Red Ale

[grico]

So my last red ale came out mahogany and no where near red. I am preparing for my next red, but I actually want it to come out red. Anyone have a suggestion for a nice bright red ale for all grain? I have been looking at crystal malts, but i dont know which combo to get that nice red. Thanks in advance.

[lexuschris]

Let's see your recipe that you used last time... please post it here. You may be pretty close, and just need a little tweek.

While I've not specifically tried to make a red ale before, I know some folks use a pinch (1 oz) of a dark roasted malt like black malt or carafa III to an otherwise lite colored malt bill to find that rich red color.

Some folks have said that melonoidin malt can do it too ... Hopefully somebody can post something a bit more certain .... these are just things I've seen or heard...

Good luck,
--LexusChris

[grico]

I can do that, the black patent i found in a bit of research, but i think that was ultimately too brown. Though some people seem to have had luck with it.

Brewer: Grico
Asst Brewer:
Style: Irish Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 2.30 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 15.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
5 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 44.4 %
5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 44.4 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.9 %
2.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.2 %

0.25 oz Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 7.6 IBUs
0.70 oz Calypso [12.00 %] - Boil 25.0 min Hop 6 11.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 4.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 2.2 IBUs

1.0 pkg Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004) Yeast 9 -

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 15.82 qt of water at 162.4 F 152.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Add 8.86 qt of water at 200.3 F 168.0 F 10 min

[dhempy]

Most recipes I've seen call for 4-8 oz of the dark stuff for 5 gallons. My take on your recipe is that maybe you were a little light on your coloring grains (2 oz) ... FWIW: Zainasheff calls for 6 oz of 300L Roasted Barley is his published recipe.

I also think you may want to layer in some crystal malts ... not too much. Maybe 8-12 oz total but you can split it up between a couple of different degrees. Again, Zainasheff uses 6 oz each of 40 and 120L crystal in his recipe. Those places would be good for a start IMHO.

Dan

[jward]

Like Dan says more of the dark malts. I make lot red in the American amber style. The flavor profile I like best uses ~4oz black patent/roasted barley but gives more of a copper color. You can look at Carafa III if you want to limit the astringcy. The red at alcatraz didn't use roasted barley at all. He used dark crystal malts.

[brahn]

Have any of you guys used CaraRed from Weyerman? I haven't used it, but I've heard it works really well for getting that red color.

[dhempy]

Have any of you guys used CaraRed from Weyerman? I haven't used it, but I've heard it works really well for getting that red color.

No I haven't but it is on my list now!

Dan

[grico]

I think O'Sheas has some Carared, i will try and pick some up today. I still think patent was just too much, so i will try the 6oz of crystal 40 and 120, plus a few ounces of roasted barley. I will let you guys know how it comes out.

Cheers mates, i will post back a picture of the wort later today. I will also do a little more research on the Carared.

[Brewfoo]

Eric at AHP has Carared and he recently helped a friend of mine put together a partial mash red ale recipe. It too came out slightly too dark I'm afraid but it's still the closest to a red ale I've come. Good Luck, Rico.

[BrewMasterBrad]

Have any of you guys used CaraRed from Weyerman? I haven't used it, but I've heard it works really well for getting that red color.

I used Carared for the first time back in 2007 when I was on my own epic quest to create a beer that actually was red in color. The most I ever used in a recipe was about 9% of the grist. I was able to get good results mixing the Carared with about 4% Crystal 120 and 1% light chocolate malt. The resulting beer was about 14SRM and was as red as red can be. I stopped using the Carared since I was never really happy with the flavor profile I was getting, but it sure did make a pretty beer.

[grico]

So O'Sheas did not have CaraRed, but they did have Melanoiden. I had not used it before, but I figured I would give it a go. The color came out amber, but not as red as i would have liked. I swear i grabbed some Roasted Barley, but when I went to mash in... It was gone. So I either just looked at it, it fell out of my basket, or my buddy snagged it. I ended up just adding the extra 120 I had, bringing it up to a pound.

7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 50.0 %
3 lbs Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 2 21.4 %
1 lbs Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 5 7.1 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.1 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4 7.1 %

Red Ale

photo.JPG (1.82 MiB) Viewed 8924 times

[grico]

O well, its all a learning process for color right now anyways. Hitting the color correctly was more of a wish and a experiment then really trying to break everything down. All in all I am happy, but I will continue to strive to get that nice ruby red.

[grico]

So amber, but i do like how this recipe came out. I will need to play a little more, and see just how ruby I can get these beers.

IMG_1031.jpg (63.48 KiB) Viewed 8866 times

[grico]

Resurrecting this after the talk about the SCHF talk about Red Ales. I am thinking of a C80/C120/Carared/Munich specialty grain mix. I am wondering if that will give me the garnet red i have been looking for.

What else are you guys thinking for your red ales? Will my garnet red strive be too far out of "Red Ale" for the group? Thoughts?

[lexuschris]

For what its worth ... Here is the dark mild I brewed on Sunday. Got some nice red'ish highlights for an otherwise brown ale.

Dark Mild Coloring

darkmild0.jpg (128.69 KiB) Viewed 8653 times

There recipe is here...


I know some folks like to put 1-2 oz of black patent malt to give a bit of red to their Ambers. I've only tried some Carafa II to get a bit more red.... and avoid any harsh black malt flavors. I find I can taste the roastiness in the Carafa II in my Amber Ale. Last time I brewed it, I did not use gelatin, so I don't recall the amount of red in the color. It tasted good, and the roasty notes dropped out after a few weeks.

Good luck!
--LexusChris