Irish Red Ale Raging Red Irish Red Ale

[cowboys703]

Has anyone tried adding Oak chips to toss recipe? I'm still fairly new to this and have been experimenting by splitting off a small portion of my batch and doing something like adding chocolate or vanilla to it. I was thinking about taking a gallon or 2 and adding some oak chips soaked in alcohol.

 

[jjeremy]

Has anyone tried adding Oak chips to toss recipe? ...

I like to age this on medium toast Hungarian oak, it comes out quite tasty!

I soak the oak in a good Irish whiskey for a couple days to sanitize. My supplier didn't have this variety in chips or cubes, it comes as a stick. One in a five gallon batch for a month or two gave a nice but subtle enhancement.


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[kad2371]

Just took my first post-fermentation hydro reading, my hydro sample was much more orange than the deep red I see in these pictures. OG was 1.055, FG (assuming it's done, which I need to confirm in a couple days) is 1.004. I did use Crystal 120 instead of Caraaroma, and Carapils in place of the Carafoam, both substitutions were mentioned earlier in this thread. Also used US-05 but I wouldn't think that would affect the color. Also seems like the FG is much lower than I expected. Don't think this will turn out competition worthy but should still taste good I think (though truthfully I don't have a lot of experience with figuring out final taste based on early samples, still pretty new to brewing), but do the Caraaroma and Carafoam make that much difference in the color as opposed to the Crystal and Carapils? Or is the color due to some other process issue? Crush? Efficiency?

 

[rbyount]

Brewed this for the second time. Gotta love this recipe - many thanks for sharing (my friends and family say thanks as well)!

 

[Mysticmead]

Just took my first post-fermentation hydro reading, my hydro sample was much more orange than the deep red I see in these pictures. OG was 1.055, FG (assuming it's done, which I need to confirm in a couple days) is 1.004. I did use Crystal 120 instead of Caraaroma, and Carapils in place of the Carafoam, both substitutions were mentioned earlier in this thread. Also used US-05 but I wouldn't think that would affect the color. Also seems like the FG is much lower than I expected. Don't think this will turn out competition worthy but should still taste good I think (though truthfully I don't have a lot of experience with figuring out final taste based on early samples, still pretty new to brewing), but do the Caraaroma and Carafoam make that much difference in the color as opposed to the Crystal and Carapils? Or is the color due to some other process issue? Crush? Efficiency?

the difference would be the crystal 120 instead of caraaroma.. carafoam and carapils are the same thing.

 

[newfiebrew]

Hi new brewer here and I was wondering if nottingham would give a similar result as I have no stir plate to make a starter? Want to make this my 4th batch !!

thanks.

Jamie.

 

[Mysticmead]

Hi new brewer here and I was wondering if nottingham would give a similar result as I have no stir plate to make a starter? Want to make this my 4th batch !!

thanks.

Jamie.

US-05 works great for this.. notty will work too but might leave it a little sweeter. If you already have the notty on hand use it. The beer will still turn out great. if you have purchased the yeast yeast, US-05

 

[newfiebrew]

Here's mine



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[tommyguner03]

made my third batch and somehow i keep forgetting the honey!! lol.. either way batch 1 and 2 turned out great. split 10 gallons and this time i decided to use 05 and 04.

 

[Mysticmead]

made my third batch and somehow i keep forgetting the honey!! lol.. either way batch 1 and 2 turned out great. split 10 gallons and this time i decided to use 05 and 04.

since the honey is really there just to boost the abv a little, leaving it, out as you have seen, still makes a damn good beer

 

[Shenanigans]

I brewed this about a year ago and it was a good beer but not as great as some of the reports on here. The only thing I did different was use Mt. Hood instead of Crystal but I really think I must have messed up in some other way as it was only my 4th batch. Now that I have more experience I'm going to give it another chance.

This was the one and only beer I used Caraaroma or Melanoiden for, maybe the flavour from one of these malts is just not my thing.

Another possibility is that I drank it all too quick - does this beer get much better with age?

 

[Mysticmead]

I brewed this about a year ago and it was a good beer but not as great as some of the reports on here. The only thing I did different was use Mt. Hood instead of Crystal but I really think I must have messed up in some other way as it was only my 4th batch. Now that I have more experience I'm going to give it another chance.

This was the one and only beer I used Caraaroma or Melanoiden for, maybe the flavour from one of these malts is just not my thing.

Another possibility is that I drank it all too quick - does this beer get much better with age?

it does age well... so maybe giving it a little extra time will help.

 

[dwoods]

Can't wait til after work to pour my 1st pint.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I brewed this about a year ago and it was a good beer but not as great as some of the reports on here. The only thing I did different was use Mt. Hood instead of Crystal but I really think I must have messed up in some other way as it was only my 4th batch. Now that I have more experience I'm going to give it another chance.

This was the one and only beer I used Caraaroma or Melanoiden for, maybe the flavour from one of these malts is just not my thing.

Another possibility is that I drank it all too quick - does this beer get much better with age?

Yes, Irish Reds do get better with age. 2-3 months is a good target to shoot for in my opinion. I like to brew batches of Irish Red in mid December so it'll be ready around St. Patrick's Day.

