Red Ale Joined the Dark Side?

[Kotten Brewery]

Hi first time brewing an Irish red ale.

I am not sure if the dark malt was a too high % in the grain bill or too little.

Recipe:

https://share.brewfather.app/JidkUq2X0wypBR
Brewed on a braumeister 50 liter.

My question should add more or less of the black malt on the next batch?

 

[Miraculix]

Whatever you prefer taste-wise. It is a bit on the dark side but still looks good to me.

 

[Kotten Brewery]

Whatever you prefer taste-wise. It is a bit on the dark side but still looks good to me.

Flavor and mouth feel is spot on! Happy with it. But I am missing the redness.

Not sure if it is just transitioning into red from Amber or leaving red towards brown.

 

[Miraculix]

Irish red gets it's colour only from roasted barley, and that's pretty much as red as it can get. Did you use anything else?

 

[Kotten Brewery]

Irish red gets it's colour only from roasted barley, and that's pretty much as red as it can get. Did you use anything else?

Does the link to the recipe not work?

I used carared. And some biscuit malts.

 

[Miraculix]

Sorry, missed that link. Red X is completely red when used as a base malt in about 5% abv beers. It doesn't give you much colour at 5% of the grist though. I wouldn't recommend it for an Irish red anyway, as it doesn't fit taste wise, if you ask me.

For my liking your recipe includes way too many malts. Next time, use base malt and a little bit of roasted barley or black malt. Nothing else. If you really want, add a few percent medium crystal, but I wouldn't.

 

[JaxBrewerSahti]

Looks like a brown ale. I tend to gravitate to lower srm malts. Perhaps 1 lb crystal 80 and 1/2 lb crystal 40, or get some roast malt in there with Maris otter

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I am not sure if the dark malt was a too high % in the grain bill or too little.

I am assuming that the pictures you posted are of the same beer. If not, disregard the rest of this post.

In the three photos, I see a red beer that is a little cloudy. With my cloudy red beers, the color tends to go from red to brown.

I'm currently enjoying a last of the season craft "winter ale". The beer is clear, so the color goes from red (with sunlight in the background) to black (when there is no sunlight in the background).

The "magic" is getting the beer to be clear in the glass.

If I were to brew an Irish Red (or Vienna Lager), I would follow @Miraculix 's suggestion (see #6): base malt, perhaps some crystal for flavor, and dark malt (roasted barley) for color.

For me, the best American amber ales follow a similar approach for the grain bill: base malt + 1 crystal malt for flavor + 1 dark malt for color.

 

[beren]

Irish Red Ale - Irish Red (1st place HBT comp) Is quite good but depending on the roasted barley is on the darker side. The flavors do meld very well after a few months.

 

[G_robertus]

Looks fine for a red that hasn't cleared completely or is placed in a dark setting (the latter two photos). Mine look like that depending on the yeast, age and lighting too. They clear up and turn much more red with some age. Still, I brew mine on the darker end of the spectrum as well. I do agree with keeping the grain bill simple. Base malt and roasted grains are a great place to start, but caramel can add flavour or complexity. You could even add flaked barley if you're looking to brew something more akin to Kilkenny, but that's a personal preference.

 

[AmarikinBrew]

Does the link to the recipe not work?

I used carared. And some biscuit malts.

Well, how about a taste report???