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Eric's Red Ale (previous recipes)

One of my first beers. One of my favorites. One of the most tinkered with. Most of the iterations (so far) have been based on Mr. Beer ingredients, but now we are finally moving this to an all-grain recipe. To see the most current recipe, follow this link.

Eric's Red --- Batch 10

Style	American Amber Ale	Batch Size	5.50 gal
Type	All Grain	Boil Size	7.77 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency	75.00	Boil Time	90 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity

1.053 SG

Estimated FG

1.012 SG

Recipe Bitterness

29.6 IBUs (Rager)

Alcohol by Volume

5.5 %

BU : GU

0.557

Recipe Color

12.6 SRM

Color

Measured OG:

1.053

Measured FG:

1.012

ADF:

Measured ABV:

5.5

Ingredients

Ingredients
Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
3.00 g	Chalk (Mash 60.0 mins)	Water Agent	1	-
9 lbs	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)	Grain	2	86.2 %
12.0 oz	Carared (20.0 SRM)	Grain	3	7.2 %
6.0 oz	Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (55.0 SRM)	Grain	4	3.6 %
5.0 oz	Chocolate Rye Malt (250.0 SRM)	Grain	5	3.0 %
0.250 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [15.20 %] - Boil 50.0 min	Hop	6	13.9 IBUs
0.50 tsp	Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins)	Fining	7	-
0.50 tsp	Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)	Other	8	-
1.000 oz	Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	9	6.5 IBUs
1.000 oz	Citra [14.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	10	9.2 IBUs
1.0 pkg	Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004)	Yeast	11	-

Mash Profile

Mash Steps
Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Mash In	Add 13.05 qt of water at 159.1 F	148.0 F	75 min

Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.87gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water

Recipe Notes
Make yeast starter few days ahead of time.
3g chalk in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=67,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=50,Cl=23,HCO3=157
Pitch as close to 60 F as possible. Keep temp below 65 for 2 days, then let it warm up to room temp (but lower than 72)
Ferment about 2 weeks.
Force carbonate to 2.5 volumes. Condition to taste.

Brewing Record

Brew Date:	12/11/2016	Strike Temp:	160
Mash Temps:	148 down to 146ish
Pre-boil OG	1.043 (1.043 SG)	Pre-boil Vol	8 (7.77 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency		Pitch Temp
Fermentation
Day 1: Active at 60F
Day 3: Still going strong 64
Day ...

Eric's Red (Citra) --- Batch 9

Style	Irish Red Ale	Batch Size	5.50 gal
Type	All Grain	Boil Size	7.76 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency	75.00	Boil Time	90 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity

1.053 SG

Estimated FG

1.012 SG

Recipe Bitterness

26.5 IBUs (Rager)

Alcohol by Volume

5.5 %

BU : GU

0.497

Recipe Color

12.6 SRM

Color

Measured OG:

1.052

Measured FG:

1.013

ADF:

75%

Measured ABV:

5.1

Ingredients

Ingredients
Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
3.00 g	Chalk (Mash 60.0 mins)	Water Agent	1	-
9 lbs	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)	Grain	2	86.2 %
12.0 oz	Carared (20.0 SRM)	Grain	3	7.2 %
6.0 oz	Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (55.0 SRM)	Grain	4	3.6 %
5.0 oz	Chocolate Rye Malt (250.0 SRM)	Grain	5	3.0 %
0.250 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.00 %] - Boil 50.0 min	Hop	6	15.6 IBUs
0.50 tsp	Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins)	Fining	7	-
0.50 tsp	Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)	Other	8	-
1.000 oz	Citra [12.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	9	8.1 IBUs
0.250 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	10	2.8 IBUs
1.0 pkg	Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004)	Yeast	11	-

Mash Profile

Mash Steps
Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Mash In	Add 13.05 qt of water at 159.1 F	148.0 F	75 min

Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.87gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water
Recipe Notes
Make yeast starter few days ahead of time.
3g chalk in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=67,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=50,Cl=23,HCO3=157
Pitch as close to 60 F as possible. Keep temp below 65 for 2 days, then let it warm up to room temp (but lower than 72)
Ferment about 2 weeks.
Force carbonate to 2.5 volumes. Condition to taste.

