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Beer Styles: Irish Red Ale
Irish Red Ale is a medium to light bodied ale originating in Ireland. It has very little – if any – hop flavour or aroma. Irish Red Ale has a malty flavour profile with strong caramel notes. The deep red colour is achieved by using a small amount of Roasted Barley which also gives the beer subtle roasted grain flavours.
Examples of commercial Irish Red ales include Murphy’s Irish Red, Caffreys Irish Ale, and Smithwick’s. Despite the name, Irish Red Ale is not widely drunk in Ireland, where Stouts and Ordinary Bitters have become the ale of choice.
Irish Red Ale
Original Gravity Range: 1.044-1.060 SG
Final Gravity Range: 1.010-1.014 SG
Color Range: 9.0-18.0 SRM
Bitterness Range: 17.0-28.0 IBU
Alcohol by Volume Range: 4.0-6.0 %
Carbonation Range: 2.1-2.6 vols
Source: http://brewwiki.com/index.php/Irish_Red_Ale
Irish Red Recommended Homebrew Recipe
Here’s a recipe for homebrewing Irish Red ale – You can find the original recipe atwww.homebrewtalk.com/f65/st-fuads-irish-red-22821/
Brew Name: St Fuad’s Irish Red
Brewer: St Fuad AKA Pumbaa
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: see below
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.057
Final Gravity: 1.014
IBU: 18.7
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 15.9
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Until FG is reached
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Optional
Total Grain (Lbs): 12.75
Anticipated OG: 1.057 Plato: 13.98
Anticipated SRM: 15.9
Anticipated IBU: 18.7
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 MinutesGrain/Extract/Sugar
11.00 lbs. Vienna Malt
0.50 lbs. Crystal 30L
0.25 lbs. Roasted Barley
1.00 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
Hops1.00 oz. Fuggle – 5.00%AA – 15IBUs – 40 min.
1.00 oz. East Kent Goldings – 4.75%AA – 3.7IBUs – 8 min
Yeast
Wyeast 1084 / WLP004
-OR-
Wyeast 1728 / WLP028
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Gelatin Finings
Gelatin Finings are used to ‘clear’ beer before kegging or bottling. Gelatin is the most powerful organic fining agent available in brewing.
Note: Gelatin is not vegetarian. If you plan to serve your beer to vegetarian friends, do not use Gelatin finings!
Across the Internet on the various brewing forums there is a massive amount of conflicting opinion on the correct way to use gelatin finings. One of the main things that people get wrong, is they boil the gelatin before adding it to the beer. Boiling gelatin will render it useless; do NOT boil the gelatin finings before adding them to the beer! I hope to clear things up here with a definitive method to using gelatin finings to clear a 5 gallon batch of beer. This is a tried and tested method which I have used for many brews with great success.
How To Use Gelatin Finings
1. Ferment your beer as usual. If you have dry hopped the beer with loose hops, rack the beer from under the hops into a sanitised fermentation vessel in order to remove any hop matter.
2. Boil a kettle.
3. Weigh out 1.5 grams of Gelatin for every 5 Gallons of beer.
4. Pour the hot boiled water into a heatproof measuring jug or other heatproof bowl. Add the gelatin powder and stir until dissolved.
5. Cover and cool until it reaches close to the same temperature as the beer.
6. Add to the beer, stirring SLOWLY so as not to introduce oxygen to the beer.
7. Leave for 5 days or until clear.
8. Rack to bottling bucket or keg as usual, being careful not to suck up the layer of yeast sediment.
I hope this helps you get a clearer beer.…
How To: Dry Hopping
What is Dry Hopping?
Dry Hopping is a technique used by brewers to increase the hop aroma in their beer. Usually hops are boiled with the wort to give it bitterness and aroma, however much of the aroma from the hops is lost by boiling them, so dry-hopping adds the aroma that cannot be extracted from the hops during the boil. Many inexperienced home-brewers come across recipes that call for ‘dry hopping’ and do not understand how the process works. Dry hopping is actually a very simple technique which can give your beer greater depth of flavour and aroma with very little work.
How do you ‘dry hop’ a beer?
To dry hop your beer, simply add the amount of hops specified in your recipe at the beginning of secondary fermentation.
