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

[w0732400]

Color question?
I brewed the original posters recipe yet I added 6 oz. of oats. I racked it to secondary yesterday and it seems a lot darker than I was expecting and it seems to be lacking any real red hue. As it clears will this become more prevalent? It's original gravity was 1.050 and I use a hydrometer and the conversion from NB says it is now at 1.010 so it was about spot on gravity wise to the OP recipe. Is there anything that I could have done that messed up the color? I'll post a pic of how it turns out in the end.


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[pfgonzo]

It's the roasted barley. It makes the beer look almost black unless you hold it up to a bright light source, and get the right angle. I cut it down to only 2oz in my 5.5g batch, and still have that issue.

[Edit] Go back a page to post 210, and see what reducing the roasted barley gets you: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f65/irish-red-1st-place-hbt-comp-141086/index21.html#post6003299 Bear in mind it STILL looks opaque and almost black unless you hold it up to the light. Regardless of the look, the taste is PHENOMENAL.

 

[bunt1828]

I'm just drinking the first of my batch, and I definitely made an Irish Black. I was dumb and scaled the entire recipe up to be sure and hit target OG (had low efficiency). Since I kept the original % of roasted barley, I ended with 0.75lbs in my recipe. I'm going to scale that way back for the next one, but I'm still very happy with the results of this one. It is super smooth and delicious. And at only 7 weeks old, itll only get better.




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[rchrdpdl]

I had the same experience as everyone above - it's definitely not red. It's a good beer for sure, just the wrong colour!

 

[w0732400]

I added some oats to help the mouthfeel so that probably didn't help I'll post a pic when I start drinking it


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[pfgonzo]

Bunt, what's your batch size? Did you do a 5g brew with 3/4lb roasted barley? I think you jumped BJCP Style Guidelines there; your "Irish Black" is a Stout now! Congratulations!

Taste roasty?

 

[bunt1828]

Yep, 5 gallons in the keg, 6 gal in the kettle. I just noticed my 5gal recipe had the same amount of grain as the original post did for twice that volume.. Terrible.

It IS very malty, but I'm not sure it is dry enough for a stout. Tastes similar to the porter I made last. While ill reduce the RB considerably for my next batch to be closer in color (and flavor) to a red, I'm happy with this one and looking forward to enjoying it as it ages.

Cheers.


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[pfgonzo]

Ok so... IPAs are my general go-to beer. I love chocolatey porters, and hoppy ambers. The occasional sour, sure!

I never would have guessed when I brewed this Irish red that it would dominate my preferences until the keg kicked. I've never burned through 5 gallons this fast. This recipe is an unequivocal winner, and just became my house-ale.

 

[user 78027]

After many trials and tribulations I finally got to drink one of these. I brewed this in the beginning of august of last year a few weeks before i had hand surgery. I brewed it with a lager yeast, Wyeast 2279 and after the primary was complete I moved it to a secondary for a while. In the secondary I blasted co2 on top to keep the oxygen away. It was in secondary at about 31F for 6 months.

I made a 2.5 gallon batch and used about 2 oz of Roasted barley and it turned out so good. It took longer to bottle condition because I didn't add any yeast when I bottled it. I will edit this and include an image, the bottle I had just now didn't last long enough.

 

[w0732400]

HORRIBLE day!!!! I brewed this a couple of months ago. I just kegged it last week. I brewed a 10 gallon batch luckily I only kegged half of it. I've probably had 12 pints out of the keg and apparently the threaded flare fitting on the liquid side loosened itself as I moved the hose around I came home today to an empty corny and 4ish gallons of this beer on the bottom of my chest freezer. What a horrible way to start a 4 day weekend. In addition my co2 tank emptied out after the beer was out of the keg. Hope everyone else has a good weekend


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[maloneybrews]

This is the best recipe I have made to date. Tried a sample with the beer still very young and it tasted awesome great mix of roasted flavours with the caramel and raison. I used wlp004 and it turned out great tastes a lot like a smithwicks for sure.

 

[pfgonzo]

Brewed this up again this afternoon. Got a late start (wife is sick) so I thought I'd try my first batch sparge. I've only fly sparged previously because my system allows for it, and I've always heard it achieves a slightly higher efficiency. I wasn't expecting the 8-9% drop by batch sparging though! Crazy!

Thankfully, I upped the MO just a tad from my previous brew of this recipe, just to experiment. I ended up with the same OG I had last time I made this recipe, so I know this will be a winner!

[edit 6/30] Aaaannd it's gone again. Grrr! Must be something wrong with this particular recipe. I think it drinks itself when I'm not home. Can't explain the physics or fluid dynamics that seem to disproportionately negatively impact my Irish Red kegs. Maybe the beer molecules slowly cancel each other out? Looks like I'm going to have to rebrew.

 

[skunkfunk]

Brewed this 5/31/2014. Here's my notes.

1 oz kent goldings @ 60 minutes (instead of as listed at the beginning of thread.)
Yeast: 2 packets saflager w-34/70

OG: 1.057 FG 1.010 IBU: ~20 ABV: 6%

Fermented & pitched @ 48F, followed brulosopher's quick lagering schedule with the exception of 5 weeks of lagering @ 32F. Carbed to 3.1 volumes, I believe.

My tasting: I brewed this on request for an Irish red from my father and begrudgingly did so; however, this beer turned out quite excellent. Excellent enough in fact that for my first time I'm actually posting about it in case anybody else wants to brew it. It has a somewhat weak malty aroma, not a lot going on there. The beer tastes smooth and has a slightly roasty finish. Not sweet, but full body despite the low mash temp.

Jon's tasting: I had a friend of mine give a little feedback. Well-balanced beer, but nothing stands out as spectacular. Malty but without much of a finish. Chilled for 10 minutes in the freezer and it foamed over when opened, not much carbonation retained in the glass. Overall, it's beer.

