Red Ale Kit...anything else?

[manicorganik]

Hello all! First-time poster, second-batch brewer. The following is what I have in a Red Ale kit I'm going to cook up this week. The thing is, I don't want to get too crazy or anything, but I'd really like to make a damn-good beer. Is this going to cut it? Any suggestions on different timing for hops or hops or yeast that might enhance it a little more? I'm not so much stuck on tradition as I am flavor.

Also, I don't know what the "L" is after the numbers in the grain. Can someone explain a little about that to me? I've just started reading "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing," but I haven't gotten there yet.

Thanks all, love this forum!

Red Ale
MALT: 6lbs Pale Malt Extract
GRAIN: Crystal Malt 150 L, 1 lb
Belgium Special B Malt 190 L, .25 lb
Black Roasted Barley, .25 lb
HOPS: Mt. Hood, 1 oz boil
Cascade, 2 oz finish
YEAST: Safale S-04 dry

OG: 1.052
FG: 1.014
SRM: 26
IBU: 17
ABV: 5.2%

Thanks,
Manic

 

[ThePearsonFam]

The L is Lovibond. It is a measurement for how dark the grains are. The higher the L value, the darker the beer. There's Black Roasted Barlet and Roasted Barley. The black roasted has a strong flavor (stout-like) and an L value of ~550. The roasted variety is more 'roasty' with a less stout-like flavor and an L value of ~300. I'd use the .25 of the roasted, not black. I'd also use less of the Crystal 150 or a lighter version (maybe a Crystal 60L).

 

[frazier]

The "L" is for Lovibond which is a rating of color. The higher the number, the darker the color. From a flavor standpoint, the darker crystal malts will have a more pronounced caramellized flavor, sometimes described as raisiny, toasted, etc. You have some 150 and 190L malts in there, so they will add that flavor to the beer.

With the two ounces of Cascade hops added late in the boil, you will also have a bunch of hop flavor. It sounds good to me, but you're the one who has to decide. My suggestion would be to brew it "as is" (since really, it sounds pretty good!), and decide later how you might want to tweak it for the next go-round.

Cheers!

 

[manicorganik]

Thank you, you two. I really appreciate it. I didn't realize lovibond was about the color. I appreciate your suggestions entirely, but I'm going to go with Frazier and brew it as-is. Looking forward to making my own malt now, for sure. The next brew I'm doing is a gluten-free, so now that I know what the lovibond is, I'll be sure to be careful with my own buckwheat malt that I'm starting today.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Cheers