2012 Irish Red
Brewer: Kevin Rimlinger
Style: Irish Red Ale
Type: All Grain
Recipe Specifications
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 7.02 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 18.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 22.6 IBUs
Expected Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
Grain
11 lbs (87.1%) Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
12.5 oz (6.2% ) Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
7.8 oz (3.9%) Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L (40.0 SRM)
5.8 oz (2.9%) Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)
Hops
42.00 g Goldings, East Kent 5.4% [5.40%] – Boil 60 Minutes 22.6 IBUs
Yeast
1.0 pkg Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004)
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 10.1 oz
Total Hops Weight: 42 g
Process
- Begin heating 5.05 gal of carbon filtered water to 165.7 degrees F
- Weigh and grind grain; add to mash tun
- Add water from step 1 to mash tun to achieve 152.0 F. Use long handled stainless steel spoon to mix and breakup dough balls. Allow to sit in closed cooler for 60 minutes.
- While mash is converting, begin heating 4.1 gallons of filtered water to 168 degrees F for sparging.
- Recirculate wort from mash tun until it runs relatively clear and then drain it into the boiling kettle
- Sparge with the water prepared in step 4
- Recirculate rinsed wort from mash tun until it runs relatively clear and then drain it into the boiling kettle to achieve 7.64 gallons in the boiling kettle
- Bring to a boil. Be alert for boil overs: stirring and adjust temperature as necessary
- When wort boils, add the hops
- 45 minutes after boiling begins add Irish Moss and add the copper immersion chiller to sanitize it
- 60 minutes after boiling begins, cut the heat and begin circulating cold water through the immersion chiller. Try to reduce the temperature to below 80 degrees F as quickly as possible. Cover the kettle to keep things out during the cooling process.
- Transfer the cooled wort to a 6.5 gallon carboy. Aerate during this process by agitating the wort to create bubbles
- Measure and record the original gravity of the wort with a hydrometer
- Pitch the yeast
- Affix an airlock
- Store at 62 degrees F in a dark place for 2 weeks
- Measure and record final gravity with a hydrometer
- Package as desired. I use 5 gallon corney kegs
Additional Notes
My original recipe called for 12 oz of Crystal 40, 8 oz of Crystal 120, and 6 oz of Roasted Barley. Unfortunately, my actual inventory of specialty grain didn’t match what was in my software so I improvised and adjusted my actual recipe to the one that is listed above. I didn’t think this would be a problem because recently I have been getting far lighter colors than calculated and I wanted a good red color for this one. I might have gone overboard because, this beer is much darker than anticipated. I’ll see how it looks and tastes when it’s done and report back here.
Enjoy this gallery of pictures from brew day. Click an image to enlarge it.
