Irish Red Ale

[vinnythering]

Hmm... I didn't think of it that way. I only put just over 3 oz of sugar. Well I guess it will have to do because there's really no going back!

 

[bottlebomber]

Hmm... I didn't think of it that way. I only put just over 3 oz of sugar. Well I guess it will have to do because there's really no going back!

I'm sure it's fine. If it came out super flat you could always get some Coopers carb tabs and drop some in each bottle, but that's no fun.

 

[vinnythering]

Ick that scares me. I'm insane with my sanitation and I would be afraid of both overcarbing and infection. I guess I could use a dropper and boil up a little more suger for each bottle? I don't mind the extra work but reds aren't really supposed to be very carbed so I guess it wouldn't really matter much would it? Either way I will figure it out and I will drink it regardless!!!

 

[bottlebomber]

Post the results just out of curiosity lol.. I've come close to doing what you did about 20 times but never actually done it

 

[billf2112]

I brew a lot of Irish Reds, Fuggles and Kent Golding. Willamette is actually a US strain taken from Fuggles. I have used both. There is just something something special about Fuggles for 60 and Kent Golding for 15-20.

 

[vinnythering]

Well it definitely isn't flat! Even after just a week in the bottle it is lighty carbed and everyone that tasted it loved it. The flavor isn't quite what I was going for but it is still very good. Its nutty and a little roasty. Next time I am going to bring up the malt flavor. I think I'm going to add more dark crystal malt. I like the roasty flavor so I'm not touching that. The color is good too. Altogether I am very pleased and I don't think these bottles will last long.

 

[bottlebomber]

It doesn't sound like it lol. Awesome!

 

[vinnythering]

After 4 months, this is still a favorite to everyone that drinks it and it only gets better. The reason they have lasted so long is that I love it so much that I refuse to share more than I need to! That said, I am running incredibly low and will probably brew this one up again soon. I probably won't change the recipe like I previously said I would, I think it is as good as it will get and I won't fix what isn't broken.

 

[vinnythering]

I'm finally getting around to re-brewing this on the 25th. I changed the recipe slightly to the following:

8.5 lb Maris Otter
8 oz Carared
4 oz Melanoiden
4 oz Special Roast
3 oz Black Roasted Barley

Mash at 154F.

Same hop schedule, same yeast.

Not drastically changed, but still a little different. Looking forward to this one!

 

[2xbrewing]

Hey I'm kind of new and I was looking at your recipe and when talking about the water what does "Decoct 5qt of water mean. Again I apologize if I'm an amateur and not getting it.

 

[bottlebomber]

Hey I'm kind of new and I was looking at your recipe and when talking about the water what does "Decoct 5qt of water mean. Again I apologize if I'm an amateur and not getting it.

It looks like he has done a mashout in a cooler mash tun by draining 5.5 quarts of wort, boiling it, and returning it to the mash tun to stop conversion. In my opinion this is an overly complicated mashing schedule, I would just do a single infusion mash and a batch sparge.

 

[vinnythering]

Yeah it was absolutely unnecessary. Don't do it. I'm making this again tomorrow and doing a single infusion.

 

[vinnythering]

Disasterous. I got my grain from a different LHBS than usual and their mill is too fine for my SS braid, which resulted in a SUPER slow sparge. It took almost an hour to drain out enough to begin my boil. Spills, missed temps, faulty timer, forgetfulness, ran out of propane, no ice, RAIN. At least I got my beer made and didn't break anything. I need to upgrade my system.

 

[bottlebomber]

Your efficiency was probably good at least

 

[vinnythering]

Actually, it was. I think BeerSmith calculated it at around 86%. I'm gonna change my equipment to handle this finer crush. False bottom maybe.

 

[vinnythering]

This has been in secondary for almost two weeks. I am going to keg this up probably on Thursday. It's looking pretty clear and I haven't had any issues since the brew day. Gravity before and after primary was 1.061 and 1.014, respectively (OG was 9 points higher than it should have been but SG after primary was right on target... weird). Looks and smells great, though.

 

[vinnythering]

Forgot to update this. The beer was great despite all the screw-ups. I entered it in the Hangar 24 homebrew competition. Didn't do well but I really liked the beer anyway. Turned out a little dark but was perfect for my palate.