My friend and I were wondering what is put into Red Ales to give them there reddish tint. Can anyone help us with this, cause we were looking to make one.
I use carared malt. 15-20% gives you a nice reddish copper color. An oz. or so of roast barley can do that, too.
I have not used the cara-red but that is probably the best choice. But if you are willing to experiment some you can add just a small amount of roasted malt/barley/carafa special (huskless) to get a red color, plus a malt such as Cara Vienne or crystal 40L.
1-2 oz of Carafa II or III Special will give a great red color and VERY little flavor.