Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Tweaking a red recipe  (Read 6306 times)

Offline alcaponejunior

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 360
  • Latest creation: Big Smash Saturday
    • alcaponejunior.wordpress.com
Tweaking a red recipe
« on: February 13, 2012, 04:28:49 pm »
Tell me what you guys think of this recipe:

Briess Pilsen Extra Light Liquid Extract  6 lbs, 9.6 oz
Briess Victory  0 lbs, 8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 120  8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 40  8 oz
*Gambrinus Honey Malt  0 lbs, 4 oz
*Briess 2 Row Carapils  0 lbs, 4 oz
Crisp Chocolate Malt  0 lbs, 2 oz
Amarillo Pellets  1 oz @ 60 mins
Cascade Pellets  1 oz @ 10 mins
*Cascade Pellets, 1.5 oz Dry Hop
SAFALE S-04 

It's a straight up red type beer kit, but I added in a little bit of malts and the dry hops.  I want to brew a really hoppy red something between Stone Levitation and Green Flash Hop Head Red, but with about 6.5% ABV.  I haven't ordered yet and I can order anything I want in one ounce increments.

* ingredients I added to the base kit

Offline motochriso

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2012, 05:24:31 pm »
Assuming 5 gallons?

This looks like a great example.  I may suggest bumping up the chocolate by an ounce or two and you may also want to check out pale chocolate malt, if you want it a little less roasty?  I have had trouble getting a solid red color when I have tried to brew one.  Mine always turn out rusty and more on the brownish side…
« Last Edit: February 13, 2012, 05:32:39 pm by motochriso »
To brew or not to brew? That is the question?

Offline alcaponejunior

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 360
  • Latest creation: Big Smash Saturday
    • alcaponejunior.wordpress.com
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2012, 05:45:52 pm »
Ooo, I just realized the base kit was supposed to be about 5%, I guess adding a few more malts would up that somewhere near the right amount?  How about this tweakage...

Briess Pilsen Extra Light Liquid Extract  6 lbs, 9.6 oz
Briess Victory 8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 120  8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 40  8 oz
*Gambrinus Honey Malt  4 oz
*Briess 2 Row Carapils   4 oz
*Crisp chocolate malt, 2oz
*Weyerman Cara Amber, 2oz
Crisp Chocolate Pale Malt   2 oz
Amarillo Pellets  1 oz @ 60 mins
Cascade Pellets  1 oz @ 10 mins
*Cascade Pellets, 1.5 oz Dry Hop
SAFALE S-04  

If it comes out perfectly red, great.  If it comes out a little brown and a damn tasty beer, even better!!
« Last Edit: February 13, 2012, 07:11:43 pm by alcaponejunior »

Offline alcaponejunior

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 360
  • Latest creation: Big Smash Saturday
    • alcaponejunior.wordpress.com
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2012, 05:56:24 pm »
Oh, and I'll be using bottled spring water.  Any conditioners, clarifiers, whirlfloc/irish moss, 5.2 powder etc that you guys would recommend?

Offline morticaixavier

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7781
  • Underhill VT
    • The Best Artist in the WORLD!!!!!
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2012, 08:56:52 pm »
Ooo, I just realized the base kit was supposed to be about 5%, I guess adding a few more malts would up that somewhere near the right amount?  How about this tweakage...

Briess Pilsen Extra Light Liquid Extract  6 lbs, 9.6 oz
Briess Victory 8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 120  8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 40  8 oz
*Gambrinus Honey Malt  4 oz
*Briess 2 Row Carapils   4 oz
*Crisp chocolate malt, 2oz
*Weyerman Cara Amber, 2oz
Crisp Chocolate Pale Malt   2 oz
Amarillo Pellets  1 oz @ 60 mins
Cascade Pellets  1 oz @ 10 mins
*Cascade Pellets, 1.5 oz Dry Hop
SAFALE S-04  

If it comes out perfectly red, great.  If it comes out a little brown and a damn tasty beer, even better!!

the specialty malts are not going to get you from 5 to 6.5% i would just add a little extra LME or DME to bump your gravity. or if you want to make the body a little lighter add some table sugar. it's acceptable in irish reds and a little bit will jump your gravity the looks like another 1.5 lbs LME will get you to around 6.5 but I gotta tell you with all those crystal malts this is going to under attenuate badly. LME is not really great on fermentability as it is and adding 15% crystal/cara malts is going to make this a big sweet beer, not like a levitation.

