[Bel Air Brewing]

What is the best grain for achieving a reddish color to your beer? Something like a Killian's Irish Red?

I don't want that much caramel character, mostly color only.

[BrewBama]

Red X?


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[HopDen]

Goldswaen Red could be an option.

[tommymorris]

Viking (sold at morebeer.com) has two red malts. Both claim to enhance red color.

[Bel Air Brewing]

Thanks! How about Carared?

[tommymorris]

Thanks! How about Carared?

It does enhance redness but it is a caramel malt.

[Iliff Ave]

Roasted barley

[Bob357]

Traditional Irish Reds use Crystal Malt for the color and a small amount of Roasted Barley for the red tint. 

[roger]

+2 for Roasted Barley. I use around 4 oz. per 5 gal.

Red X is an interesting option, but you'll have to use a lot more than RB to get enough color contribution. At that level it will bring a bunch of malt flavor, kinda like Munich Malt.

[majorvices]

100% Best Malt Red X malt @ 1.050 is a beautiful red color. Agree that roasted barley finely ground is too.

CaraRed will add some reddish amber color and would help deepen a 100% Red X malt grist - it has a pleasant,, smooth caramel flavor.

[scrap iron]

I use a small amount of roasted barley and 70-80*  L cara / crystal malt in Irish Red. This gives a rich red color but adds caramel flavor. When I brew an American Red I skip the dark crystal and roasted barley and use 45*-60* L crystal and add a little Carafa 1 dehusked  chocolate malt to add red color. The lighter colored chocolate malts at 2-3 oz will also add red color.

[Bel Air Brewing]

Thanks for all of the help!

A Vienna Red Lager is up next.

[erockrph]

100% Best Malt Red X malt @ 1.050 is a beautiful red color. Agree that roasted barley finely ground is too.

CaraRed will add some reddish amber color and would help deepen a 100% Red X malt grist - it has a pleasant,, smooth caramel flavor.

There is nothing that looks as vibrantly red as a 100% Red X beer at 1.050 or so OG, once it drops completely clear. But the flavor of that beer just isn't for me. Red X tastes in the ballpark of a very dark Munich spiked with a bit too much Aromatic/Melanoiden malt. It's just too strongly rich for me to drink in any great amount. Sure looks great in pictures,  though.

Roast barley and CaraRed will help push a beer in that direction, but at best you will get a reddish amber. One other way to get brilliant ruby red color in your beer is cherry juice if adding fruit is an option.

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[BrewBama]

Thanks for all of the help!

A Vienna Red Lager is up next.

At the bottom of this BYO article there is a recipe for a Vienna called Red Ball Express. I brewed it years ago and I believe I recall it being a nice red color.

https://byo.com/article/vienna-lager-in-exile/


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[majorvices]

100% Best Malt Red X malt @ 1.050 is a beautiful red color. Agree that roasted barley finely ground is too.

CaraRed will add some reddish amber color and would help deepen a 100% Red X malt grist - it has a pleasant,, smooth caramel flavor.

There is nothing that looks as vibrantly red as a 100% Red X beer at 1.050 or so OG, once it drops completely clear. But the flavor of that beer just isn't for me. Red X tastes in the ballpark of a very dark Munich spiked with a bit too much Aromatic/Melanoiden malt. It's just too strongly rich for me to drink in any great amount. Sure looks great in pictures,  though.

Roast barley and CaraRed will help push a beer in that direction, but at best you will get a reddish amber. One other way to get brilliant ruby red color in your beer is cherry juice if adding fruit is an option.

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I agree I'm not 100% sure I love the flavor. At YH a red lager was our flagship beer and I tried to use Red X for ease but it was not something I personally enjoyed. Sinamar is what was and probably is still used. Before that a cold steep of Carafa Special II was made and added directly to BK.