Simple dark mild recipe

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leedspointbrew

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This is the recipe for what was supposed to be an Irish red - the LHBS store owner steered me away from roasted barley, toward chocolate malt for some reason. The resultant beer was nothing like an Irish red, more like a brown ale; maybe even a dark mild.

Grain bill was :
5.5 lbs Crisp Maris
1 lbs Crystal 60
.25 Chocolate

Hop schedule is :
.75 oz Fuggles @ 60
.75 oz EKG @ 30

.75 tsp Irish Moss @ 15

I've since learned that Crystal 60 is not fermentable, so a pound is unnecessary. If anyone has any suggestions to improve the recipe which doesn't involve invert sugars (beyond my capabilities currently), input would be appreciated.
Thank you.
 
I've since learned that Crystal 60 is not fermentable, so a pound is unnecessary. If anyone has any suggestions to improve the recipe which doesn't involve invert sugars (beyond my capabilities currently), input would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Crystal 60 is very fermentable. It's generally about 10% less fermentable than most base malts. For a lot of English ales, it's common to have around 10% crystal malts, sometimes as much as 20% or 25% crystal malts.

I had to look it up, but this is from Briess:
Crystal malts can give increased body and reduced fermentability, but these effects really depend on caramel type and usage rate. The extract of crystal malts can be 10% (lighter) – 25% (darker) less fermentable than base malts. Though this is a significant percentage, because of normal usage rates, the effect is normally small. Consider that a 10% usage rate of low-color caramel would only reduce real fermentability by 1%. A dark caramel malt at this usage rate would be a more significant 2.5%, but this would be limited to dark beers by design. Reduced fermentability increases by a factor of 2.5 (10%-25%) across the caramel malt spectrum, but color, with Crystal Red, increases by a factor of 20. Thus, on an equal color basis, the dark crystals actually result in more fermentable worts than lighter caramels. Additionally, on an equal color basis, darker malts contribute less body and mouthfeel.
 
Crystal 60 is not fermentable ?

i also had to look it up as this is the second time this week i saw something about crystal malts not being fermentable. when you plug it into brewers friend it adds points. i know that doesnt mean much but it seems to bump my abv when i use it.
 
Thank you. I stand corrected. So then you'd say the ratio of 1 lb of C60 in this recipe is correct?
 
Thank you. I stand corrected. So then you'd say the ratio of 1 lb of C60 in this recipe is correct?
Those numbers come out to:

81.5% Maris Otter
15.8% Crystal 60L
3.7% Chocolate

The crystal is a bit on the high side, but it's not unusual for English ales to have more than 10%. Usually milds are a little under 10% crystal malt, though. I personally really like crystal, though, so I tend to use a decent amount of it in my English ales (for example, my recent brown ale was 9.1% Crystal 60L and 3% Crystal 150L for a total of 12.1% crystal malts - and for reference, this had an FG of 1.011). I've seen mild recipes with 15% crystal in them, so it's definitely not out there.
 
If anyone has any suggestions to improve the recipe which doesn't involve invert sugars (beyond my capabilities currently), input would be appreciated.
Your recipe seems decent. I was very happy with the malt bill in my last Irish Red (5 gallon batch). Keep in mind that Roasted Barley can vary in color between maltsters.

  • 8.2 lb Maris Otter Mash (91.1%)
  • 0.6 lb Crystal 40L (6.7%)
  • 0.2 lb Roasted Barley 480L (2.2%)
 
Those numbers come out to:

81.5% Maris Otter
15.8% Crystal 60L
3.7% Chocolate

The crystal is a bit on the high side, but it's not unusual for English ales to have more than 10%. Usually milds are a little under 10% crystal malt, though. I personally really like crystal, though, so I tend to use a decent amount of it in my English ales (for example, my recent brown ale was 9.1% Crystal 60L and 3% Crystal 150L for a total of 12.1% crystal malts - and for reference, this had an FG of 1.011). I've seen mild recipes with 15% crystal in them, so it's definitely not out there.
Are the two different Crystal malts for flavor and color, respectively? Crystal 150L must be pretty dark, hence the relatively small amount.
 
Are the two different Crystal malts for flavor and color, respectively? Crystal 150L must be pretty dark, hence the relatively small amount.
Although the number indicates how dark the crystal is, different crystals have different flavors. People often say that lighter crystal malts have flavors more like caramel, while darker crystal malts have flavors more like dried fruits, dark toffee, raisins, and so on.
 
Although the number indicates how dark the crystal is, different crystals have different flavors. People often say that lighter crystal malts have flavors more like caramel, while darker crystal malts have flavors more like dried fruits, dark toffee, raisins, and so on.
Interesting. Maybe I'll try a small amount of Crystal 150 instead of the chocolate malt. All 3 would be too much.
 
Interesting. Maybe I'll try a small amount of Crystal 150 instead of the chocolate malt. All 3 would be too much.
Chocolate malt color differs from maltster to maltster, but it's often around 350L, so the 150L of Crystal 150 is dark but nowhere near as dark. It is worth noting, of course, that the flavor of chocolate and Crystal 150L are quite different, but I think it'd go good in a dark mild.
 
If you want an Irish red, follow a simple recipe. Two to three percent roasted barley and the rest pale ale malt of your choice. 25 to 30 ibus noble hop, bittering addition only. Fermented with a very clean ale yeast.

Couldn't get much simpler tbh. You can add a dash of crystal malt (2-3%), but I would not.
 
For an Irish red, roasted barley would give you the right color and subtle roasted notes maybe swap the chocolate malt for 2 3 oz of roasted barley. Reducing the crystal to 0.5 lbs could also help balance the sweetness. Hope that helps!
 
This is the recipe for what was supposed to be an Irish red - the LHBS store owner steered me away from roasted barley, toward chocolate malt for some reason. The resultant beer was nothing like an Irish red, more like a brown ale; maybe even a dark mild.

Grain bill was :
5.5 lbs Crisp Maris
1 lbs Crystal 60
.25 Chocolate

Hop schedule is :
.75 oz Fuggles @ 60
.75 oz EKG @ 30

.75 tsp Irish Moss @ 15

I've since learned that Crystal 60 is not fermentable, so a pound is unnecessary. If anyone has any suggestions to improve the recipe which doesn't involve invert sugars (beyond my capabilities currently), input would be appreciated.
Thank you.
In UK you can use GOLDEN SYRUP as a substitute for invert sugar as it is partially inverted out of the bottle. I use it , works a treat.
 
Last edited:
Thinking of changing it up; decreasing Crystal overall, Crystal 60 slightly, adding some Crystal 80.

Grain bill will be :
5.75 lbs Crisp Maris
.5 lbs Crystal 60
.25 lbs Crystal 80
.25 Chocolate

Hop schedule is :
.75 oz Fuggles @ 60
.75 oz EKG @ 30

.75 tsp Irish Moss @ 15
 
It's also really easy to make yourself. Dissolve high quality unrefined sugar in water, add a dash of lemon juice, let it simmer for twenty minutes, done.
I need to try that some time. My most recent Bitter I added some Lyle's Golden Syrup at the end of the boil. It's good, but I'd like to try making some myself.
 

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