It will also end up pretty dark around 21.5 SRM according to beer smith.

maybe try about 8 lbs marris otter extract with a dash of crystal 40 and/or 120 and some chocolate or black malt to get your red color just a thought.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce

Offline alcaponejunior

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 360
  • Latest creation: Big Smash Saturday
    • alcaponejunior.wordpress.com
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2012, 04:34:48 am »
Briess Pilsen Extra Light Liquid Extract 6 lbs, 9.6 oz
Briess Golden Light Dry Extract 1 lbs
Briess Victory 8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 40  8 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 120    8 oz
Weyermann Cara Amber ® 6 oz
Briess Pilsen (Extra) Light Dry Extract 4 oz
Briess 2 Row Carapils  4 oz
Crisp Pale Chocolate Malt    2 oz
Crisp Chocolate Malt    2 oz
Cascade Pellets 1 oz @ 60 mins
Amarillo Pellets    1 oz @ 10 mins
Cascade Pellets 2 oz @ Dry
Irish Moss powder
SAFALE US-05 American Ale

Website calculates:
IBU 24.4
SRM 17.86
ABV 6.03

This is fun!  I wish I knew more about how these ingredients work, but over time I'm sure I will learn a lot.  How about this version?

« Last Edit: February 14, 2012, 05:19:21 am by alcaponejunior »

Offline dak0415

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 558
  • Winston-Salem, NC
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2012, 06:40:33 am »
Just my $.02 but -
Drop the Victory unless you are going to do a mini-mash, it will make your beer hazy.
Drop the C-40, you don't really need it, and it will give you brown, not red.
If you are going to use US-05, add another 4 oz Carapils
Drop the chocolate malts, they will give you brown also
Use 2 oz Carafa II OR 2 oz Castle debittered black malt (big red)

I general German Cara-malts will give you red, British give you brown.
Dave Koenig
Anything worth doing - is worth overdoing!

Offline morticaixavier

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7781
  • Underhill VT
    • The Best Artist in the WORLD!!!!!
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2012, 08:09:10 am »
It is your beer and you should do what you want to try. That being said I would keep it very simple something like

~8 lbs light malt extract (enough to more or less get the starting gravity you want, maybe a couple points below)
.5 lbs cyrstal 120 OR caraamber
2 oz debittered black malt (carafa I or II)

hop schedule looks fine.

to many specialty malts will result in a 'muddy' flavour.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce

Offline alcaponejunior

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 360
  • Latest creation: Big Smash Saturday
    • alcaponejunior.wordpress.com
Re: Tweaking a red recipe
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2012, 03:02:04 pm »
OK!  Taking input from three sources here, this is my latest edition, still subject to change!  I simplified the grain bill, changed the hops around a little bit, and changed the extracts too. 

Briess Pilsen Extra Light Liquid Extract 4 lbs, 8 oz
Briess Golden Light Dry Extract  3 lbs
Weyermann Cara Munich II ®  1 lbs
Briess 2 Row Caramel 120  8 oz
Briess 2 Row Carapils  8 oz
Magnum Pellets, GR  1 oz @ 60 mins
Cascade Pellets  1 oz @ 10 mins
Amarillo Pellets  1 oz @ 0 mins
Cascade Pellets  2 oz  Dry hopped
Whirlfloc Tablets 1 ea
SAFALE US-05 American Ale  1 ea

IBU: 45.5
SRM: 12.92
ABV: 6.03