Luck of the Irish Red Ale

[CrealCritter]

Day 0 - My son in law and I brewed up a batch of Irish red ale. Original Gravity = 1.058 potential ABV 7.0%ish.

Ingredients:

Spent grains (chickens love me)

Brewed, yeast pitched, bunged and air locked. Because of the little bit of chocolate barley, the wort doesn't look red right now but the wort was a deep dark red in the kettle.

 

[sumi]

NOW you're talking! Sláinte!

 

[CrealCritter]

NOW you're talking! Sláinte!

Sláinte chugat!

 

[CrealCritter]

Day 1 - Successful start of ferment @ 67 degrees. I'm pretty confident this will be a semi peaceful ferment, so I didn't install a blowoff tube.

I'm in unfamiliar territory with this batch, using a new strain of yeast called Danstar Nottingham. it's a English style ale yeast, to stay true to the Irish style of beer this batch is.

At 68°F Nottingham yeast exhibits:

• Vigorous fermentation that can be completed in 4 days
• High Attenuation and High Flocculation
• Neutral to slightly fruity and estery flavor and aroma
• The optimal temperature range for Nottingham yeast when producing traditional styles is 50°F to 72°F

I hope this batch turns out good and I don't hose it up. The air lock smells like a spicy rose garden in full bloom. My wife even commented how wonderful it smells in the laundry room. I have to admit it does smell nice in there.

And just to make matters more difficult for myself. I also brewed this batch a new (to me) English hop called East Kent Golding. East Kent Golding is considered a Noble Hop.

It has an aroma profile with lavender, spice, honey and notes of thyme. Flavor-wise it is earthy and mildly bittering with a sweet, silky, honey-like character. East Kent Golding is considered to be the quintessential English hop, long held as one of the island’s favorites for ales and pale ales.

I may have brewed up a flower garden - IDK... We shall see when its finished.

 

[CrealCritter]

Day 2 - AM really nice ferment rolling along. Yeast was munching its way through the chocolate barley.

Then this PM the whole head fell back into the beer.

This is like some kind of turbo deluxe super yeast. I guess they take beer making seriously across the pond in england. Yeast has come a long ways since I brewed beer, like 30 years ago. I continue to be amazed at the advances and selection available to home brewers now a days.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It has an aroma profile with lavender, spice, honey and notes of thyme. Flavor-wise it is earthy and mildly bittering with a sweet, silky, honey-like character.

What a great description!

 

[CrealCritter]

What a great description!

Copy and paste from hoplist.com an awesome website for hops.

http://www.hopslist.com/hops/aroma-hops/east-kent-golding/

 

[CrealCritter]

Day 3 - still fermenting along... A bubble about every 3 seconds through the airlock. It's starting to take on a bit of red color.

 

[CrealCritter]

Day 4 - getting a bubble through the air lock about once every 10 seconds. I think the earliest this will need to be racked into the secondary would be this Friday or Saturday. I'll be washing this yeast for sure, I kinda of like the way it preforms , depending on taste I may want to use it again.

 

[CrealCritter]

Day 5 - fermentation slowing to about a bubble through the airlock every 30 seconds. Should be ready to rack into the secondary tomorrow. There's a deep layer of trub in the bottom of the carboy now.