# Red Ale Recipe



## gethrog (1/6/10)

Haven't been on the forum for a while. I am looking to do a red ale tomorroew with my son who has just arrivede up home. Anyone have a good recipe, that I can dial into beersmith. Partial or all grain will do the trick?


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## NickB (1/6/10)

humpys dad said:


> Haven't been on the forum for a while. I am looking to do a red ale tomorroew with my son who has just arrivede up home. Anyone have a good recipe, that I can dial into beersmith. Partial or all grain will do the trick?




Will be doing this as my next beer. Looks like a great recipe!

Cheers


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## manticle (1/6/10)

I have tasted other brewers' versions of the recipe linked by Nick and I have brewed it myself. Cracker of a beer- it is in fact the ONLY recipe of anyone else's I have ever brewed (normally make up my own) and I would/will do it again.


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## Screwtop (1/6/10)

Not a Fcuking Irish Red, more a new age Red Ale.

Screwys Red Ale


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## hazard (1/6/10)

Not a Fcuking Irish Red, more a new age Red Ale.

Screwy - seen this quote before - and stillgot no idea of your actual point. Please explain.


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## Screwtop (2/6/10)

hazard said:


> Not a Fcuking Irish Red, more a new age Red Ale.
> 
> Screwy - seen this quote before - and stillgot no idea of your actual point. Please explain.




You're kidding right? 

Amarillo  :lol:

Screwy


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## hazard (2/6/10)

Screwtop said:


> You're kidding right?
> 
> Amarillo  :lol:
> 
> Screwy


Oh I see - got it now. 

But how did you go for colour? I've been tring to make a red ale for some time, each of my 3 attempts have come out too dark - thiough tasty all the same. I've tried a few commercial brews and they are more brown than red, but if yours is red rather than brown I can play around with hops to make it Irish, nerw age or whatever - say, if I use POR then it must be an Aussie Red!!


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## Dazza_devil (2/6/10)

hazard said:


> Oh I see - got it now.
> 
> - say, if I use POR then it must be an Aussie Red!!



-or Cluster perhaps with no late hop additions and some recultured Coopers yeast.


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## Fatgodzilla (2/6/10)

hazard said:


> Oh I see - got it now.
> 
> But how did you go for colour? I've been tring to make a red ale for some time, each of my 3 attempts have come out too dark - thiough tasty all the same. I've tried a few commercial brews and they are more brown than red, but if yours is red rather than brown I can play around with hops to make it Irish, nerw age or whatever - say, if I use POR then it must be an Aussie Red!!



I spent a bit of time playing around with the "Better Red Than Dead" recipe lifted straight from Zymurgy as did Chappo and Manticle. I found you won't get a "red beer" with the emphasis on red - (no scarlet colours here) - it will always be brown with a red hue - like a dirty crimson? Anyway, hold the beer to the light, it will look reddish. The carared, munich 1 and the roast barley adds the reddish bits, so too much roast will darken the colour. I've cut back the roast to almost nil and subbed caramunichII and melanoidon malt with similiar colours, but with more "malt" flavour. The yeast is important - used Wyeast Irish & Whitelabs Edinburgh with similiar results. when I used US-05 it was a poor choice - the beer seemed not to have the same malt complexity. I have a brew down now using Whitelabs German Ale which also is recommended for this style.

So, don't go looking for a "red" colour that you cannot achieve (I've searched for that Holy Grail and found it only by adding food colouring)

And I am with Screwy and don't like the term "Irish Red" but it is all the recipe databases have. I call mine a red ale and in a sise to side comparison with Kilkenney (from the can) my brews shit all over the commercial in flavour.

