I just made an Irish red that I colored with chocolate rye and Simpsons DRC. (I♥DRC.) No roast astringency, very nice taste, 5 stars, would brew again.
Putting the red into an amber ale
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How does DRC compare with special B?
It’s got some of the same plum/raisin notes. It is roasted, so you get some burnt sugar goodness, but it’s not roasted enough to go bitter or astringent the way black barleys can be. I personally find Special B a little overpowering, and think that DRC shows more restraint. But that’s me.
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I've got 7~8 lbs Red-X laying around in the leftovers bin, as well as some Fuggles and EKG with a year or two in the freezer, unopened. Thinking I'll do a ragout adjusting gravity with M.O. or Golden Promise. I can't remember how much diastatic power Red-X has, if it will self-convert itself and a little carared (also a bit past it's due date). At least the color should be pretty. Anybody got some good suggestions?
According to their web page, red X is about 60 degrees Lintner, so self conversion and then some. Kind of like a light Munich.
Yes, it will convert, probably also some adjuncts or crystal as well.
I wouldn't add crystal though, as red X is quite rich, sweet on it's own already. If anything, I would add pale malt if I would want to upp the gravity above 1.05 because above that, the colour tends to shift into a brown when using red X only.
White wheat is good for this too.
Here’s 92% English pale, and 4% each chocolate rye and DRC. K97 yeast. Very happy with how it turned out (though maybe a little dark on color.)
I usually use a pound or less in a 10 gallon batch for an orangy/reddish hue, so probably 8 oz in 5 gallons. You don’t want too much of the sweetness there.
I've used active red and really like it.