Brewing Record

Brew Date:	10/19/2014	Strike Temp:	160
Mash Temps:	150 throughout
Pre-boil OG	1.045 (1.043 SG)	Pre-boil Vol	7.5 (7.76 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency		Pitch Temp	64
Fermentation
Day 1: Fast start 64
Day ...
Day ...

Brewing Notes:

10/16/2014 esheppy
Bought ingredients today at the "other" LHBS. More or less got what I wanted, although they didn't have enough marris otter. I mixed in some Briess Pale Malt to make up the difference there. They also didn't have the Edinburgh yeast so I just went with Irish Ale. I was pleased that they had the carared and the chocolate rye.

10/20/2014 esheppy
Brewed yesterday. No issues. Pitched at about 64. Took off before the end of the day. 64 / 66 today and going strong.

10/23/2014 esheppy
Seems done with main fermentation. Seems to have flocculated real well.

10/24/2014 esheppy
Took a sample. 1.014 gravity puts this beer right at 5% ABV. The Citra hops taste really good with that Maris Otter base.

11/02/2014 esheppy
Kegging today. Beautiful beer. Calling the fg 1.013. Nice and clear. Get the citra hops more in the aroma than the flavor. That unmistakable Red flavor comes through nicely. Love this beer.

11/21/2014 esheppy
Moved to keggerator and had a little sample. Needs carbonation, but OMG this is a great beer. Set psi to 12.

12/12/2014 esheppy
Great beer. Really like the malt bill of this.

12/26/2014 esheppy
This is almost gone. Too bad. It really tastes great. Nice to know there will be an empty keg, though.

01/10/2015 esheppy
Last beer very cloudy, but still tasty. Sad to see this beer gone. I will need this key soon, though.

Eric's Irish Red (AG) --- Batch 8

Style	Irish Red Ale	Batch Size	5.50 gal
Type	All Grain	Boil Size	7.76 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency	75.00	Boil Time	90 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity

1.053 SG

Estimated FG

1.012 SG

Recipe Bitterness

28.6 IBUs (Rager)

Alcohol by Volume

5.4 %

BU : GU

0.540

Recipe Color

12.2 SRM

Color

Measured OG:

1.052

Measured FG:

1.008

ADF:

85%

Measured ABV:

5.8%

Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
9 lbs	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)	Grain	1	86.7 %
12.0 oz	Carared (20.0 SRM)	Grain	2	7.2 %
6.1 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)	Grain	3	3.7 %
4.0 oz	Chocolate Rye Malt (250.0 SRM)	Grain	4	2.4 %
0.380 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.00 %] - Boil 50.0 min	Hop	5	23.7 IBUs
0.50 tsp	Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins)	Fining	6	-
0.50 tsp	Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)	Other	7	-
1.000 oz	Crystal [3.30 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	8	2.1 IBUs
0.250 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	9	2.8 IBUs
1.0 pkg	London Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1028) [124.21 ml]	Yeast	10	-

Mash Profile

Mash Steps

Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Mash In	Add 12.98 qt of water at 163.7 F	152.0 F	60 min

Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.88gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water

Recipe Notes
Make yeast starter out of harvested yeast a few days ahead of time.
Pitch as close to 60 F as possible. Keep temp below 65 for 2 days, then let it warm up to room temp (but lower than 72)
Ferment about 2 weeks.
Force carbonate to 2.5 volumes. Condition to taste.

Brewing Record

Brew Date:	11/17	Strike Temp:
Mash Temps:	154 to 152
Pre-boil OG	(1.043 SG)	Pre-boil Vol	(7.76 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency		Pitch Temp
Fermentation
Day 1:
Day ...
Day ...

