz British Roasted Barley 500L (4%)
6oz Crystal 120L (2%)

Mash 150*F for 75 min.

Hop Bill for 10 gallons:

2oz 4.5% AA Fuggles (75 min)
1oz 5.0% AA Goldings (15 min)

Extract Version (for 5 gal):

4# Light DME
2# Munich LME
5oz Roasted Barley, steeped 20 min @155*F
2.5oz C120L, steeped 20 min @155*F

 

[Donner]

just want to clarify something. 60 minute boil but 75 min first hop addition? Are you first wort hopping or boiling longer than the 60 min listed?

 

[Saccharomyces]

Oops forgot to adjust in the form seems I can't edit it. Boil time was 75 minutes, but 60 would work fine too, it won't matter much. I was just going from my notes.

 

[Donner]

That is what i figured, but stranger things have happened.

Also, is this a smithwicks clone or was that just the inspiration for the recipe? Lots of people seem to want a clone, so i just want to make sure it's clear. Why does it need so long to age by the way? I need to brew an Irish Red soon for my neighbor, but 4 months might be a touch long to let it age for my purposes.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Also, is this a smithwicks clone or was that just the inspiration for the recipe? Lots of people seem to want a clone, so i just want to make sure it's clear. Why does it need so long to age by the way? I need to brew an Irish Red soon for my neighbor, but 4 months might be a touch long to let it age for my purposes.

It isn't a clone, I just used Smithwicks as my model. Mine is fuller bodied and a bit roastier than Smithwicks. If you lagered my recipe and dropped the gravity to 1.044 or so it would be almost a dead on clone.

It's certainly good after 2 months of aging but the roasty flavors don't really meld with the rest of the brew until it's about 3+ months of age. That seems to be true of other styles I make with lots of dark malts as well (eg stout, porter, imperial porter, imperial stout). That said, I would not be ashamed to serve this after two months, it's still a very good beer, especially if you give it enough time to cold condition.

 

[mklawz]

Im about to do 10g of Irish Red for me and my BIL. If we lagered half, which White Labs lager yeast would you think be appropriate?

 

[Saccharomyces]

Im about to do 10g of Irish Red for me and my BIL. If we lagered half, which White Labs lager yeast would you think be appropriate?

WLP840, the Budweiser yeast, I would try first, but Irish Red is similar to Oktoberfest/Maerzen in style so any yeast suited to an Oktoberfest would work well I think. If you try it please let me know how it works out!

 

[Joshua618]

How dark was the Roasted Barley (degree Lovibond) that you used?

 

[Saccharomyces]

I use Fawcett roasted barley which is ~500L. It gives a nice stout-like roast taste.

This beer is definitely on the dark end of the style but is quite tasty as it is. If you want it lighter, you could drop the RB down a bit. I haven't tried US RB, but I suspect it won't work as well since a lot of the flavor comes from the black roast barley.

 

[Joshua618]

Thanks for getting back to me. My LHBS only carries the Crisp Roasted Barley which is 700L. I tried making a red ale before and it came out brown.

 

[shrades]

How about a extract?

 

[Saccharomyces]

Thanks for getting back to me. My LHBS only carries the Crisp Roasted Barley which is 700L. I tried making a red ale before and it came out brown.

This beer is pretty dark, definitely on the dark end of the style.

For an extract I would use mostly light dry extract and 1-2# of Munich LME, then steep the roast barley and crystal malts. You will want to cut back on the roast barley a bit for extract since it will be fairly dark already from the LME.

 

[BullF-16]

Cant find the 500L British roasted barley, how will using black patent 500L affect this. Also i plan on using WLP002 english ale yeast since thats all i could find. Planning on this tomorrow.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Cant find the 500L British roasted barley, how will using black patent 500L affect this. Also i plan on using WLP002 english ale yeast since thats all i could find. Planning on this tomorrow.

WLP002 will work fine as long as you mash low and ferment around 65*F. I would avoid patent, domestic roasted barley will sub ok it's just a bit lighter.

 

[BullF-16]

WLP002 will work fine as long as you mash low and ferment around 65*F. I would avoid patent, domestic roasted barley will sub ok it's just a bit lighter.

Thanks, i mashed at 150 and its bubbling away now at 63 deg. went with the black patent however, still looks great though.

 

[avibayer]

gonna try this next

 

[mrkeeg]

12 oz of roasted barley? That seems like a lot for a red!

 

[Saccharomyces]

12 oz of roasted barley? That seems like a lot for a red!

But that is a 10 gallon batch.

I have decided when I re-brew this recipe I will use the WLP840 lager yeast.

I drank a lot of Killians in college, it was my first non-yellow-BMC beer. It will be nice to rotate this one out with my Helles for my easy drinking, swill like I don't have to work tomorrow even though I do, beer.

