NB's Irish Red tweak

[new2brew1221]

Planning on brewing the Irish Red and wandering if anyone has made any additions to this kit. The last kit I made was the Nut Brown, and I added 1/2 lb brown sugar at flame out but it is still not as flavorful as I would like. I was wandering if changing or adding to the hops would add to the flavor profile, or what changes would someone with more experience recommend.

 

[ChelisHubby]

What kind of a change or flavor are you looking for. I like scottish 80 shilling beers, with them you can add oatmeal for a slick taste or honey or honey malt . Some folks add different hops or bring it up to a IPA level. Sugars will tend to dry a beer out while upping the alcohol. If you want a richer beer try adding a lb of DME light or amber. This will give more alcohol also. Good luck!
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[new2brew1221]

Chelis, I'm just wanting to get more out of it, probably by using a different kind of hops. I do like the idea of adding DME to it also,

 

[ChelisHubby]

Add some DME to it and a small 1/2 ounce hop addition at 5 minutes left in the boil. It will be a stronger and hoppier beer. it should still be close to the original.

 

[Calder]

Planning on brewing the Irish Red and wandering if anyone has made any additions to this kit. The last kit I made was the Nut Brown, and I added 1/2 lb brown sugar at flame out but it is still not as flavorful as I would like. I was wandering if changing or adding to the hops would add to the flavor profile, or what changes would someone with more experience recommend.

Adding the sugar, probably reduced the flavor. You get a slight molasses flavor from brown sugar, but mostly it ferments completely, drying the beer out and making it 'thinner'. Residual sweetness helps some of the lower gravity beers out, giving them some fullness. Adding the sugar reduced the sweetness of the beer.

To get a little extra out of the brown, I would have suggested some Oats or flaked barley to make it fuller/creamier. For the red, I'd probably suggest making it maltier, using some aromatic or melanoiden malt. They really need to be mashed to get their full effect.

Someone mentioned honey malt. Ity will give you a pronounced honey flavor. Not sure it goes with a red. Personally, I really don't like Honey malt, I used a small amount in a couple of beers and it ruined them for me. You may like it, this may not be the beer to try it in.

 

[eadavis80]

I brewed the NB Irish Red as is and I liked it. However, I have found a way to brew the nut brown ale kit and make it noticeably better IMO. I added a pound of light DME in the beginning of the boil and a pound of honey at flameout. I got a really nice tasting brown ale which my friends really liked and it ended with 6.3% ABV. Good luck on the red.

 

[new2brew1221]

Thanks for the info Calder. I imagine that because I added the brown sugar, that is why the brown ale didn't have as much flavor as I would have liked. I think that this weekend when I brew the red ale, I will change the hop and add a pound of DME to increase the profile.

 

[fourhb]

I recently purchased the Midwest Supplies Irish Red. I think it will be a little light for my tastes, ending up at 4.5% ABV. I'm thinking about adding a pound of DME to the recipe, but don't know what type to add. Light, dark or something in between?

 

[GreenGoatee]

I did a batch of NB's Irish Red beginning of the year that I added an oz. of Wilamette at 10 minutes left. It is now bottled and in the frig finishing conditioning so I can soon let you know how that worked out.

 

[ChelisHubby]

I recently purchased the Midwest Supplies Irish Red. I think it will be a little light for my tastes, ending up at 4.5% ABV. I'm thinking about adding a pound of DME to the recipe, but don't know what type to add. Light, dark or something in between?

LIght would be fine