Brewing Notes: 11/18/2013 esheppy
Brewed yesterday. Everything went well. Only ended up with about 5 gallons because of lots of trub / hop matter. This morning, the kraussen is starting to form.

11/20/2013 esheppy
Fermentation has slowed down almost completely. The beer still has a bunch of haze in it. Hopefully that will flocculate out in the next week or so. 70 degrees.

12/01/2013 esheppy
Took a sample. 1.008 FG, which is a bit drier than intended, but ok. Tastes great.

12/01/2013 esheppy
Kegged this up today.

12/11/2013 esheppy
Tried from the keg, which has been under pressure in the cold garage. Expected it to be well carbed. It wasn't. Not sure if my regulator gauge is wrong or if I just need more time.

12/15/2013 esheppy
Has been in keggerator for the past few days. Carbonation is better, although it could be a bit more. I had forgotten how much I love this beer. Soooo good.

12/31/2013 esheppy
Been drinking quite a bit over the holidays. Everything is perfect with this beer. Love it.

01/04/2014 esheppy
The Beer Model killed the keg last night. Didn't realize it was so close to being gone. Sad to see it gone, but that does mean I can be again.

Eric's Irish Red (AG) --- batch 7

Style	Irish Red Ale	Batch Size	5.50 gal
Type	All Grain	Boil Size	7.00 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency	75.00	Boil Time	90 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity

1.053 SG

Estimated FG

1.013 SG

Recipe Bitterness

27.6 IBUs (Rager)

Alcohol by Volume

5.3 %

BU : GU

0.521

Recipe Color

11.9 SRM

Color

Measured OG:

1.056

Measured FG:

1.011

ADF:

80%

Measured ABV:

Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
9 lbs	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)	Grain	1	86.7 %
12.0 oz	Carared (20.0 SRM)	Grain	2	7.2 %
6.1 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)	Grain	3	3.7 %
4.0 oz	Chocolate Rye Malt (250.0 SRM)	Grain	4	2.4 %
0.38 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.00 %] - Boil 50.0 min	Hop	5	22.9 IBUs
0.50 tsp	Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins)	Fining	6	-
0.50 tsp	Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)	Other	7	-
1.00 oz	Crystal [3.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	8	2.0 IBUs
0.25 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	9	2.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg	SafeAle American Ale (Fermentis #US-05) [25.00 ml]	Yeast	10	-

Mash Profile

Mash Steps

Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Mash In	Add 12.98 qt of water at 163.7 F	152.0 F	60 min

Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.50gal, 3.50gal) of 168.0 F water Recipe Notes
Make yeast starter out of harvested US05 a few days ahead of time.
Pitch as close to 60 F as possible. Keep temp below 65 for 2 days, then let it warm up to room temp (but lower than 72)
Ferment about 2 weeks.
Batch prime with 4oz table sugar. Carbonate 2 weeks. Condition as long as able (2 months?)

Brewing Record

Brew Date:	1/22/2012	Strike Temp:	?
Mash Temps:	?
Pre-boil OG	1.044 (1.049 SG)	Pre-boil Vol	7.5 gal (7.00 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency	85%	Pitch Temp	60
Fermentation
Day 1: Took off quick still around 60
Day 3:64

Brewing Notes: 01/12/2012 Bought Ingredients esheppy
Bought the ingredients for this today. Made some adjustments at the LHBS. Went with Simpson's Maris Otter as the base grain. Changed from C120 to a little more of Simpson's C80. LBHS was out of EKG, so I grabbed some crystal hops instead. Really looking forward to brew day.

01/14/2012 esheppy
Making starter with 4 cups water and 1 cup dme. Brewing tomorrow. Probably should have done starter earlier. RDWHAHB

01/16/2012 Failure esheppy
Brew day yesterday was a failure. Ended up with about 5 gallons of 1.040 wort which may or may not end up fine for a session beer. Decided to re-brew Eric's Red next weekend.