Good brewing


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## Bribie G (2/6/10)

I like the look of Fatzs recipe as posted, but would sub both the roast barley and the crystal with Caraaroma. Now that's red for you, and don't be stingy with it - I used 250 Caraaroma and 150 Carared. Next time I do it I'm thinking along the lines of 500 Caraaroma only. :beerbang: And yes use the Irish yeast. 

recycled photo:


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## Fourstar (2/6/10)

Fatgodzilla said:


> I spent a bit of time playing around with the "Better Red Than Dead" recipe lifted straight from Zymurgy as did Chappo and Manticle. I found you won't get a "red beer" with the emphasis on red - (no scarlet colours here) - it will always be brown with a red hue - like a dirty crimson? Anyway, hold the beer to the light, it will look reddish. The carared, munich 1 and the roast barley adds the reddish bits, so too much roast will darken the colour. I've cut back the roast to almost nil and subbed caramunichII and melanoidon malt with similiar colours, but with more "malt" flavour. The yeast is important - used Wyeast Irish & Whitelabs Edinburgh with similiar results. when I used US-05 it was a poor choice - the beer seemed not to have the same malt complexity. I have a brew down now using Whitelabs German Ale which also is recommended for this style.
> 
> So, don't go looking for a "red" colour that you cannot achieve (I've searched for that Holy Grail and found it only by adding food colouring)
> 
> ...




Hey Fatgodzilla, 

If you want some good info on trying to get your colours right, especially the ellusive 'red', have a look at the briess website. They have a slidepack on the effect of base/roasted malts/crystal malts on colours with vial examples. With crystal you get oranges and coppers, with roast you get mahogany and browns to black. If you use roast barley to get to around 12-14 SRM~ (from what ive estimated and trialed) and then do your thing with your crystals (but keep them restrained), you get pretty close. But as you said, if you are looking for ruby red its not going to happen.

Anyway, this recipe of mine below got second place in the British Ales comp recently. The only adjustment i'd make is drop the RB back to around 1.5% of the total grist. When i wrote up the recipe i accidently selected the wrong RB in beersmith that was a lower SRM than JW RB. Consequently i used a little too much and the colour was out. If you use around 70-100g you should get quite close to the colour.

Oh, as for it being like kilkenny? Not even close. Altough, it wasnt meant to be. :icon_cheers: 

Red Ale
Irish Red Ale

Type: All Grain
Date: 14/02/2010
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Brewer: Braden
Boil Size: 30.90
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My Brew Pot (40L) and Frosty Cooler (38L)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.0

Ingredients
4.50 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) (1.7 SRM) Grain 82.3 %
0.20 kg Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 3.7 %
0.20 kg Carafoam (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.7 %
0.20 kg Caramalt (Joe White) (17.3 SRM) Grain 3.7 %
0.20 kg Crystal (Joe White) (34.2 SRM) Grain 3.7 %
0.17 kg Roasted Barley (Joe White) (412.9 SRM) Grain 3.1 %
10.00 gm Magnum [12.10%] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 14.9 IBU
15.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (60 min) Hops 8.4 IBU
2.00 gm Chalk (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
5.00 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.9 %
Bitterness: 23.2 IBU
Est Color: 16.7 SRM

Mash Profile
Mash In Add 15.57 L of water at 73.0 C 67.0 C 60 min
Mash Out Add 10.38 L of water at 83.2 C 73.0 C 10 min


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## Fourstar (2/6/10)

Oh,

here is a pic of how mine tunred out (although not the best for its colour representation). You can see the ruby highlights on the edges, its jut the colour is pushing brown and it doesnt have enough light penetration. If you wind that rost back a tad, you will have a deep mahogany with more of a maroon appearance. Unfortuantly to get to see 'red', the darker the beer has to be, and the more it starts looking brown. its a very fine line.

This beer looked awesome in a tasting glass. had some deep mahoganys and maroon colours. Pop it in a pint/pot, a little lackluster on the eyes.

Genuine 4* recycled photo! :lol:


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## Fatgodzilla (2/6/10)

> ='Fourstar' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:43 AM' post='638411']
> 
> Oh, as for it being like kilkenny? Not even close. Altough, it wasnt meant to be. :icon_cheers:



Got most of that stuff Fourstar so will try your recipe this afternoon. Don't have a high alpha hop like Magnum but will adjust for that. I'll see if Challenger is a sub.

