So I am a partial mash brewer. I usually do a partial mash at 155 degrees for 30 minutes. Is there any way I can get a red/ruby colored wort? I tried making a red ipa using carared and a touch of roasted barley and that came out amber with a touch of red. Can I use red x malt ? see these recipes here, the color on this brews is what I m looking for but they are all grain recipes. I want a bright red. http://www.craftedpours.com/homebrew_recipe-recipe-type/red-ale-recipe Thanks in advance for the help
Discussions here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/best-malz-red-x-malt.124233/ http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/red-ale-red-as-red-can-get.52559/
I've found almost unique solution that is rarely mentioned, that I'm currently using to make a Fruli clone for my son's wedding (a very red Belgian fruit beer). The strawberry extract is yellowish, not red, and I looked everywhere for a means of making it deep red without resorting to food coloring, and without adding much extra taste. The solution - hibiscus leaves! It often comes as a tea and does not impart too much extra flavor. Add a few ounces to a little boiled water, steep it like tea, and just add to suit your color requirement. Works great.
beet juice is another possibility…never used it personally for beer, but Magic Hat had a beet beer that was pinkish-red without a "beet" flavor...
It should work, but I understand that it gives more of a purplish color rather than a reddish color. Also, it would likely impart more taste.
I once had a sample of that beer (Wacko) at a brewfest, and it was easily the worst beer of the day (for me). I don't know if it was the beets, because I have hated them since I was a kid and am not about to eat them now to find out. But it was nasty, like a bitter, vegetal and fruity breakfast cereal (IIRC). To be fair, there was a long-ish line of people at that station every time I passed by there, so there must have been a lot of people enjoying it.
haha…MH is usually the deserted tent at beer fests around here. I wasn't particularly fond of Wacko, but wasn't a dumper for me either…color was pretty vibrant pinkish-red though. @OldBrewer maybe the pH of the beer could play a factor…(?) similar to blueberry juice, color working as a litmus. That said, heard from somebody close to the Magic Hat team that they are pushing to bring all production back to VT and supposedly the brewmaster has been working hard to get some of his brews into production. Hoping to see some better things from them soon.
The pH (if it is significant) wouldn't really matter at all since the Hibiscus tea can be added just before bottling or kegging. I added mine at the end of the boil, and it didn't affect the fermentation at all.
MH has cool branding (and I can be a sucker for well designed labels), but it's good to hear they're working towards better tasting beer. I think all of their beers taste the same, to be honest, and I haven't had one by them that ever stood out to me. Which means they're all sub-par IMO. I'm veering off topic... but beet juice is a great idea and I'm sure a little goes a long way if you're just going for color. I wonder how much it would contribute to fermentables?
