Irish Red

[pryornfld]

My first attempt at a Red Ale. Decided to go with an Irish Red. Little darker than what I was going for but tastes awesome!!

 

[Sammy86]

Looks more like a brown but hey, as long as it tastes good!

 

[pryornfld]

Yea it is..but from what I read its color comes from the hops. I should have went with an American Red Ale which uses a different hop..oh well!! Live,learn,drink and move on!!

 

[camonick]

Color comes almost exclusively from the grains.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

Looks like a Dunkels or a Schwarzbier.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Yea it is..but from what I read its color comes from the hops. I should have went with an American Red Ale which uses a different hop..oh well!! Live,learn,drink and move on!!

I am not sure if you brewed this with extract or all grain, or your recipe vs a kit...but I have gotten the best red color from just a small amount of a Roasted Barley (about 3-4 oz in a 5 gallon batch). Some medium colored grains give a bit more brown colors. There are a few grains geared toward giving a red color (Red X is one that comes to mind), but I have not tried them myself.

Glad that it tastes awesome!!

 

[Oleson M.D.]

You can go as high as 4 oz in 5 gallons with the roasted barley, 300* L.
It will give you that nice red color, and just a hint of roast character.

 

[BrewBerg]

My first Irish Red attempt looked like that too! You learn really quickly that a little bit goes a long way.

Keep that recipe and adjust your malt profile to nail it next time! Just like Oleson said, you can use a little roasted barley to get the color you're looking for without pumping it full of caramel/crystal malts.

Good luck, keep it up!

 

[pryornfld]

I am not sure if you brewed this with extract or all grain, or your recipe vs a kit...but I have gotten the best red color from just a small amount of a Roasted Barley (about 3-4 oz in a 5 gallon batch). Some medium colored grains give a bit more brown colors. There are a few grains geared toward giving a red color (Red X is one that comes to mind), but I have not tried them myself.

Glad that it tastes awesome!!

I used the recipe from Mangrove Jack which says to use a malt extract

I am not sure if you brewed this with extract or all grain, or your recipe vs a kit...but I have gotten the best red color from just a small amount of a Roasted Barley (about 3-4 oz in a 5 gallon batch). Some medium colored grains give a bit more brown colors. There are a few grains geared toward giving a red color (Red X is one that comes to mind), but I have not tried them myself.

Glad that it tastes awesome!!

 

[Kickass]

from what I read its color comes from the hops

Maybe a misspeak or bad source of info but hops don’t directly contribute color like you’re experiencing.

Lots of hops in a light colored beer that’s oxidized can cause beautiful golden and straw to turn murky and light brown/purple.

Your color is likely from aged or scorched malt extract.

 

[chthon]

Something everybody should know about Irish Red beer

 

[Miraculix]

I am not sure if you brewed this with extract or all grain, or your recipe vs a kit...but I have gotten the best red color from just a small amount of a Roasted Barley (about 3-4 oz in a 5 gallon batch). Some medium colored grains give a bit more brown colors. There are a few grains geared toward giving a red color (Red X is one that comes to mind), but I have not tried them myself.

Glad that it tastes awesome!!

Give red X a try! Nice single malt beer, pretty much the reddest red you can get from malt. Just as good as roasted barley, but with zero roast and loads of other flavours.

 

[pryornfld]

Something everybody should know about Irish Red beer

What is it everyone should know about Irish Red?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Give red X a try! Nice single malt beer, pretty much the reddest red you can get from malt. Just as good as roasted barley, but with zero roast and loads of other flavours.

To me, that touch of roast character is what makes the beer an Irish Red, vs just a Red colored beer.

 

[Miraculix]

To me, that touch of roast character is what makes the beer an Irish Red, vs just a Red colored beer.

You're absolutely correct. Me praising the red x was more referring to ARA and the like, maybe it would have been clearer if I would have not only thought that but also expressed that in written form .

 

[CascadesBrewer]

What is it everyone should know about Irish Red?

Killian's was one of my gateway beers into "good" beer. The last time I had one, well I guess my tastes have changed! I am not too surprised that the story behind the beer was mostly a marketing gimmick from Coors.

I did not fully digest the entire article, but it does point at some historic references to beers made in Ireland with a red hue. I always thought there was some historic connection between the use of Roasted Barley in Stouts in Ireland due to tax laws and the use of Roasted Barley to add color to Irish Reds...but yeah, Beer History and Style Guidelines are often more fantasy than reality, especially when trying to capture 200+ years of brewing across numerous breweries into a single style description.

I should add an Irish Red to my schedule as it has been a few years. I wonder what dry yeast would be a good fit. Maybe Nottingham?

 

[Miraculix]

Killian's was one of my gateway beers into "good" beer. The last time I had one, well I guess my tastes have changed! I am not too surprised that the story behind the beer was mostly a marketing gimmick from Coors.

I did not fully digest the entire article, but it does point at some historic references to beers made in Ireland with a red hue. I always thought there was some historic connection between the use of Roasted Barley in Stouts in Ireland due to tax laws and the use of Roasted Barley to add color to Irish Reds...but yeah, Beer History and Style Guidelines are often more fantasy than reality, especially when trying to capture 200+ years of brewing across numerous breweries into a single style description.

I should add an Irish Red to my schedule as it has been a few years. I wonder what dry yeast would be a good fit. Maybe Nottingham?

I made my last one with mj liberty bell and it was a nice beer but notty should be fine as well.