 

[dokken5]

This recipe calls for four months of aging. What is aging? How is it done in kegs vs bottles? Been brewing for a few months now, and have not yet come across anyone aging their beer.

 

[rico567]

This recipe calls for four months of aging. What is aging? How is it done in kegs vs bottles? Been brewing for a few months now, and have not yet come across anyone aging their beer.

Aging is taking the fermented beer and racking it into a carboy or other suitable container, for whatever period is suitable. I have aged barleywines, for example, as these beers pretty much require it. I have made this beer, but never aged it. I see no point.

 

[pfgonzo]

I agree with Rico. I make this beer several times a year, and it's ready to drink pretty quick.

I just brewed up a slightly stronger version of this recipe on Jan 17. Stayed in primary for about 14 days, cold crashed for a few days, kegged, carbed for 2 weeks (I go the slow carb route), and as soon as it starts pouring clear, you're good to go. Last night's pint was perfect, about 30 days from brew day.

 

[shelly_belly]

I disagree. This recipe goes from great to amazing right at the 4 month mark. I've made it 4 times so far. It's one of my favorites and definitely worth the wait.

 

[dokken5]

I disagree. This recipe goes from great to amazing right at the 4 month mark. I've made it 4 times so far. It's one of my favorites and definitely worth the wait.

So do you use an airlock during aging?

 

[pfgonzo]

Dokken, if you keg, you're better off transferring it to your keg, venting the O2 out, and letting it age there. You can bottle it too, but bulk aging results in more consistent flavors throughout the batch.

Either option is better than leaving it in a secondary for 4 months with an airlock (you're better off with a solid rubber bung). Whatever liquid you use in the airlock will allow O2 in, and you risk oxidation. Yooper posted a link to a study showing how easily airlock liquid allows gas transfer, I'll see if I can dig it up.

[Edit] Found it! https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/why-my-beer-getting-darker-age-471951/index3.html#post6323341 Feel free to read the entire thread, because it's educational. Here's Yooper's quote:

Even with an airlock on, the Ideal Gas Law applies, and if there was headspace in the carboy- oxidation is likely.

I know people who aren't scientists talk about the 'co2 blanket' that magically covers the beer- but it is a myth. The laws of physics still apply. Long term in a carboy is fine- but it must have 0 headspace and even then small amounts of oxidation occur. Oxygen even comes through the water (or other liquid) in the airlock, and the airlocks themselves allow air in, as do the bungs. Read the results of this study, geared towards Better Bottles, but this part is about the bungs/closures and oxygen uptake: http://www.mocon.com/pdf/optech/Closures - Oxygen Passage Study.pdf

Winemakers do age long term in a carboy, but they use antioxidants at racking, as well as employ techniques like 0 headspace in carboys.

 

[dokken5]

I see. Thanks guys!! This recipe is next on my list. Just ordered my grains.

 

[BowAholic]

has anyone decided whether or not the 300L Roasted Barley is better than the 500L?
and...the yeast of choice is now British Ale II?
It would be awesome to hear the OP's thoughts on any changes he thinks makes this the best it can be after brewing it several times/ways...
thanks!
Bob

 

[lowtones84]

Thinking about brewing this. Not so sure about the Vienna component, I feel like I could get the effect by roasting some of the MO in the oven for about 15 minutes as it's not going to add much more color than MO, plus it just seems a little out of place for a UK beer.

Other than that it will be the same as the original, perhaps with a touch less roasted barley but a bit of melanoidin malt...that helps to get a reddish hue in my experience. And a clean ale yeast...so I guess a little different Still, looks like a great base idea!

 

[dokken5]

So I did this recipe, and I am ready to send it to the secondary. I got my lagering chamber done and am wanting to lager this, but I used US-05. Will that lager OK or am I just wasting my time?

 

[zamo27]

If I leave this in primary for 2 weeks, secondary with additional us-04 for 2 weeks
Then prime and bottle and leave for 2 months
Is that 3 moths like the OP suggests

 

[skunkfunk]

If I leave this in primary for 2 weeks, secondary with additional us-04 for 2 weeks
Then prime and bottle and leave for 2 months
Is that 3 moths like the OP suggests

What, why?

 

[zamo27]

It suggested to age this beer for 3 months before drinking and add us-04 to secondary for clearing the beer
So will my attempt be good enough

 

[skunkfunk]

It suggested to age this beer for 3 months before drinking and add us-04 to secondary for clearing the beer
So will my attempt be good enough

I'd say throw some gelatin in the primary and cold crash it to help that along. Shouldn't take 3 months.

Personally I lagered it a month without gelatin, and used w34/70 for the fermentation. Excellent beer.

Your way will probably work too. As is typical with brewing there's more than one way to skin the cat.

 

[johnodonovan]

I brewed a 10 gal batch of this. Took a corny to a bachelor party and it was a big hit One of my best brews to date. Thanks a lot for the recipe. It was definitely on the dark end of the style. Any suggestions on how to lighten up the color with minimal impact on that awesome roastiness at the end? Definitely brewing this one again!

 

[pfgonzo]

If you brewed it per the original recipe which calls for 12oz of 500L roasted barley, just back it off a little bit. I do 5-6 gallon batches and only use 2-3oz of roasted barley. In other words, I do half the recipe, but only use 1/3 to 1/4 of the roasted barley. You'd have to experiment to see how much color you extract on your system, but I'd start with dropping it to 6-7oz to see what you get.

It's a strong enough roast that the drop shouldn't impact the flavor in any significant way.

 

[johnodonovan]

Thanks! I think I did go heavy on the 500L. Will try your suggestion. I worry a bit because the flavor is perfect now. I'll do a taste test on both and report back (eventually)
Cheers!