01/19/2012 esheppy
Got ingredients for attempt #2.

01/22/2012 Starter etc ... esheppy
Got my starter started last night. Considering this is the 2nd iteration of making starter, I may not have even needed to do it. This morning I realized my hops were not where they were supposed to be. I found them on the kitchen counter. My Columbus hops are 17% AA, so I needed to adjust the recipe a little. Hopefully today's brew day goes better than last week's failure.

01/23/2012 Brew Day (yesterday) esheppy
Brewed it up. Everything went well. 1.056 OG in about 5 gallons wort into the fermenter. 60 degrees this morning and clear signs of yeast activity.

02/09/2012 esheppy
Took sample. Good attenuation. Good taste. Good color. Happy with this beer so far.

02/28/2012 esheppy
Have been storing in garage the last couple of days to cool it down some before putting in the keggerator.

02/28/2012 esheppy
Putting under 12 (or so) psi overnight. Will probably put in keggerator on Thursday.

03/01/2012 esheppy
Blew the keg of Stone Soup last night, so this morning I had an empty keggerator. Moved Eric's Red into the keggerator. Still under 12psi.

03/02/2012 esheppy
Had quite a bit last night. Really like the maris otter base malt. The balance is about right although it could probably stand a little more hoppy character. I have the psi still up to 12psi and the flow is pretty much a trickle. I tried taking off the beer-out post hoping to clear gunk from the poppet, but there was none. There must be some sort of blockage towards the bottom of the dip tube? At this point, I'll probably just live with it, but might want to try to figure out how to clear whatever blockage is going on or transfer to another keg.

03/04/2012 esheppy
Had some while brewing PIRA. Has cleared up a bit since last taste. Really nice beer. Don't think this will last long.

03/05/2012 esheppy
The Beer Model apparently likes this beer as well. The beer will be around that much shorter of a time.

03/29/2012 esheppy
The Beer Model blew the keg tonight. Damn. I am gonna miss having this on tap.

Eric's Red 6th batch--- cost $29.54

Style		Irish Red Ale		Batch Size		2.40 gal
Type		Extract		Boil Size		1.46 gal

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity

1.054 SG

Estimated FG

1.014 SG

Recipe Bitterness

24.8 IBU (Rager)

Alcohol by Volume

5.26 %

BU : GU

0.455

Recipe Color

13.8 SRM

Color

Measured OG:

1.056

Measured FG:

1.017

ADF:

69.6%

Measured ABV:

5.09%

Ingredients

Amount	Item	Type	% or IBU
2 lbs 6.7 oz	Mr. Beer Bewitched Red HME (17.0 SRM)	Extract	66.67 %
1 lbs 3.4 oz	Mr. Beer Mellow Amber UME [Boil for 15 min]	Extract	33.33 %
0.25 oz	Williamette [4.80 %] (15 min)	Hops	3.0 IBU
0.25 tsp	Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min)	Misc
1 Pkgs	SafAle English Ale (Fermentis #S-04)	Yeast-Ale

Recipe Notes
Hydrate yeast in sanitary bowl. Bring 1.5 gallons water with UME to boil. Add hops.and yeast nutrient. Boil 15 minutes and take off the heat. Add HME. Cool and pitch as normal.
Ferment 2 to 3 weeks. Actively cool to 60 for first day of fermentation. Keep at around 65 for the first few days, then let ferment at ambient temp.
Ferment with 2.25oz table suger in 2 cups boiled water.

Brewing Notes:
03/25/2010
This is the first page on this site of which I am dynamically populating from a database. Should make content managment easier.

12/21/2010 Brewing Day esheppy
So easy to do a Mr. Beer batch. No difficulties. Everything went just great. I don't have room in any of my big coolers, but it has been pretty cool in the house, so I am simply letting ferment in one of my sterilite bins next to an ice bottle. Probably just will let it go the rest of the way.delete

12/23/2010
This morning, fermentation was at 70 degrees and very active. I added a new ice bottle (despite the fact that I said I would just leave it). Hoping this doesn't stall the fermentation. It shouldn't be a problem.

01/06/2011 Bottled esheppy
Bottled up with 2.25oz sugar in 2 cups water. Got 17 12 oz bottles, 2 22oz bombers, and 2 1 liter bottles. Very much tastes like a nice Irish Red. I think I would have liked better attenuation, but I guess I can live with what I got.

01/22/2011
Had a taste last night. Pretty good, but I think it could use some conditioning. I'll let it sit for a month and then probably just drink it all up.

Eric's Red 5th batch--- cost $22.70

Style		American Amber Ale		Batch Size		2.13 gal
Type		Extract		Boil Size		1.01 gal

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity

1.049 SG

Estimated FG

1.013 SG

Recipe Bitterness

21.7 IBU (Rager)

Alcohol by Volume

4.70 %

BU : GU

0.445

Recipe Color

14.6 SRM

Color

Ingredients

Amount	Item	Type	% or IBU
1 lbs 3.4 oz	Mr. Beer Bewitched Red HME (17.0 SRM)	Extract	34.13 %
1 lbs 3.4 oz	Mr. Beer Mellow Amber UME (17.0 SRM)	Extract	34.13 %
8.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 25L (25.0 SRM)	Grain	14.10 %
4.0 oz	Carared (20.0 SRM)	Grain	7.05 %
0.50 oz	Williamette [5.50 %] (20 min)	Hops	9.6 IBU
0.22 tsp	Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min)	Misc
6.0 oz	Honey (1.0 SRM)	Sugar	10.58 %
1 Pkgs	SafeAle American Ale (Fermentis #US-05)	Yeast-Ale

Mash Profile
Steep grains as desired (30-60 minutes)

Remove grains, and prepare to boil wort

Recipe Notes

Bring 1 gallon water to 155F. Add specialty grain in sack to water and steep for 35 minutes. Remove grain sack and let drain into wort. Bring wort to boil and add hops. Boil for 20 minutes. Add honey during last 5 minutes of the boil. After the boil, remove from heat and add HME / UME to the wort. Cool in ice bath to less than 80F, and then add to fermenter. Top off with water to 8.5 liters. Aerate and pitch yeast as usual.
http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf
Ferment 2-3 weeks.
Batch prime with 2.50 oz table sugar.

Date	Note

Eric's Red 4th batch --- $.92 / 12 oz bottle

Recipe	Eric's Red	Style	American Amber Ale
Brewer	Sheppy Brew	Batch	2.13 gal
Extract

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity	1.049 OG	Estimated FG	1.012 FG
Recipe Bitterness	20 IBU	Alcohol by Volume	4.7%
Recipe Color	14° SRM	Alcohol by Weight	3.7%

Ingredients

Quantity	Grain	Type	Use
0.50 lb	CaraRed	Grain	Steeped
0.25 lb	Crystal 25L	Grain	Steeped
0.125 lb	Honey	Sugar	Other
1.21 lb	MrB. Bewitched Red Ale	Extract	Extract
1.21 lb	MrB. Mellow Amber UME	Extract	Extract
Quantity	Hop	Type	Time
0.50 oz	Willamette	Pellet	20 minutes
1.00 oz	MrB. Bewitched Red Ale	Pellet	5 minutes
Quantity	Misc	Notes
0.50 unit	Irish Moss	Fining	Add last 15 minutes of boil.
1.00 unit	American Ale yeast	Yeast	Fermentis SAFEALE US-05

Recipe Notes

Date	Note
09/23/2009 Wed	Mixed in Tuke. Seemed to go well. After pitching yeast, put straight in the cooler for 62-65 degree fermentation. The yeast became very active by the end of the day.
10/3/2009 Sat	Moved Tuke out of the cooler to warm up a bit before bottling this coming week.
10/10/2009 Sat	Batch primed with 2.5 oz sugar. Bottled in 3 liter bottles and 14 12oz bottles. Everything went fine.
10/28/2009 Wed	Placed these in conditioning cooler.
10/29/2009 Thur	Got an update on the Mr. Beer ingredients. This beer went from .264 GU/BU to .408 Color went from 12 to 14.
11/08/2009 Sun	Put several into the beer fridge.
11/14/2009 Sat	Tasted a couple while bottling WWW. Great stuff. I think this combination is "the stuff". The only possible tweak I might make is to reverse the amount of the CaraRed and the Crystal, but will have to see how conditioning goes.
11/26/2009 Thur	Enjoyed one with Thanksgiving dinner. Good solid beer. Have decided I will cut the CaraRed and increase the Crystal.
12/01/2009 Tues	Put all but 5 12 oz bottles into the beer fridge. Had a couple already in the fridge with dinner. Well conditioned.
12/06/2009 Sun	Put some more in the beer fridge.
12/13/2009 Sun	Put the rest into the beer fridge. Had one with lunch. Very good.
01/02/2010 Sat	Had one while brewing tweedle beetle stout. Still very good, but think I like dragon spit better now. Phat & Tyred is officially #1.
01/10/2010 Sun	Had a 12oz while watching football and a liter while eating dinner. We are in the sweet spot for the age of this beer. Think I am going to try to save a couple to go a long time.

Eric's Red 2nd batch (Mixed 5/23/2009), 3rd batch with WY1272 (Mixed 6/7/2009)

Recipe	Eric's Red	Style	American Amber Ale
Brewer	Sheppy Brew	Batch	2.13 gal
Extract

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity	1.049 OG	Estimated FG	1.012 FG
Recipe Bitterness	20 IBU	Alcohol by Volume	4.7%
Recipe Color	14° SRM	Alcohol by Weight	3.7%

Ingredients

Quantity	Grain	Type	Use
0.50 lb	CaraRed	Grain	Steeped
0.50 lb	Honey	Sugar	Other
1.21 lb	MrB. Bewitched Red Ale	Extract	Extract
1.21 lb	MrB. Mellow Amber UME	Extract	Extract
Quantity	Hop	Type	Time
0.25 oz	Cascade	Pellet	30 minutes
1.00 oz	MrB. Bewitched Red Ale	Pellet	5 minutes
Quantity	Misc	Notes

Recipe Notes

Bring 1 gallon water to 155F. Add CaraRed in muslim sack to water and steep for 30 minutes. Remove grain sack and let drain into wort. Bring wort to boil and add Cascade hops in hop sack. Boil for 30 minutes. Add honey during last 5 minutes of the boil. After the boil, remove from heat and add HME / UME to the wort. Cool in ice bath to less than 80F, and then add to fermenter. Top off with water to 8.5 liters. Aerate and pitch yeast as usual.

Date	Note
05/23/2009 Sat	My first steeping experience went really well thanks to my talented young apprentice, Con-Man. I did not think the pot was big enough for a full gallon of boiling water, so I reduced the boil volume from 1 gal to about 3/4 gal. I love the smell of boiling grain in the morning. Note to self: probably need a better thermometer than the meat thermometers we have. At the very least, I need it to go down to 80. Also digital would be better.
06/07/2009 Sun	Mixed Eric's Red in Tuke with a specialty yeast WY1272. So, now both fermenters have pretty much the same beer in them. I am really interested in seeing how much difference the American Ale II yeast changes the beer over the Mr. Beer dry yeast. Once this batch is done fermenting, I hope to harvest the yeast to re-use. Isn't it exciting? Also, am not leaving the hop sack in for the fermentation cycle.
06/10/2009 Wed	Tried a sample from Rutt. Tastes good. Not sure if I should bottle before this weekend or after (I'll be camping on scheduled bottling day). Am sort of leaning toward bottling tomorrow. I guess we will see how things go with packing etc. Tuke (with the WY1272 yeast) is in a Sterilite bin with an ice bottle in it. I'm trying to keep its fermentation temp at about 65. It has been down as low as 62 and as high as 67. But, I have been monitoring it pretty close. I probably need to invest in an actual cooler for lower fermentation temps.
06/13/2009 Sat	Well, we did not get to go camping this weekend, so I was able to bottle beer today after-all. Bottled in 4 liter bottles and 12 12oz bottles. The last bottle broke. Not sure why, and I do not know what kind of bottle it was. It was not Sam Adams or New Belgium (those are marked on the glass themselves). So, since my glass bottle inventory is pretty high right now, I am going to get rid of any questionable bottles as I find them. Because my Dragon Spit carbonation was so low, I carbed with about 2.5 oz of sugar (closer to the Mr. Beer suggested). The WY1272 fermentation is different than any of the Mr. Beer Yeast fermentations. It has had a real creamy foam for much longer than any of my other beers. The keg got up to 70 today. Have to keep a closer eye on it I guess.
06/26/2009 Fri	Bottled the WY1272 with 2.5 oz sugar boiled in 2 cups water. Got 4 liter bottles and 14 12oz bottles out of this batch. Probably means I overfilled the keg, but since it is a darkish beer, should be ok. Sample tasted pretty good. Harvested the yeast to re-use on future brews.
06/29/2009 Mon	Moved bottles from 5/23 mix into conditioning cooler. Will probably try a couple in mid-July, but hope to be able to keep most of these in cooler for at least one month.
07/10/2009 Fri	Moved the WY1272 bottles into the conditioning cooler. Will have to try some the first week in August, but will want to keep in conditioning cooler as long as possible.
07/22/2009 Wed	In the morning, I moved a couple of the 5/23 batch into the beer fridge, and in the evening, I tried them. There is definitely more bitterness with the extra hops, and I do not have quite the nice sweet taste I had before. I do not think the CaraRed added more redness to the brew either. I think maybe my next attempt will be with Fuggles or Williamette hops boiled for more like 15 minutes and maybe rather than 1/2 lb. CaraRed, I will try 1/4 lb. light crystal with 1/4 lb. CaraRed. Love this beer. I think this may have been the longest I've been able to wait before I tried a beer. Good job, Sheppy. NOTE to self: Eric's Red is better without all the bottom trub mixed into the glass.
08/01/2009 Sat	Put the rest of the 5/23 and some of the WY1272 into the fridge. Will probably compare these with each other and the last of my 2/16 batch this weekend.
08/04/2009 Tues	Had 5/23 and WY1272 while brewing Rocktoberfest Ale. Beautiful deep dark red and a wonderful creamy thick head on both. 5/23 definitely has the Mr. Beer taste. The WY1272 tastes smoother and maybe a bit sweeter. Still need to finish off the 2/16 batch.
08/09/2009 Sun	Tracy let the Reids taste the 5/23 batch. Not quite as popular as I expected. Northern Amber and Nuggets gold seems to be preferred. I mentioned that part of that was Northern Amber has been well conditioned. Not sure why they preferred the gold. Probably just a stylistic preference.
08/18/2009 Tues	Had my first liter bottle of the 5/23 batch and loved it. No surprise.
08/20/2009 Thur	Had a 5/23 and a WY1272 to compare. The WY1272 has an interesting tangy taste that is almost lemony. It is not bad, still a good beer. Not sure where the taste came from. I guess it has to be the yeast, but I did not notice it in the Phat & Tyred Ale.
08/22/2009 Sat	My wife seems to like the WY1272, or at least she stole a couple from me last night. Put most of the rest of the WY1272 into the beer fridge.
08/26/2009 Wed	Had a liter of the 5/23 batch while watching the Rockies lose to LAD. Did I mention I love this beer? Probably have to see what I think when the WY1272 is at the same conditioning time (about Labor Day weekend as it turns out), but right now I prefer the Mr. Beer yeast in this beer (as long as it conditions for about 2 months). Depending on how the next Wetta Blonde and the Vanilla Porter turn out, I may try the Fermentis US05 yeast in the next Eric's Red batch.
08/29/2009 Sat	Had one of the WY1272 while watching my kids do driveway art. Great head. And now, I think I like the WY1272 as good or better than the Mr. Beer yeast. This one went into the fridge on 8/1, so maybe the perfect conditioning time is 3 weeks warm and then about 4 weeks cold.
09/11/2009 Fri	Shared WW, WB, P&T, Northern Amber, Eric's Red, and Dragon Spit with Jerry, Lisa, and Grammy. The WY1272 tart taste was a topic of conversation. I do want to stay away from this yeast in the future for this beer. The US05 yeast is still the most likely next step. Will be brewing it up relatively soon.
09/18/2009 Fri	Had one of the liter bottles. Good.
09/19/2009 Sat	Compared a 5/23 bottle to the 1272. I think 1272 won.
09/30/2009 Wed	Had the last of the 5/23 while watching the Rockies reduce their magic number to 1. Really really enjoyed it the sweetness of the the brew. Not sure why sometimes I taste the sweetness more whereas other times I notice the Mr. Beer yeast more. Perhaps it has to do with the pour?
10/15/2009 Thur	I had one. Yummy.
11/06/2009 Fri	The tartness is pretty much gone. Really getting low on this batch. Luckily another one is coming soon.