 

[estricklin]

Nice job. You know what style the color reminds me of? EffinDelicious!

 

[Oleson M.D.]

I should add an Irish Red to my schedule as it has been a few years. I wonder what dry yeast would be a good fit. Maybe Nottingham?

Here is what we did, a 10 gallon split batch. Two different yeasts.
1. Diamond Lager
2. S-04 London Ale

Fermented at 62F. The results were spectacular!

The Diamond maintained it's lager like flavor, even fermented at typical Ale temps.

Both of these beers are very good. Entered these in a regional contest, the Dixie Cup.

 

[pryornfld]

Give red X a try! Nice single malt beer, pretty much the reddest red you can get from malt. Just as good as roasted barley, but with zero roast and loads of other flavours.

To me, that touch of roast character is what makes the beer an Irish Red, vs just a Red colored be

Nice job. You know what style the color reminds me of? EffinDelicious!

It tastes deadly!!

I made my last one with mj liberty bell and it was a nice beer but notty should be fine as well.

It is an awsome beer. Just was surprised with the colour

 

[pryornfld]

Maybe a misspeak or bad source of info but hops don’t directly contribute color like you’re experiencing.

Lots of hops in a light colored beer that’s oxidized can cause beautiful golden and straw to turn murky and light brown/purple.

Your color is likely from aged or scorched malt extract.

You are right. I was told after it was the liquid malt I had added

 

[bloombrews]

Give red X a try! Nice single malt beer, pretty much the reddest red you can get from malt. Just as good as roasted barley, but with zero roast and loads of other flavours.

I just came across this BEST Red X® Malt - BestMalz, that says you can use it at 100%?
I am trying to clone a very delicious Red Oak Amber Lager, from Red Oak Brewery NC
Has anyone used this before, and at 100% ?? I see morebeer.com has it in stock and want to get a 25Kg sack if I can use it at 100%, or smaller if I should use as a fraction percentage

 

[Miraculix]

I just came across this BEST Red X® Malt - BestMalz, that says you can use it at 100%?
I am trying to clone a very delicious Red Oak Amber Lager, from Red Oak Brewery NC
Has anyone used this before, and at 100% ?? I see morebeer.com has it in stock and want to get a 25Kg sack if I can use it at 100%, or smaller if I should use as a fraction percentage

Up to an OG of about 1.05 it is best used alone as the only make in the grain bill. If you want a stronger beer, is better to add pilsner or pale malt to make up the missing gravity above 1.05. red X is pretty flavourfull in its own, so you do not need anything to get some additional character into the beer.

I've brewed quite a few single malt beers with it myself.

 

[bloombrews]

Up to an OG of about 1.05 it is best used alone as the only make in the grain bill. If you want a stronger beer, is better to add pilsner or pale malt to make up the missing gravity above 1.05. red X is pretty flavourfull in its own, so you do not need anything to get some additional character into the beer.

I've brewed quite a few single malt beers with it myself.

I reached out to Red Oak Brewery by email today to see if they would share there recipe with me....
I am just wondering how using this 100%, versus a beer that has crystal malt in it, to get a true red lager beer?
Thanks for your quick reply. I will be brewing this soon, and need to hammer out the recipe asap!

 

[Miraculix]

I reached out to Red Oak Brewery by email today to see if they would share there recipe with me....
I am just wondering how using this 100%, versus a beer that has crystal malt in it, to get a true red lager beer?
Thanks for your quick reply. I will be brewing this soon, and need to hammer out the recipe asap!

To me, red X tastes a bit like crystal in its own way. So you won't be missing crystal character in there. Red X has a fuller flavour than a "normal" base malt.

 

[patto1ro]

Killian's was one of my gateway beers into "good" beer. The last time I had one, well I guess my tastes have changed! I am not too surprised that the story behind the beer was mostly a marketing gimmick from Coors.

I did not fully digest the entire article, but it does point at some historic references to beers made in Ireland with a red hue. I always thought there was some historic connection between the use of Roasted Barley in Stouts in Ireland due to tax laws and the use of Roasted Barley to add color to Irish Reds...but yeah, Beer History and Style Guidelines are often more fantasy than reality, especially when trying to capture 200+ years of brewing across numerous breweries into a single style description.

I should add an Irish Red to my schedule as it has been a few years. I wonder what dry yeast would be a good fit. Maybe Nottingham?

The use of roast barley in Irish Stout has nothing to do with tax laws. Before 1880 it was simply illegal to use unmalted grains.

Of the Irish brewing records I have, Guinness is the only one to use roast barley in anything. Perry coloured their Pale Ale - which is what Irish Red Ales are - with a tiny amount of black malt.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I should add an Irish Red to my schedule as it has been a few years. I wonder what dry yeast would be a good fit. Maybe Nottingham?

I will add that I did brew an Irish Red. I was a bit late for St. Paddy's day (I kegged it on that Friday). I had a pack of Imperial Darkness to put to use. I went with 91% Maris Otter, 6.7% Crystal 40, and 2.2% Roasted Barley. It turned out a bit too dark and rather brown. The pre-fermentation gravity sample was a dark ruby red color. Hopefully with a little more time in the keg it will look better.

The use of roast barley in Irish Stout has nothing to do with tax laws. Before 1880 it was simply illegal to use unmalted grains.

I am sure you are a much better source of truth than what every stories are told at the brewery tour. Keep up the good work!

 

[BeerHolic]

I always use 1 - 2% roasted barley in a Irish red.