March 17, 2016 - 11 comments

Introducing: Klifferd the Big Red Ale

Top o' the mornin' to yeh! Or evenin'... ♩ Lar-de-dar-de-diddle de-dum de-dee! ♩ *clicks heels in the air*

*ahem* excuse me... sorry. I sometimes (err...often) get carried away. I was typing in an Irish accent if you didn't follow. I hope you read it that way. If not, I'll give you five seconds to go back and read it again with an Irish voice in your head... Done? Good. The Irish always seem so chipper, with St. Paddy's Day finally here, there's much to be chipper about. For instance, Silly Sir Brewing Co. (a.k.a. me) is proud to announce the release of it's second Irish Red ale: Klifferd the Big Red Ale. It's big, it's Irish, and it's a whole lot of deliciousness capped and trapped in a bottle.

IMG_6951

Rapidly chillin' the wort with copper coils

Man, I've typed so much, yet said so little. Alright, let's get down to brass tacks, shall we?

This is the first brew day I've extensively documented through pictures. I've had requests from many of the Reddit readers of this blog to outline my procedures and recipes more thoroughly. This post is primarily for home brewers, but I will attempt to explain everything in an easy to follow way for those of you who are just interested in the process.

My recipe was adapted from Homebrew Talk Forums. I was drawn to it because it 1) apparently took 1st place at a homebrew competition, 2) uses American hops, 3) had several grains I'd never used before, and 4) looked deliciously malty. Irish Reds are not particularly popular styles of beer for homebrewers to brew (presumably because they're relatively low on the bitterness, and most of us are hop-heads), but this recipe is really quite delish and malt forward.

MY ADAPTED RECIPE: 

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP-001
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.0
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.011
IBU: 32
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 16.5 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 12 days @ 70 F
Tasting Notes: Medium malt aroma and big malt flavours of biscuit and bread. Medium sweetness with slight honey notes balanced out by the citrus of the Cascade hops.

ADAPTED Ingredients

8.00 lb Maris Otter (2 Row) UK (2.0 SRM) (72.7%)
1.00 lb Caraaroma (130.0 SRM) (9.1%)
0.50 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) (4.5%)
0.50 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) (4.5%)
0.50 oz Northern Brewer [6.00 %] (60 min) (11.9 IBU)
1.00 oz Cascade [6.60 %] (30 min) (21.1 IBU)
1.00 lb Honey (1.0 SRM) (add at flame out) (9.1%)
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)

Silly Sir Apartment Brewing - Irish Red

My Tiny Apartment Brewhouse - It's tiny but I get by just fine.

I made a few adaptations to the Homebrew Talk Forum recipe. For example, I used 0.5oz Northern Brewer hops instead of 1.0oz Crystal. I also used Maris Otter instead of US 2 Row as I thought it would contribute a more pronounced biscuit profile for this style of beer. Finally, I adjusted the batch size from 5.5 gal to 5.0 gal because my grains hadn't been crushed enough and I feared I'd undershoot the OG without adjustments (I didn't have my own mill at this point).

To start, I heated the strike water to 163.5 before adding it to my mash tun.

I really had to ensure that I killed any clumps in the mash before I added the cooler lid. I also let the mash sit an extra 15 minutes, hoping to extract as much sugar as possible. I knew the added time probably wouldn't do too much to the gravity (sugar content) readings - if anything at all - but I didn't mind waiting a bit longer.

After an hour and 15 minutes, I collected the first runnings in my little pot, and recirculated before drawing it into the boil kettle.

I really had to ensure that I killed any clumps in the mash before I added the cooler lid. I also let the mash sit an extra 15 minutes, hoping to extract as much sugar as possible. I knew the added time probably wouldn’t do too much to the gravity (sugar content) readings – if anything at all – but I didn’t mind waiting a bit longer.

After an hour and 15 minutes, I collected the first runnings in my little pot, and recirculated before drawing it into the boil kettle.

I measured out my hops, brought the wort to a boil on my electric stove, and boiled the Northern Brewer hops for 30 minutes before adding the Cascade hops and boiling them together for another 30.

0.5 oz of Northern Brewer at 6.0% A.A.

0.5 oz of Northern Brewer at 6.0% A.A.

I added 1lb of liquid honey at flame out…

Published by: Matti in Brewing, Techniques & Tips

Comments

Sara
March 17, 2016 at 9:13 pm

Congratulations on gaining 30pts of your dignity back. Can’t wait to see what’s brewing next.

Comments are closed.

    Matti
    March 17, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Yeah, but it’s still down 70 pts. I think brewing on a toilet in my underwear docked all swag points possible.

    Comments are closed.

Marshall Schott
March 17, 2016 at 9:13 pm

I am a fan of Irish Red, would love a pint right this second!

Comments are closed.

    Matti
    March 17, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Right? What an underrated style. I do like the American hops in this recipe. They add a lot to brighten it up just enough so that the focus is still on the hops. Cheers!

    Comments are closed.

Janet Cowan
March 18, 2016 at 12:00 am

Big fan – want to taste it. Your blog details the process and it is obvious you are very particular and caring of your brews. Lots of work and commitment.

Comments are closed.

    Matti
    March 18, 2016 at 4:58 am

    Thanks Mrs. Cowan! Wow, we share a last name. What a crazy coincidence! 😉

    Comments are closed.

Mike V
March 18, 2016 at 6:13 am

I might have to give this recipe a try sometime, it looks delicious. I’m getting ready do to my first beer on the weekend so I might want to get a bit more practise in before tackling this one.

One quick question though. What was your preboil volume and about how long does it take for your stove to get it to a boil?

Comments are closed.

    Matti
    March 18, 2016 at 6:21 am

    Hey Mike,

    I wish I had an exact figure for my pre-boil volume. I’d peg it at around 6.1 gallons or so. I don’t have markings on my brew kettle, and so it’s just an estimation. I typically lose about 1.1 gallons an hour during a boil. It takes me around 45 minutes to heat it to a boil. As I progress I become more exact, but currently these are really only estimations. I’m okay with being off a couple gravity points, right now.

    Comments are closed.

      Mike V
      March 18, 2016 at 6:40 am

      Thanks. That’s good to know. I will also be using my stove and an unsure of it will be able to get that much water to a boil. Starting off with a 3 gallon batch on Saturday to see how it goes but will hopefully be able to get up to 5 soon

      Comments are closed.

Magdalene Gerwin
March 19, 2016 at 9:11 pm

Hello Matthew,

well done, sounds delicious and a lot of work.
Maybe Hal can try it one day. I’m not really a beer drinker…

You and Sarah, have a great and SAFE trip,
Much love,
Magdalene

Comments are closed.

    Matti
    March 19, 2016 at 9:21 pm

    I’ll make sure I save some for Hal

    Comments are closed.
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