Red Ale

Red Ale


 

If there were ever a beer that a person would assume a long and storied brewing history, it would be the Irish Red Ale. That assumption would be incorrect. While it's true that Red Ales have been brewed for generations in Ireland, its history is essentially that of the English pub beer. The Red is, and has always been, an easy to drink beer that is a staple of pubs throughout the years. 

The Red Ale is immensely popular in the craft beer world, as smaller batch brewers have taken the more popular Reds, such as Smithwick's and Killian's, and added their own twists to them. As the beer itself is relatively boring, it takes well to adjuncts like hot peppers and rye. Red Ales are also used by small brewers as an introduction into the craft beer universe. Its easy-to-drink nature and moderate alcohol level make it a perfect beer to pair with food or casually sip during the course of an evening. 

The red color of the beer is a result of specialty malts. Roasted barley, a very dark malt used in porters and stouts, adds vibrant red colors to pale beers when added in small amounts. Certain caramel malts and highly modified grains can also add red hues, however over use can darken the beer beyond the desired result. 

Red Ales are less hoppy than the English pale ales that they evolved from. The dark malts offer a more roasted flavor as well as some bread or biscuit qualities, creating a more robust beer than the mid-range ABV would suggest. Reds that originate from Ireland are traditionally lagered, where American versions are made in the ale style, with top fermenting yeast strains and warmer aging temperatures. 



OUR RECIPE

10 lbs 2-Row Pale Ale Malt
1/2 lb CaraMunich II
1/4 lb Roasted Barley
1/4 lb Melanoidin Malt

1 oz Cascade Hops
1 oz East Kent Goldings Hops

S-04 Dry English Ale Yeast

1 tsp Irish Moss


Malts We Use

2-Row Pale Ale Malt: A basic base malt, this won’t impart too much color and very little flavor. It is a pretty clean, crisp malt that works well with specialty grains and pretty much any style of beer. American varieties are generally less starchy and lighter than English breeds.

Roasted Barley: A classic dark malt, roasted barley adds rich dark hues with highlights of magenta and red to stouts and porters. It is heavy on the roast flavor and gives a fresh coffee aromatic characteristic in beer. Roasted barley is among the only widely used specialty grains that are unmalted.

CaraMunich II: Another darker malt, CaraMunich malt has several varieties. II is a mid-range caramel malt that adds some biscuity and sweet flavors while adding a rich color as well.

Melanoidin: A kilned specialty malt, Melanoidin not only adds red and copper colors to beer, but also adds sweet bready flavors. It promotes a heartier body to the beer as well as smoothness on the palate. 


Hops We Use

Cascade: Accounting for about 10% of all hop growth in the United States, Cascade has become the quintessential American hop variety. It's pine and resinous notes with sweet citrus aromas make it perfect for most domestic craft beers, especially pale ales.

East Kent Goldings: An English hop variety from the 18th century, this traditionally aromatic British hop is widely used across all styles of homebrewed beer. Slightly sweet, earthy, and floral, East Kent Goldings are generally considered to be the quintessential English hops.

Yeast We Use
SafAle S-04: A basic English dry yeast strain that works well across all styles but really thrives in malty and dark ales. Top fermenting and reliable, S-04 dry yeast can handle most low to medium ABV beers, it ferments quickly and creates a tight sediment base, increasing the clarity of lighter English ales while still retaining the hearty characteristics of pub beer.

Irish Moss: We use Irish Moss as a clarifying agent. These negatively charged seaweed particles attract proteins and other free radicals in your boil kettle and drag them to the bottom once cooled, thereby removing haze from your final product. Whirlfloc tablets are another option for this process. Regardless of your preferred methods of clarity, it is important that beers of this style are clear. Lagering can do this as well, but most home brewers don't have that capability, so adding Irish Moss (or something similar) can work wonders for cleaning up the beer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Russian Imperial Stout

Image
RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT   The Imperial Stout, over the last few years, has become one of the most popular styles in America. Almost every craft brewery, regardless of size, seems to have at least one on their roster. Imperial Stouts are also some of the biggest and baddest beers available, with alcohol content ranging into double figures. This beer is always complex, bold, and malleable. Imperial Stouts have so much going on that they really allow the brewer to get creative with adjuncts and aging options. Many times these are the base beers for new school pastry and coffee stouts, as well as countless bourbon barrel aged stouts.  Originally brewed in the 18th century by Thrale's Anchor Brewery in London, England, it was famously made to export to Catherine the Great of Russia as another boozy option in the cold Russian Winters. The "Imperial" moniker was bestowed upon the style after it was given a royal warrant of trade by the Russian government. Since then, the Imperial...
Read more

Ginger Pale Ale

Image
Ginger Pale Ale   Around these parts we don't drink all that much soda (or pop, or cola, or whatever you call it where you're from), but the one thing that we do enjoy is the occasional ginger ale. Effervescent and refreshing, the spicy ginger dances on the palate in ways that evoke colorful and exotic destinations. Ginger is almost always the star of whatever show it happens to be in, regardless of food or beverage. So we decided to us it in a beer. Our Ginger Pale Ale is less of a ginger beer style beverage, and more of a lighter beer infused with fresh ginger. We wanted to make a warm weather beverage as interesting as the fizzy NA drink that we enjoy so much. We use copious amounts of fresh ginger, peeled and ground up in a food processor, to give fresh spice and flavor to a very generic beer, transforming it into an all-star drink.  The ginger root has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. In India, Ayurvedic medicine has implemented ginger in several w...
Read more

Summer Ale

Image
SUMMER ALE  It's that time of year again, the time of year where the beer you drink has a direct effect on the rest of your day. When the weather warms up, you want something cold and refreshing, something that you can feel okay about pounding down at the beach, or at a picnic. This probably isn't that beer. This Summer Ale isn't quite as crisp and crushable as many others, but it has elements that most beers these days don't. This Summer Ale is more of a night time beer than a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. It is slightly heavier and far more aromatic than most others, and that is due to the inclusion of chamomile during secondary fermentation.  Chamomile is renowned for its floral qualities and pleasant flavor. Used as a tea, the aroma of chamomile has a soothing property to some and it is often used by herbalists as a sleep aid. It should be noted that there has not been sufficient evidence for any medicinal uses for chamomile, however preliminary research is being done t...
Read more