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Homebrew Red Ale #5

Wow. I told my wife after I had kegged this and it was ready to drink that I thought it was my best beer to date. I should qualify that. I was and remains the most drinkable of my pale ales in my opinion. As for being my best beer, I can’t commit to that, but it certainly is a success. This beer came on the heels of Red Ale #4 which turned out to be a bitter, hoppy, caramely mess, but yet I still managed to kill a 3 gallon keg of that and have very few remaining bottles. I took that recipe and in an effort to make a more drinkable red ale, tweaked it. What resulted was Red Ale #5, a batch that ended up being served for my 27th birthday along with another batch, my Graff.

Onto the beer. I love the color- reddish copper and clear, with a visual crispness that is coupled perfectly by the crispness of the liquid itself. The aroma smells of hops and caramel malt, but neither being too forward or all that noticable. The taste however, is the logical outpouring of the ingredients used. A partial mash consistening of 2-Row American pale malt, with some crystal 80 for sweetness and color. Hopped with Amarillo for bittering, Centennial for everything else. This is a balanced pale ale with a noteworthy bitterness throughout the front and middle and a great hoppy finish. The carbonation was executed well by force-carbing in the keg and giving it proper time. This is the last one and a half pints this keg will offer so this beer has had its time to “condition” as they say. I’m sad to see it go but I did save two gallons to bottle for archive and sharing purposes.

At a whopping 4.2% ABV I’m still amazed at the combination of flavors and hoppiness in a very low ABV package. This was not inititally an attempt at my sought after “Claus Haus Ale” (the beer I have hoped to brew and have on tap at all times, but this recipe is clearly the frontrunner until another comes around. It’s also the first recipe that I, for the most part, devised myself. A true success. All around I’m going to give it an A-.

Cheers!