Irish red ale

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Miraculix

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Morning folks!

I am having a bit of a hard time trying to find reliable information regarding directions towards an Irish red. Most of the sources are American and heavily biased by bjcp, which basically pinpoints them all to the same source of information, which might be wrong.

My idea is to keep things simple. Roast barley for the color, mo as a base and maybe 5% medium Crystal (if at all).

I read that there should not be too many esters involved so I thought about Nottingham.

Ibus in the direction of 28 with bittering addition only. Maybe a hint of saaz at flame out.

Does that sound ok? Any good sources for informations regarding Irish red?

Thanks!
M
 
I like Red ales. I suggest finding a recipe for any of those listed here: https://www.ratebeer.com/beerstyles/irish-ale/62/

I like https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/williams-brothers-red-40bottle41/30914/ which I can find at any time and tastes very good. Easy going, refreshing, good caramel, toffee, dark fruit, low esters.

Personally, I do not like Roasted barley in my reds. I like a blend of Maris Otter/Vienna with Low-medium Crystal malt and some Dark Crystal malt. Anywhere between 12 and 15 SRM.

Nottingham is OK, but it will dry it out too much. Nottingham, with relatively low amounts of Crystal malts, will simply attenuate too much, even when mashed at 158F/69C. Windsor might be a better option and I do like Windsor, if you treat it right: low mash temp., sugar in the boil, or if you go liquid, anything English from Wyeast, Imperial yeast, etc.
 
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I am having a bit of a hard time trying to find reliable information regarding directions towards an Irish red. Most of the sources are American and heavily biased by bjcp, which basically pinpoints them all to the same source of information, which might be wrong.

My idea is to keep things simple. Roast barley for the color, mo as a base and maybe 5% medium Crystal (if at all).

I read that there should not be too many esters involved so I thought about Nottingham.

Ibus in the direction of 28 with bittering addition only. Maybe a hint of saaz at flame out.

Does that sound ok? Any good sources for informations regarding Irish red?

Thanks!
M
Jackson's Beer Companion (1993 edition) has a pretty good descriptions of Smithwick's beers from that time, and it sounds like yours is on the right track for the all-malt export version. OG of 1.048. Drop the crystal, and use roasted barley to adjust to around 30 EBC/12° L. Bitterness is right, but stick with English hops (restrained for finishing -- should be malt-focused). He does mention a mild fruitiness, and maybe a hint of diacetyl.

For the draught version, he lists 1.036 OG, 20 IBU, 29 EBC, 77% pale malt, 20% corn syrup, 3% roasted barley.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

I just read through the 2015 bjcp guidelines and while being notoriously critical when it comes to bjcp, they look quite reasonable.

Your description would fit in @corax as a base malt and roast barley only version, which is supposed to be a historical version to omit the, back in the days, imported and expensive Crystal malts.

@thehaze yes, roasted barley in a red is certainly a question of personal taste. I never tried it myself and therefore try to stay true to the original style for which rb seems to be mandatory.

I think I will use mangrove jack liberty bell ale yeast. I got some here and need to use it anyway. It is also the yeast that mj sells with their Irish red kit and also the description of it fits the malt forward style. Lower attenuation than Nottingham, looks good!
 
I usually pass on the roasted barley or just use a couple of ounces, which gives the color but not much "roastiness". Lately, I use MO, med crystal, dark Crystal and melanoiden, which gives the red color and a bit of caramel. I've tried Notty and some others but like WLP004 Irish Ale best. The result leans toward the malty end of the scale just because that's where I like it. Not sure how it would be judged under BJCP rules.
 
Just to leave some final feedback. 2kg MO, 0.125 Crystal 60L, 0.22kg Oats, 0.22kg Spelt flour, 0.05 kg roasted barley. Magnum @60min for 19 IBUs. And some really low alpha Saaz as late additions (1.3g/l).

My english friends loved it. I like it too, although the yeast gives it some distinctive almond like flavour in the background, which I am not too happy with. Overall, very good.
 
just kegged an irish red, came out pretty good, little on the light side but still malty and crisp

i used MO, C20, and Roasted Barley - 12.1SRM. Willamette in the boil and Fuggle at flameout - 24IBU. WLP004 w/starter
 
For my reds, I like cararoma, carafoam, and melandoiden in the mix. I leave out the roasted barley. It’s been a hit every time. The color is fantastic. Good luck.
 
For my reds, I like cararoma, carafoam, and melandoiden in the mix. I leave out the roasted barley. It’s been a hit every time. The color is fantastic. Good luck.

That surely is a way to get a red, but it is not an irish red than. An Irish red relys on the roasted barley and its flavour.
 
I like your original recipe. It looks like it will do the trick. Let us know how it comes out.
I already did ;)


Just to leave some final feedback. 2kg MO, 0.125 Crystal 60L, 0.22kg Oats, 0.22kg Spelt flour, 0.05 kg roasted barley. Magnum @60min for 19 IBUs. And some really low alpha Saaz as late additions (1.3g/l).

My english friends loved it. I like it too, although the yeast gives it some distinctive almond like flavour in the background, which I am not too happy with. Overall, very good.
 
My Irish red ale is the only recipe that I repeatedly make the same every time.

Irish for a Day I.R.A
1.055 OG
5.5% ABV
25 IBU

72% MO
23% 2 row
4% roasted barley
1% C40

Mashed at ~152 and batch sparged.

17 IBU Fuggles @60
8 IBU Fuggles @ 10

1 rehydrated pack of safale 04....sometimes mix it up with Nottingham

10 days @63
4 days @70

Keg, and use gelatin to clearify. Usually let sit a week, tastes best after about two weeks in the keg.

Not sure how this would stack up to bjcp but its good enough for me.
0204181218a_HDR~2.jpg
 
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