I actually won't drink Kilkenney Red on tap now (unless someone twists my arm or there is nothing else to drink) because it tastes pretty second rate compared to what I have done. I start telling people around me and they reckon I become a beer snob. Me !!!!


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## Dazza_devil (2/6/10)

Don't forget to give my Red Ned recipe in the database a squizz, it came first when selecting a beer over all the others in my fridge numerous times. It was delicious, like 4*'s very brown and I would also knock back the RB a bit next time.
Just looking at the style guidelines, and an Irish Red is a Brown Ale after all, stated for appearance is 'amber to deep reddish copper' so mine failed on that count but it wasn't lacking in any other department which is of more importance when I'm the only person drinking it and it's not out to win medals. 
That Irish yeast is somethin' else.


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## Fourstar (2/6/10)

Fatgodzilla said:


> Got most of that stuff Fourstar so will try your recipe this afternoon. Don't have a high alpha hop like Magnum but will adjust for that. I'll see if Challenger is a sub.
> 
> I actually won't drink Kilkenney Red on tap now (unless someone twists my arm or there is nothing else to drink) because it tastes pretty second rate compared to what I have done. I start telling people around me and they reckon I become a beer snob. Me !!!!



Unfortuante as it might be, Kilkenny is the poster boy for Irish Reds although i dont think it fully fits the style (atleast the BJCP guidelines anyway).

So yeah, just remember to drop the roast barley a tad on this recipe. 1.5% of the grist i think should be close to spot on. I used magnum as its my high alpha hop of choice, challenger would be a good sub or just go all EKG. :icon_cheers:


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## Dazza_devil (2/6/10)

Fourstar said:


> I used magnum as its my high alpha hop of choice, challenger would be a good sub or just go all EKG. :icon_cheers:



Fuggles :beerbang:


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## Fatgodzilla (2/6/10)

Boagsy said:


> Fuggles :beerbang:




What I like about your ingredients Boagsy is a kit brewer could add the crystal/roast to a standard can and add Fuggles at the end to produce a similiar style of beer (rather than the unhopped malted extract). It won't be a world beater but should improve a kit beer immeasurably.

The other good point made is that all my red ales need a longer than normal maturity time. Several months in a bottle or at least a month in the keg before it tasted its best. If a kit brewer does one, leave it for quite a few months. And yes, it does need the right yeast to be shown to its full potential.


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## argon (2/6/10)

Here's one i have on tap right now... the colour is spot on for me... deep amber

malty toasty aroma with just a little caramel sweetness when it warms up a touch... definitely a malt oriented beer 
It's a little bit of blend of Jamil's Irish Red and a bit of my own research

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Irish Red
Brewer: Argon
Asst Brewer: 
Style: Irish Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 38.00 L 
Boil Size: 42.40 L
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 14.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 27.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
8.30 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 92.22 % 
0.25 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2.78 % 
0.25 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2.78 % 
0.20 kg Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2.22 % 
90.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min) Hops 27.2 IBU 


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 9.00 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp 
60 min Mash In Add 23.47 L of water at 74.4 C 67.8 C 
10 min Mash Out Add 13.14 L of water at 91.5 C 75.6 C


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## Dazza_devil (2/6/10)

Fatgodzilla said:


> What I like about your ingredients Boagsy is a kit brewer could add the crystal/roast to a standard can and add Fuggles at the end to produce a similiar style of beer (rather than the unhopped malted extract). It won't be a world beater but should improve a kit beer immeasurably.




Thanks mate. 
I'm still perfecting the fiddly bits and looking forward to the added scope that AG will bring to my base malt.


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## mje1980 (2/6/10)

I brewed a red based very closely on doc's irish red. 15% carared is bit scary, but its not cloying at all. With Thames valley 2 its drinking very nicely. Check his out too, its in the DB, aidans red i think.


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## Ducatiboy stu (2/6/10)

Try this

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&hl=carared

Very nice red ale :icon_drool2:


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