McShepardSons Irish Ale

Mid-march of 2022, I had a tragedy occur in my beer fridge. I had apparently not properly attached the picnic tap to the ball lock of the keg, which caused a leak.

I had already been low on my beer inventory. I had only one keg of homebrew with about a gallon left in it.

So ...  I decided to do a double batch to catch up.

It was close to St Patrick's Day, and that helped me decide to do an Irish Red. But, since it was to be a double batch, I decided to go ahead and split it with a Voss Kveik yeast ferment as well.

I put the OG and projected ABV pretty low in the Irish Red range in hopes that fermentation would finish more quickly.

The resulting beers were great sessionable beers. For a comparison between the two, see Sheppy's Blog: McShepardSons Comparison

Batch 2 was a standard 5 gallon batch with Irish Ale Yeast.

The name "McShepardSons" comes from a series of geocaches that I hid years ago. Most of them have been Muggled and no longer exist, but I thought it was a good name for an Irish Ale.

Untappd:  McShepardSons Irish Ale and McShepardsons Irish Ale (Voss)

For more about the beer (and the Geocaches) see Sheppy's Blog: McShepardSons

McShepardSons Irish Ale --- Batch 2 (352)

Style		Irish Red Ale		Batch Size		5.50 gal
Type		All Grain		Boil Size		6.54 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency		68.00		Boil Time		50 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity		1.041 SG		Estimated FG		1.011 SG
Recipe Bitterness		27.3 IBUs (Rager)		Alcohol by Volume		3.9 %
BU : GU		0.674
Recipe Color		13.4 SRM		Color
Measured OG:		1.041		Measured FG:		1.012
ADF:		70		Measured ABV:		3.8

Ingredients

Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU	Volume
7.69 gal	Denver, Colorado	Water	1	-	-
5.00 g	Calcium Chloride (Mash)	Water Agent	2	-	-
2.00 g	Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash)	Water Agent	3	-	-
1.00 g	Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash)	Water Agent	4	-	-
1.00 tsp	Lactic Acid (Mash)	Water Agent	5	-	-
8 lbs	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)	Grain	6	91.4 %	0.63 gal
6.0 oz	Proximity Brown Malt (160.0 SRM)	Grain	7	4.3 %	0.03 gal
4.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)	Grain	8	2.9 %	0.02 gal
2.0 oz	Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)	Grain	9	1.4 %	0.01 gal
0.500 oz	Magnum [12.60 %] - Boil 40.0 min	Hop	10	19.7 IBUs	-
1.00 Items	Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)	Fining	11	-	-
1.00 tsp	Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)	Other	12	-	-
2.000 oz	East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.60 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	13	7.7 IBUs	-
1.0 pkg	Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084)	Yeast	14	-	-

Mash Profile

Mash Steps

Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Saccharification	Add 30.73 qt of water at 157.5 F	152.0 F	45 min
Heat	Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min	158.0 F	15 min
Mash Out	Heat to 170.0 F over 7 min	170.0 F	10 min

If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort

Recipe Notes
Prepare mash and sparge water together.
Brewing salts in the mash and sparge water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to "Balanced Amber"
Ca=94,Mg=12,Na=21,SO4=102,Cl=106,HCO3=104
Acid addition to bring calculated pH around 5.3
Mash and boil as directed above.
Cool to around 65 degrees.
Ferment for a couple weeks. (a little less for Voss yeast)
Force carbonate to 2.5 volumes. Condition to taste.

Brewing Record

Brew Date:				Strike Temp:
Mash Temps:
Pre-boil OG		(1.037 SG)		Pre-boil Vol		(6.54 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency				Pitch Temp
Fermentation
Day 1:
Day ...
Day ...