Found a nice Irish Red at McGuire’s Irish Pub, in Pensacola. It won a Silver at the GABF.
Now we wish to brew one.
Can anyone provide a link, or possible recipe suggestions?
This will be a first attempt for us.
Thanks!
Take a tour, see if they will give you some hints.
Stop in for a tour of the brewery during your next visit. Our brewmasters will gladly show you around and answer your questions. If you are a homebrewer, you may take some of our yeast with you to try on your next batch. You can reach our brewmasters by phone at 850-433-6789 in Pensacola and 850-650-0000 in Destin.
I’ll post an article from Martyn Cornell about how it’s a totally invented style. Started off as a French beer, and through the years there have been many different interpretations of it. Who knows what the one you tasted was based on.
Nice. I’ve been to the Destin McGuire’s many times. I like the pizza place out front too.
We went with friends who live close by. The Pub is way cool, a local historical landmark.
I’ll ask Dave to ask around the next time he goes, as they go 2 or 3 times a month.
Brought home two 6 packs of that red stuff!
Stopped in the Fairhope Brewery (Fairhope, AL) for some samples. When the bartender learned that we are brewers, the beer was on-the-house. He said…“We take care of our own!”
That is so cool!
Thanks!
What an amazing story! The Colorado connection is interesting.
At some point, the “bogus style” becomes “real”, despite its creation as a marketing gimick; I can’t help but think of the Cascadian Dark IPA, the crazy hazies and the many sour beer trends that have evolved over time - they were different enough to be recognized as styles, but many were created with an element of gimmickry that in part exhibits marketing influence to create demand. Many brewpubs tweak a style to create something that falls between existing styles, technically, but call it something different from either style it splits. A well made beer of any style or of no particular style can be enjoyable. The history of this one shows how a color can dominate the creation of a new style. Interesting, indeed.
I played with red ales and red lagers for a long time, trying to get the color right. Getting “red” is not easy. What I learned was that Special B can help if you like the flavor of it. It’s got a lot of red in it. Dark British crystal (150L or more) also has a lot of red in it. Many crystal malts will get you “amber” or “dark amber” but to get “red” I found that a bit of something like Carafa III or Midnight Wheat is a big help. Use the crystal to get the amber and then the dark malts to push it towards red. Clarity helps too because a lot of the red you get is from the light bouncing off the glass. Here are a couple where the color seemed to cooperate…
beautiful red beers, and i agree about those crystals and carafa III (havent used midnight wheat).
but i kept wanting to have a list of the tints of dark malts, because i know for certain black malt tints brown, while carafa III and RB tints red. there are malts that influence an orange colour for sure too, munich and vienna in certain dosages. i got an orangey kind of colour when i used 1/2lb of brown malt in a beer once, but could have been other factors.
Those pictures are beautiful!
How about Weyermann Carared malt? For getting that desired “red” color?
It worked pretty well for the couple times I used it.
Also consider using Red-X. I haven’t used it, but a guy in my club swears by it and wins awards using it for certain styles.
Red-X is very nice and makes a malty, reddish beer. I haven’t used it in awhile though. I feel like you would need A LOT of Carared to get the red color you want. We also have to remember the overall flavor of the beer and personally I would rather use less crystals and dark malts in general. Also, I’m referring to “red beers” in general, not necessarily an Irish Red Ale. I could see using UK hops and the 1084 Irish yeast or something similar and then putting your grain bill together which for me would probably be Pale Ale Malt, a combination of Special B + some dark British Crystal like Simpsons, Bairds or Fawcett (maybe 2.5% each?) and then a smidge of Carafa III to push it further towards the red color. Many of my attempts were for a red lager so there was probably some Vienna and/or Munich in mine too. I made A LOT of amber-colored beers attempting to get the right red color. In the top picture I posted, imagine adding small amounts of sinamar or imagine using another half ounce of Carafa III or MW in the beer. It would be pushed further towards that dark red color.
That’s nice. Beautiful color. Is/was that beer super malty? I seem to remember Red-X having a very deep character.
Yes, it’s malty, but I don’t think it’s over the top. Of course, I like malty beers. It also has a nice dry finish. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on this beer and it figures it’s the one I put the least thought and effort into.
Malty might have a place in an Irish Red.
Flavor
Moderate to very little caramel malt flavor and sweetness, rarely with a light buttered toast or toffee-like quality. The palate often is fairly neutral and grainy, or can take on a lightly toasty or biscuity note as it finishes with a light taste of roasted grain, which lends a characteristic dryness to the finish. A light earthy or floral hop flavor is optional. Medium to medium-low bitterness. Medium-dry to dry finish. Clean and smooth. Low esters optional. The balance tends to be slightly towards the malt, although light use of roasted grains may increase the perception of bitterness slightly.
Red x is too malty for me at 100%. I like to split it with Pilsner malt and build back the the color with carafa. Of course that’s not for an Irish red however I could see that work with MO or GP
This is where I was too. I used it at a high percentage in a few beers and the maltiness was formidable. If I hopped the bejesus out of it and maybe built the water for more sulfate and maybe mashed at a lower temp or something then maybe. It’s just really, really deep.