Luck of the Irish Red Ale

CrealCritter

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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:
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Spent grains (chickens love me)
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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.
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CrealCritter

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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.
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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.
 
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CrealCritter

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Day 2 - AM really nice ferment rolling along. Yeast was munching its way through the chocolate barley.
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Then this PM the whole head fell back into the beer.
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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.
 

CrealCritter

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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.
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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.
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CrealCritter

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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.
IMG_20190418_214518398.jpg
 

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