# Irish red recommendations?



## philistine (24/4/15)

Hey all,
Im planning on doing some 'research' into irish red ales and the like this arvo but ive never tried any beers in this style before. 
Any recommendations?
Ive got d murphys, 1st choice and carwyn cellars to shop from


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## Yob (24/4/15)

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/recipe/709-better-red-than-dead/


Buy it? Just brew it


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## sp0rk (24/4/15)

Ducatiboy's Pillar of Red is supposed to be pretty damn good


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## philistine (24/4/15)

@yob - haha yeah the reason behind the research is because im gonna be brewing that recipe tonight


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## kaiserben (24/4/15)

philistine said:


> Hey all,
> Im planning on doing some 'research' into irish red ales and the like this arvo but ive never tried any beers in this style before.
> Any recommendations?
> Ive got d murphys, 1st choice and carwyn cellars to shop from


At Uncle Dan's, this is not strictly Irish and more of a new age Red Ale, but it sure is tasty IMO> 

https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_776502/sail-anchor-the-bloke-red-ale-640ml 

There's also the Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale, Bridge Road Celtic Red, 

EDIT: Is Kilkenny considered a Red?


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## micbrew (24/4/15)

check the recipe for ... better red than dead .. a keeper imho


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## philistine (24/4/15)

Yeah, im brewing it tonight. I just thought id do some appropriately themed drinking while doing it


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## mckenry (24/4/15)

If you already have the grain its too late. After reading about reds on here a long time ago, I tried the following and it does give a redder beer than carared will.
5-10% Caraaroma and 2% roast barley. Rest Ale malt.

Edit - I realise your recipe has the roast already. Subbing the caraaroma for the carared was what I was getting at and ditching the vienna.


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## Tahoose (24/4/15)

Keen to do a red ale soon. Just have to choose which one.

This caught my eye also..

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27084


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## Black n Tan (24/4/15)

I think the traditional Irish red Ale are Kilkenny, Caffreys and Beamish Red which are usually available in cans with the nitrogen widget


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## kaiserben (24/4/15)

Black n Tan said:


> I think the traditional Irish red Ale are Kilkenny, Caffreys and Beamish Red which are usually available in cans with the nitrogen widget


Caffreys is what originally got me interested in brewing (circa late 1990s). I reckon my palate has changed a bit since then, but wouldn't mind trying one for old-time's sake. Where can I find them in cans? (I haven't seen the brand, at all, in a long time).


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## Black n Tan (24/4/15)

kaiserben said:


> Caffreys is what originally got me interested in brewing (circa late 1990s). I reckon my palate has changed a bit since then, but wouldn't mind trying one for old-time's sake. Where can I find them in cans? (I haven't seen the brand, at all, in a long time).


I have bought any in years myself, so not sure where you can buy it.


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## wide eyed and legless (24/4/15)

You can still buy it, but it has been taken over by Molson Coors so don't know if it is still comparable to what you remember.


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## Mardoo (24/4/15)

IMHO Caffrey's has changed dramatically, FWIW.


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## Brewman_ (24/4/15)

Irish Red Ale on Brewbuilder is a cracker! Having one right now.

See webisite below.

Cheers


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## sp0rk (25/4/15)

One Irish Red Ale I don't recommend is Granite Belt Brewery IRA
A mate shared some with me last night, they say it uses EKG, but it had a very strong grapefruit flavour to it (their Hatter's Wheat was very nice though, quite sessionable)


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## Bribie G (2/5/15)

Irish red was a marketing spin developed in the late 1990s by the Irish breweries selling into the UK.
Apart from a bit of RB and a low hop rate they are basically just UK bitters.
My favourite example of the so called style would be Cameron's Strongarm from County Durham in the NE of England.


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## takai (2/5/15)

So doing an Irish red sometime soon, how would Danstar Nottingham Ale or Mangrove Jacks British Ale yeast go?


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## Bribie G (2/5/15)

If you want to get closer to the ales produced by Guinness (Smithwicks, Kilkenny) a great yeast is Wyeast 1028 Irish Ale. Otherwise the MJ British Ale yeast, or even S04 would be ok.


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## manticle (2/5/15)

1084 no? 1028 is a london ale type yeast from memory


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## takai (2/5/15)

Bribie G said:


> If you want to get closer to the ales produced by Guinness (Smithwicks, Kilkenny) a great yeast is Wyeast 1028 Irish Ale. Otherwise the MJ British Ale yeast, or even S04 would be ok.


I should note that i have surplus of the two aforementioned yeasts, and was thinking of brewing tomorrow. Might give the British Ale yeast a go then.


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## Bribie G (2/5/15)

Should be a good yeast
And yes it's 1084 for the Wyeast.


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## Wolfman (2/5/15)

Substitute Vienna or Munich for your base ale malt. You will thank me.


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## takai (22/5/15)

Well the Irish Red based off the Better Red than Dead recipe is a bit of a failure. More of a brown ale: 






Think ill do it again, but any thoughts on what has happened? Might do the caraaroma trick and ditch the Vienna.


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## Brewman_ (22/5/15)

I make this style a lot

On the yeast my preference is 1084, but think 1028 or SO4 would also be excellent choices. I have one in a fermenter now alongside some nice stout. I used the same 1084 across both recipes.

It has a lovely deep red colour, certainly not Brown or Black.

If you still chasing a good recipe I can post it?

Cheers Steve


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## takai (22/5/15)

Brewman_ said:


> I make this style a lot
> 
> On the yeast my preference is 1084, but think 1028 or SO4 would also be excellent choices. I have one in a fermenter now alongside some nice stout. I used the same 1084 across both recipes.
> 
> ...


Yeah, always after other recipes to try.


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## Brewman_ (22/5/15)

This is a very nice recipe,
Screen shot from Brewbuilder.


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## takai (22/5/15)

Looks quite similar to the Better Red than Dead recipe, no Carared through, and much less roast barley.


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## brad81 (22/5/15)

philistine said:


> @yob - haha yeah the reason behind the research is because im gonna be brewing that recipe tonight


You won't regret it, it's an ace recipe


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## Brewman_ (22/5/15)

takai said:


> Looks quite similar to the Better Red than Dead recipe, no Carared through, and much less roast barley.


Yes it is similar, but the Roast is way different.
I would drop the roast right back, might be why its looking so Brown. That will let the other colours shine, and will take a fair bit of roastiness out of the flavour
Cheers Steve
Edit: spelling


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## labels (22/5/15)

Carafa adds a beautiful red hue to any beer in very small amounts. Allow 25g per 25L if you're using other dark grains. My brown ale is opposite to yours, an intensely dark, rich red hue like the disappearing sunset on a cold winters night and with ultra clarity (stop boasting you SOaB)


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## Brewman_ (22/5/15)

labels said:


> Carafa adds a beautiful red hue to any beer in very small amounts. Allow 25g per 25L if you're using other dark grains. My brown ale is opposite to yours, an intensely dark, rich red hue like the disappearing sunset on a cold winters night and with ultra clarity (stop boasting you SOaB)


I think you could replace the Roast with Carafa I. Again at that 20 to 30g mark for a standard 23L batch.

if you want to play with colour BrewBuilder shows the colour when you adjust the malt profiles, so you get an idea what the likely colour will be.

Steve


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## Brewman_ (22/5/15)

The colour on the recipe I posted was EBC 45.
I ran the Carafa rangeinstead of the Roast Malt, through Brewbuilder without changing anything else and gives this.
Crafa I EBC 41
Crafa II EBC 42
Crafa III EBC 44

Thats just for comparison.

Steve


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## Brewman_ (22/5/15)

Here's the colour.


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