1. Ferment the beer as usual until it has finished primary fermentation (take a hydrometer reading and ensure that the beer has reached its final gravity).
2. Using a racking cane and auto-syphon, transfer the beer to an empty, sanitised fermentation vessel being careful not to suck up any of the yeast sediment at the bottom of the beer.
3. Add your hops to the beer – either just chuck them in loose, or put them in a hop sock or muslin bag.
4. Leave for at least 3 days.
5. Using a racking cane and auto-syphon, transfer the beer to a sanitised fermentation vessel before bottling or kegging. Try not to suck up any of the hops during this step, as they will be present in the final beer if you do!
Do you have to boil the hops first?
No. Hops are a natural preservative and do not need to be boiled before being added to the fermenting beer. If you are using a hop sock or muslin bag, you may want to boil that to sanitise it first.
Which hops should you use for dry hopping?
Dry hopping does not add bitterness to the beer, but it does add the aromatic oils that are lost when the hops are boiled. Therefore the best hops for dry hopping are aroma hops with low Alpha Acid content. All of the noble hop varieties including Saaz, Hallertauer, Goldings, Fuggles, and Cascade are great for dry-hopping.
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Speciality Grain Guide
Speciality grains are used by brewers to alter the flavour, colour, and aroma of beer. Speciality grains can be used in both extract and all-grain brewing. In an extract brew, the grains are steeped (soaked in hot water) and removed before the extract is added and the wort is boiled. In an all-grain brew the speciality grains are mashed with the rest of the grain bill.
Here’s a quick guide to some of the most popular speciality grains.
Amber Malt
Amber Malt
Amber malt is a lightly roasted chocolate malt. It gives the beer a strong biscuity taste with a coffee and chocolate aroma. Amber malt is often used in English browns, milds and old ales. This malt should only make up 20% or less of the mash when used in an All-grain brew.
Colour: 43 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.035 SG
Black Malt
Black Malt gives the beer a very dark colour, and a dry roasted flavour. Black Malt is commonly used in Porter and Stout style beers. When used in Porters and Stouts, Black Malt is used for flavour as well as colour. When used in lighter beers Black Malt is used mainly for colour.
Colour: 980 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.025 SG
Caramalt
Caramalt is a very light crystal malt. It has a strong caramel flavour and is sweeter than regular crystal malt. Caramalt is often used to aid head retention and add flavour. We recommend using caramalt as no more than 10% of the grist.
Colour: 20 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.035 SG
Chocolate Malt
Chocolate Malt is a very dark roasted malt. It is used primarily in Brown Ales, Porters, and some stouts to impart a deep red/brown colour and dark-chocolate flavour.
Colour: 20 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.035 SG
Crystal Malt
Crystal Malt gives beer a golden amber colour. It is used in many different beer styles and gives beer a toffee and caramel flavour. Crystal malt also gives the beer more body, and improves head retention.
Colour: 120 EBC (Available in different levels of colour)
Potential Gravity: 1.033 – 1.036SG
Crystal Wheat Malt
Crystal Wheat Malt is a wheat malt with a deeper colour and stronger aroma. It is often used in darker wheat beer styles such as Dunkelweizens. Also known as Carawheat.
Colour: 125 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.035 SG
Flaked Barley
Flaked Barley is used to add body to the beer and aid head retention. It is more commonly used in darker beers, due to the fact that its high protein content causes haze which is undesirable in lighter coloured beers.
Colour: 3 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.032 SG
Flaked Maize
Flaked Maize is used to raise the specific gravity without adding body to the beer. It produces a better, less harsh taste than simply adding sugar. It is often seen in recipes for Best Bitters and is used to make the beer lighter and more summery.
Colour: 3 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.035 SG
Roasted Barley
Roasted Barley gives the beer a burnt bitter coffee taste and very dark red to brown colour. It should only be used in small amounts of 10% or less of the total grain bill.
Colour: 1300 EBC
Potential Gravity: 1.025 SG
These are just a few of the many speciality grains used in brewing. Thanks to Barley Bottom Homebrew Supplies for supplying pictures of the different grains. We highly recommend their online store for homebrew ingredients in the UK.www.barleybottom.com.
If you have any questions about this article, or wish to point out any mistakes we have made, please post a comment or email us at info@brewing-tips.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible.…