Irish Red Ale Brew Day

On Sunday January 10, 2010 I brewed my first batch of beer for the year. I decided to go with an Irish Red Ale, as this one was one of the more popular styles that I made last year. The Irish Red ale style focuses primarily on the malt used to give the beer a caramel sweetness and a dry roasted finish. Hops usage in this beer is minimal with my recipe adding a slight spicy or earthy flavor. My recipe has an estimated 6.25% ABV.

I also added some new equipment to the brewery as I received a gift certificate from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law for Christmas. I added an aeration system to add oxygen to the wort as it begins fermentation. After the wort is boiled and cooled, it is near depleted of oxygen from

the 60-90 minute boil. Adding oxygen to the wort assists the yeast in fermentation, leading to more healthy yeast and a reduction in off-flavors in the beer from stressed yeast. The aeration system is actually just an aquarium pump with an in-line filter and a diffusion stone. The pump takes in ambient air, filters out theundesirable particles, and condenses the air through the diffusion stone. It is recommended to aerate the beer for 30-120 minutes which has added some time to my brew day, but on Sunday I was busy cleaning and sanitizing my equipment for most of that time anyway.I also purchased a "brew hauler' to assist me with carrying full glass carboys down to the basement for storage. The brew hauler is a nylon belt system that wraps

around the bottom and locks in with handles to make it easy to carry. Nothing would be worse than not only losing 5 gallons of beer due to it dropping but what a mess it would be too! Here's a picture of the aeration system and the brew hauler in action on the Irish Red Ale:
Courtesy of the BJCP, here are the style guidelines for an Irish Red Ale:

9D. Irish Red Ale

Aroma: Low to moderate malt aroma, generally caramel-like but occasionally toasty or toffee-like in nature. May have a light buttery character (although this is not required). Hop aroma is low to none (usually not present). Quite clean.

Appearance: Amber to deep reddish copper color (most examples have a deep reddish hue). Clear. Low off-white to tan colored head.

Flavor: Moderate caramel malt flavor and sweetness, occasionally with a buttered toast or toffee-like quality. Finishes with a light taste of roasted grain, which lends a characteristic dryness to the finish. Generally no flavor hops, although some examples may have a light English hop flavor. Medium-low hop bitterness, although light use of roasted grains may increase the perception of bitterness to the medium range. Medium-dry to dry finish. Clean and smooth (lager versions can be very smooth). No esters.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body, although examples containing low levels of diacetyl may have a slightly slick mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation. Smooth. Moderately attenuated (more so than Scottish ales). May have a slight alcohol warmth in stronger versions.

Overall Impression: An easy-drinking pint. Malt-focused with an initial sweetness and a roasted dryness in the finish.

Comments: Sometimes brewed as a lager (if so, generally will not exhibit a diacetyl character). When served too cold, the roasted character and bitterness may seem more elevated.

Ingredients: May contain some adjuncts (corn, rice, or sugar), although excessive adjunct use will harm the character of the beer. Generally has a bit of roasted barley to provide reddish color and dry roasted finish. UK/Irish malts, hops, yeast.

Vital Statistics: OG: 1.044 – 1.060

IBUs: 17 – 28 FG: 1.010 – 1.014

SRM: 9 – 18 ABV: 4.0 – 6.0%

Commercial Examples: Three Floyds Brian Boru Old Irish Ale, Great Lakes Conway’s Irish Ale (a bit strong at 6.5%), Kilkenny Irish Beer, O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale, Smithwick’s Irish Ale, Beamish Red Ale, Caffrey’s Irish Ale, Goose Island Kilgubbin Red Ale, Murphy’s Irish Red (lager), Boulevard Irish Ale, Harpoon Hibernian Ale

California Common Beer

I wanted to post an update on the only beer I have fermenting right now which is a California Common beer. The primary feature of this style is that it uses lager yeast that is fermented at higher temperatures. Lager beers are brewed with bottom fermenting yeast and aged for several weeks at near freezing temperatures. The term lager is actually German for "to store".

The California Common style was developed in the late 1800s when ice and refrigeration was unavailable to immigrant brewers. They developed a lager beer that went unrefrigerated and so it fermented at 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is at the lower range of ale fermenting temperatures. The California Common is also known as a hybrid beer in its use of of a special lager yeast that is fermented at ale temperatures.

Here are the BJCP guidelines for a California Common beer:

7B. California Common Beer

Aroma: Typically showcases the signature Northern Brewer hops (with woody, rustic or minty qualities) in moderate to high strength. Light fruitiness acceptable. Low to moderate caramel and/or toasty malt aromatics support the hops. No diacetyl.

Appearance: Medium amber to light copper color. Generally clear. Moderate off-white head with good retention.

Flavor: Moderately malty with a pronounced hop bitterness. The malt character is usually toasty (not roasted) and caramelly. Low to moderately high hop flavor, usually showing Northern Brewer qualities (woody, rustic, minty). Finish fairly dry and crisp, with a lingering hop bitterness and a firm, grainy malt flavor. Light fruity esters are acceptable, but otherwise clean. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium to medium-high carbonation.

Overall Impression: A lightly fruity beer with firm, grainy maltiness, interesting toasty and caramel flavors, and showcasing the signature Northern Brewer varietal hop character.

History: American West Coast original. Large shallow open fermenters (coolships) were traditionally used to compensate for the absence of refrigeration and to take advantage of the cool ambient temperatures in the San Francisco Bay area. Fermented with a lager yeast, but one that was selected to thrive at the cool end of normal ale fermentation temperatures.

Comments: This style is narrowly defined around the prototypical Anchor Steam example. Superficially similar to an American pale or amber ale, yet differs in that the hop flavor/aroma is woody/minty rather than citrusy, malt flavors are toasty and caramelly, the hopping is always assertive, and a warm-fermented lager yeast is used.

Ingredients: Pale ale malt, American hops (usually Northern Brewer, rather than citrusy varieties), small amounts of toasted malt and/or crystal malts. Lager yeast, however some strains (often with the mention of “California” in the name) work better than others at the warmer fermentation temperatures (55 to 60°F) used. Note that some German yeast strains produce inappropriate sulfury character. Water should have relatively low sulfate and low to moderate carbonate levels.

Vital Statistics: OG: 1.048 – 1.054

IBUs: 30 – 45 FG: 1.011 – 1.014

SRM: 10 – 14 ABV: 4.5 – 5.5%

Commercial Examples: Anchor Steam, Southampton Steem Beer, Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager