Luck of the Irish Red Ale
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wyoDreamer
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It's neat to see how the color has changed. Hope this is a tasty brew for you.
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CrealCritter
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Day 6 - racked into secondary carboy to clear. I'm boiling water to wash the yeast in the bottom of the primary, to save for later.
Foam on top is StarSan (no rinse sanitizer). Their moto is don't fear the foam. It actually degrades into a yeast nutrient. Advances in homebrew have me amazed.
I don't know if you can tell or not but this Irish Red Ale is a dark mahogany red color. It will be interesting to see what color it clears out to be.
Foam on top is StarSan (no rinse sanitizer). Their moto is don't fear the foam. It actually degrades into a yeast nutrient. Advances in homebrew have me amazed.
I don't know if you can tell or not but this Irish Red Ale is a dark mahogany red color. It will be interesting to see what color it clears out to be.
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CrealCritter
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Yeast washing from day 6 - I was able to harvest approximately 4oz (1/2 cup) per jar out of the primary fermenter. Each jar should be enough to ferment another batch of any English style ale. The red on top of the yeast is a mix of beer & sterile water. This should be about the color of the finished beer, maybe a little darker red, after time in the secondary fermenter. It's Irish Red Ale after all, brewing beer is so interesting and delicious or maybe it's just I'm easily amused.
frustratedearthmother
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It's great that you can re-use the yeast. Talk about SS!
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CrealCritter
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Day 11 - no more bubbles through the airlock at all and clearing out nicely. Will most likely, bottle Saturday sometime.
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CrealCritter
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Day 12 - snuck a little sample out of the secondary to check final gravity, inspect clarity and of course taste test 
It has reached its final gravity and calculated out to 6.5% ABV. I'm really happy with the clairity, heck its beer and this clear already @ day 12 - that's some awesome yeast!
Sniff test, it reminded me a little bit like a very mild bourbon, maybe its the color kind of tricking my nose a little too. But it's most definitely not american hop and or american yeast smell at all. I was concerned maybe I brewed up a flower garden but that's not the case at all, thankfully.
Then a taste... It's full bodied and dry, most definitely fully fermented. It's not harsh at all, it's inviting and smooth, with a nice hint of sweet malt and cloves taste at first. Then it turns to a very slight bitter but mostly sweet taste as it hits the back of the throat. Then it finishes with a mild cinnamon and honey taste. This beer is complex, nothing like my golden american wheat, there's a lot going on with this one.
This is going to be one easy drinker for sure, I'll need to watch myself and not drink to much at one time. I just can't quite think of a food it would go well with. Maybe cabbage rolls and potatoes? Idk... I'll have to experiment some.
I would have liked it to be lighter red but you can't have everything... Next time I brew this I'll be sure and at 1 lb of pilsner light malt, that should help lighten the color a little and also boost the ABV one point also.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my first attempt at a Irish Red Ale, who know I could brew up something this complex and I didn't mess it up either (except the color maybe). It should be awesome once it bottle conditions & carbonates.
It has reached its final gravity and calculated out to 6.5% ABV. I'm really happy with the clairity, heck its beer and this clear already @ day 12 - that's some awesome yeast!
Sniff test, it reminded me a little bit like a very mild bourbon, maybe its the color kind of tricking my nose a little too. But it's most definitely not american hop and or american yeast smell at all. I was concerned maybe I brewed up a flower garden but that's not the case at all, thankfully.
Then a taste... It's full bodied and dry, most definitely fully fermented. It's not harsh at all, it's inviting and smooth, with a nice hint of sweet malt and cloves taste at first. Then it turns to a very slight bitter but mostly sweet taste as it hits the back of the throat. Then it finishes with a mild cinnamon and honey taste. This beer is complex, nothing like my golden american wheat, there's a lot going on with this one.
This is going to be one easy drinker for sure, I'll need to watch myself and not drink to much at one time. I just can't quite think of a food it would go well with. Maybe cabbage rolls and potatoes? Idk... I'll have to experiment some.
I would have liked it to be lighter red but you can't have everything... Next time I brew this I'll be sure and at 1 lb of pilsner light malt, that should help lighten the color a little and also boost the ABV one point also.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my first attempt at a Irish Red Ale, who know I could brew up something this complex and I didn't mess it up either (except the color maybe). It should be awesome once it bottle conditions & carbonates.
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CrealCritter
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Day 14 - Daughter and Son in law, helped bottle. We put up 55 long necks. I also washed the yeast out of the secondary and was able to harvest 2 pint jars. That makes 6 pint jars total of yeast harvested out of this batch of Luck of the Irish Red Ale.
Now it needs to bottle condition / carbonate over the next couple of weeks.
I also washed the yeast out of the secondary and was able to harvest 2 pint jars. That makes 6 pint jars total of yeast harvested out of this batch of Luck of the Irish Red Ale. Now it needs to bottle condition / carbonate over the next couple of weeks.
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CrealCritter
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Both my son in law and daughter like it even warm & flat. They also both agreed it smells like bourbon. My son in law who spent 2 years in Ireland said it tastes like Irish Red Ale. It seems complex to me but we'll see after it bottle conditions / carbonates. Could be I'm just a simpleton also.
