Recipe

Shaun of the Red (Irish Red Ale)

Shaun of the Red (Irish Red Ale)

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.060  FG = 1.015
IBU = 28  SRM = 13  ABV = 5.8%

Ingredients
2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) light dried malt extract
4 lb. 6 oz. (2.0 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
6.5 oz. (184 g) 2-row pale ale malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
6 oz. (170 g) crystal malt (60 °L)
2 oz. (57 g) crystal malt (90 °L)
1.5 oz. (43 g) roasted barley (300 °L)
5.8 AAU Target hops (60 mins) (0.53 oz./15 g of 11% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Kent Goldings hops (30 mins) (0.50 oz./14 g of 5% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7.1 g) Fuggles hops (5 mins)
1 tsp. Irish moss
Wyeast 1084 (Irish ale) or White Labs WLP004 (Irish ale) yeast (2 qt,/~2 L yeast starter)
0.75 cups corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step
Place crushed grains in a nylon steeping bag. In a large kitchen pot, heat 3.0 qts. (2.8 L) of water to 161 °F (72 °C). Submerge grain bag in water and let steep at 150 °F (66 °C) for 45 minutes. (If temperature drops below 148 °F (64 °C), heat to 150 °F (66 °C) again.) While grains are steeping, heat 1.5 qts. (~1.5 L) of water to 170 °F (77 °C) in a sauce pan. Also, begin heating 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water to a boil in your brewpot. When steeping is done, place a colander over your brewpot and lift the grain bag into it. Pour the “grain tea” through the bag (which will strain out most of the grain bits), then rinse the bag with the 1.5 qts. (~1.5 L) of 170
°F (77 °C) water.

Heat the (roughly) 3 gallons (11 L) of wort in your brewpot to a boil, then stir in dried malt extract. (It will foam a bit, so don’t pour all the extract in at once.) Bring the wort back to a boil, add the Target hops and boil for 60 minutes. Add the Kent Goldings hops with 30 minutes left in the boil. Add liquid malt extract, and Irish moss with 15 minutes left in boil. Add Fuggles 5 minutes before the end of the boil.

After the boil, put a lid on your brewpot and cool the wort (either in a cold-water bath in your sink or with a wort chiller). Cool until
the side of the brewpot no longer feels warm. Transfer wort to your fermenter and top up to 5.25 gallons (20 L) with cool water. Aerate the wort and pitch your yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °F). When fermentation slows to halt, rack to secondary. Bottle with corn sugar (or keg) one week later.

Issue: September 2006

A robust version of an Irish red ale — you might call it a red ale with a little more guts.