Eric's Red 1st Batch (Mixed 2/16/2009)

Recipe	Eric's Red	Style	American Amber Ale
Brewer	Sheppy Brew	Batch	2.13 gal
Extract

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity	1.058 OG	Estimated FG	1.015 FG
Recipe Bitterness	6 IBU	Alcohol by Volume	5.6%
Recipe Color	12° SRM	Alcohol by Weight	4.4%

Ingredients

Quantity	Grain	Type	Use
0.75 lb	Corn Syrup	Sugar	Other
1.21 lb	MrB. Bewitched Red Ale	Extract	Extract
1.21 lb	MrB. Mellow Amber UME	Extract	Extract
Quantity	Hop	Type	Time
1.00 oz	MrB. Bewitched Red Ale	Pellet	5 minutes

Date	Note
02/16/2009 Mon	Mixed the beer. Fermentation in Tuke.
02/17/2009 Tues	Moved Tuke into our big cooler to see if I can reduce the heat in our house back down.
02/20/2009 Fri	Fermentation going well. Still quite a bit of foam at the top.
02/23/2009 Mon	Tasted a sample. The beer is coming along well. There is still a bit of a sweet taste, meaning it needs to ferment more. That is ok. I am not scheduled to bottle for 2 more weeks.
03/08/2009 Sun	Sampled and bottled in 6 PETs and 6 recycled 12 oz beer bottles.
03/20/2009 Fri	Put the bottles in my new beer fridge for conditioning.
04/02/2009 Thur	Had a little beer tasting party at in-laws. We tasted CABA, 1776, Eric's Red, and Maple Brown. The tasters were all either non-beer drinkers or light-beer drinkers (except me). CABA was the favorite. This beer was my favorite and was well liked among the group as well. It should be even better with a little more conditioning. I am very pleased with this beer.
04/10/2009 Fri	Tried it now that the two week conditioning period should now be done. About the same. Still very good. This beer has a great creamy head on it.
05/16/2009 Sat	Ok, clearly this is the best of the beers I have brewed, but today I decided that this is the best beer that I have ever tasted. I was not a month ago, but the extra conditioning between then and now pushed it over the top. The deep red with a creamy head yields a smooth malty, almost sweet malty goodness. I love this beer. Unfortunately I do not have many left, so this will be my next brew.

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