 

[Krrazy]

Sounds like a great award winning recipe. I'm doing a slightly different red without the Maris and Vienna (mainly due to ingredients on hand) but I'll add this one to the list! Thanks.

Feel free to redirect me to a beginner thread if it's out there, but can you please explain how pitching yeast in the bottling bucket helps clarify the beer for bottle conditioning? That sounds counter-intuitive to my newly developing brewmind.

Thanks!

 

[Saccharomyces]

Sounds like a great award winning recipe. I'm doing a slightly different red without the Maris and Vienna (mainly due to ingredients on hand) but I'll add this one to the list! Thanks.

Feel free to redirect me to a beginner thread if it's out there, but can you please explain how pitching yeast in the bottling bucket helps clarify the beer for bottle conditioning? That sounds counter-intuitive to my newly developing brewmind.

When you condition with the primary yeast, the yeast that are left to carbonate the beer are the least flocculant cells (and there aren't many of them) meaning your beer will take awhile to carb and will be difficult to clear. When you pitch fresh yeast you have more flocculant cells and more of them, so the beer carbs quickly and clears quickly. Most commercial breweries that bottle condition beers add yeast at bottling time for this reason.

 

[Lefe21]

Got around to brewing this one up yesterday, a partial mash version. Think I underestimated both my mash efficiency and how much weight of LME was in a 2L container from my LHBS, because my OG was 1.058. Also subbed Willamette for the Goldings. IBU's came in at 24 so that should balance the extra gravity nicely. I'm sure this one will still be delicious.

Thanks for the recipe!

 

[rmullins]

Brewed this yesterday, also subbing willamettes in since I had them in the freezer. Is this normally a slow starter on fermentation? I was a little over 12 hours with no activity. I might be a few degrees high. I'll head home at lunch and move into the old mans wine cellar if it hasn't started

 

[Saccharomyces]

In my experience 1272 is a slow starter but once it gets going it is ferocious. Don't be surprised if it blows off.

 

[Jud]

Has anyone tried this with a California Ale Yeast WLP001?

 

[akardam]

Do you reckon Sacc that honey could enter your recipe? It would be nice to have a scent of honey into a ruby red roasty ale..

And, as for roasted barley; do you mash with the other malts for the entire mash time? or do you just dip it into your mash during the last 15 min or so? maybe stupid question, i just have no clue..

 

[Saccharomyces]

Do you reckon Sacc that honey could enter your recipe? It would be nice to have a scent of honey into a ruby red roasty ale..

I don't think honey will do anything for this recipe, it's so subtle unless you use something like buckwheat or wildflower honey, it won't come through, and the more flavorful honey would clash with the flavors of the brew since it's mostly floral.

And, as for roasted barley; do you mash with the other malts for the entire mash time? or do you just dip it into your mash during the last 15 min or so? maybe stupid question, i just have no clue..

My water is rather alkaline so I include it throughout the full mash time. It is possible to add the dark malt at the end (essentially just steeping it in the mash) if your water is soft, that will help prevent the mash pH from dropping too low and is a technique I have used before (eg schwartzbier).

 

[Saccharomyces]

Has anyone tried this with a California Ale Yeast WLP001?

Cali Ale will produce a good result but I would mash 156-158 since otherwise it will finish too dry.

 

[akardam]

Thanks for quick reply Sacc! Another quickie: do you reckon munich malt is a good sub for vienna malt? unfortunately, my local dealer here in Stockholm doesnt distribute it..

and academically speaking, can you refer me to bibliography or literature explaining how mash temperature is related to type of yeast used in fermentation.. i quote what you mentioned 'If you use dry yeast, Nottingham or US-05 will work fine for this style, but if using the dry I recommend increasing the mash temp to 152*F.' i would love to find out the mechanics behind all this.. thanks!

 

[Saccharomyces]

Thanks for quick reply Sacc! Another quickie: do you reckon munich malt is a good sub for vienna malt? unfortunately, my local dealer here in Stockholm doesnt distribute it..

I would use less munich if you are subbing. Maybe half of what you would use for vienna. Or you could lightly toast some of the malt for a few minutes in the oven at a moderate temperature to try to sub for vienna (not the same but it adds complexity of flavor).

and academically speaking, can you refer me to bibliography or literature explaining how mash temperature is related to type of yeast used in fermentation.. i quote what you mentioned 'If you use dry yeast, Nottingham or US-05 will work fine for this style, but if using the dry I recommend increasing the mash temp to 152*F.' i would love to find out the mechanics behind all this.. thanks!

howtobrew.com has some info about mash temps. US-05 and nottingham are more attenuative than other yeasts (80%+ rather than the typical 75%) so you want more longer-chain dextrines left in the wort that the yeast won't ferment. Otherwise the beer will end up flat and lifeless.

 

[akardam]

Thanks for info! I am currently brewing this in the kitchen..