Peter’s Irish Red Ale

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My buddy Peter got me an Irish red ale kit from a brew shop up in San Francisco, and today we brewed it up. I modified it a little from the directions that came with the kit (primarily in the steeping volumes and top-off volume), to hit a slightly higher gravity than BeerSmith calculated for a 5 gallon batch. This is the first time in my memory that I’ve brewed with aromatic or Carafa malts, so I’ll be curious to see how the flavor profile ends up. I also didn’t do Irish moss on this recipe, so I expect it will have a little more chill haze than my usual batches (and the wort seems to foreshadow this).

Peter’s Irish Red Ale

  • 1 lb. 8 oz. Maris Otter malt
  • 8 oz. 30°L crystal malt
  • 8 oz. barley flakes
  • 8 oz. aromatic malt
  • 8 oz. Carafa malt
  • 4 lbs. pilsen light dry malt extract
  • 0.5 oz. Kent Golding hops, 5.61% alpha acid (first addition, 60 minutes total)
  • 0.5 oz. Kent Golding hops, 5.61% alpha acid (second addition, 30 minutes total)
  • 1 oz. Kent Golding hops, 5.61% alpha acid (aroma, steep ~20 minutes)
  • 1 package Windsor dry yeast
Directions
  • Steep grains in 6 quarts water at ~155°, sparge with 2 quarts of water
  • Top up to 4 gallons, heat to boiling. Turn off heat, add dry malt extract.
  • Bring back to boiling, add hops. Boil for 30 minutes, add second addition and boil for another 30 minutes (60 minutes total).
  • Turn off heat, add aroma hops, cool with cooling coil.
  • Proof yeast in 2 cups of warm water.
  • Transfer wort to primary fermenter and top up to 4.67 gallons, add yeast.
  • The original gravity was 1.034 at 74°, which works out to 1.037 at 60°.
  • The beer is a touch outside of the style guide for Irish red ale, with a slightly darker color and slightly lower original gravity than in the “ideal”. Nonetheless, this should be a tasty brew!