 

[timcadieux]

I leave out the honey all time, no issues at all

 

[MollyHatchet]

Yes, Irish Reds do get better with age. 2-3 months is a good target to shoot for in my opinion. I like to brew batches of Irish Red in mid December so it'll be ready around St. Patrick's Day.

I believe I read in this thread that someone aged this beer for four months and it was really good. I brewed this about two months ago and I am bulk aging it for an up coming family event in about eight weeks, so I'll post an up date with a picture when I get there.


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[Toilet Rocker]

This is my next batch, sans the honey. I'll post a review. Thanks for the recipe!

 

[brewbama]

This is on my to do in Dec for St Pat's 2015.


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[LandoLincoln]

This is my next batch, sans the honey. I'll post a review. Thanks for the recipe!

I think the honey is the key to getting a really red beer with the OG that is typical for the style.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

I think the honey is the key to getting a really red beer with the OG that is typical for the style.

Good point. Perhaps a game time decision...

BTW, love the Lando

 

[Mysticmead]

I think the honey is the key to getting a really red beer with the OG that is typical for the style.

the caraaroma and melanoidin malts provide the color as well as malty aroma. Trust me.. I added the honey as a simple ABV boost; 1lb of honey won't add to the color and very little if any flavor. In fact, the boost in abv actually pushed it to the very upper edge of the BJCP guidelines. Leaving it out will make a slightly lower ABV version. Adding it gets about 1% higher ABV

caraaroma: Very dark caramel malt with aromatic properties. Adds deep red color and aroma.

melanoidin: Red colored malt that improved head retention and stability. Used in red lagers, ales, dark beers. Intense red color and malty aroma.

 

[LandoLincoln]

the caraaroma and melanoidin malts provide the color as well as malty aroma. Trust me.. I added the honey as a simple ABV boost; 1lb of honey won't add to the color and very little if any flavor. In fact, the boost in abv actually pushed it to the very upper edge of the BJCP guidelines. Leaving it out will make a slightly lower ABV version. Adding it gets about 1% higher ABV

caraaroma: Very dark caramel malt with aromatic properties. Adds deep red color and aroma.

melanoidin: Red colored malt that improved head retention and stability. Used in red lagers, ales, dark beers. Intense red color and malty aroma.

What I'm saying is, if you drop the honey but still want to keep the OG of the original recipe, you're going to have to add more base malt, and if you do that, you're going to dilute the deep redness. It'll still probably be red, but more of a brownish red.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

I would be comfortable falling a few points below the SG that mystic hit due to omission of honey. I think I can approach a similar color as well, not necessarily a match.

 

[jmac93]

Just brewed this on Saturday, 11gallons. Differences: Nottingham, by mistake added the honey at the beginning of the boil and 2oz of Hallertaurer at 60m and 1.5oz of Willamette at 30m. Gravity was a little off, but we will see how it turns out.

 

[Doed]

So this summer I have decided to re-try two recipes that I had made in the past but messed them up so bad that they had to be dumped, this recipe was one. Originally I let the mashed wort sit overnight and cool off before I boiled it the next day. This caused something very bad to happen and the aroma on that batch was so bad that it made me gag and I had to eventually dump it because I just couldn't get past the smell.

Fast forward to this past Sunday. This time big difference. My processes have improved over the years and I have eliminated stupid mistakes. The wort smelled wonderful. I only added 1/2 pound of honey since that is all I had on hand and I used rehydrated US-05. This morning I checked and the yeast are still chewing away.

I am positive that this is going to turn out great this time around.

 

[Mysticmead]

So this summer I have decided to re-try two recipes that I had made in the past but messed them up so bad that they had to be dumped, this recipe was one. Originally I let the mashed wort sit overnight and cool off before I boiled it the next day. This caused something very bad to happen and the aroma on that batch was so bad that it made me gag and I had to eventually dump it because I just couldn't get past the smell.

Fast forward to this past Sunday. This time big difference. My processes have improved over the years and I have eliminated stupid mistakes. The wort smelled wonderful. I only added 1/2 pound of honey since that is all I had on hand and I used rehydrated US-05. This morning I checked and the yeast are still chewing away.

I am positive that this is going to turn out great this time around.

glad ya gave this another shot. you won't be disappointed

 

[Mysticmead]

Just brewed this on Saturday, 11gallons. Differences: Nottingham, by mistake added the honey at the beginning of the boil and 2oz of Hallertaurer at 60m and 1.5oz of Willamette at 30m. Gravity was a little off, but we will see how it turns out.

you'll still make a great beer. this recipe is very forgiving. Notty is a good alternative yeast. Not as clean as US-05 or WLP-001 but still a good choice. adding the honey at the beginning of boil isn't a big deal and the hops are fine too.

 

[iglehart]

Question, I have 55 lbs of munich II. What difference in this recipe will it make if I substitue munich II for the base male?

Thanks in advance.

 

[iglehart]

I also dont have white labs, what is the equivalent wyeast?

 

[Mysticmead]

Question, I have 55 lbs of munich II. What difference in this recipe will it make if I substitue munich II for the base male?

Thanks in advance.

it would be a completely different beer and not even close to an Irish red. Although a 100% Munich does make a great red lager as well as an american amber of hopped aggressively