A Tale of Two Reds.

So the Blue River Brewers Guild will be getting together Saturday to brew and I was thinking to myself that Matt and I talk a lot about the beers we drink - how they taste, new styles, and even beer related news - but rarely do we talk about the science of brewing, such as the recipes and process (the magic so to speak). So pull up a bar stool and grab a pint as we delve into the science of beer.

We (meaning the guild) have decided to stay a little more traditional (and seasonal) for this next brew session with planned brews of an Irish Red, a Scottish Ale, and for a little twist, a Belgian Red. Let's focus on the two reds shall we? Both are an ale - which differs from a lager - meaning they are warm fermented (room temperature) using a top fermenting yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Lagers on the other hand are cold fermented (usually 40-50 degrees) using a bottom fermenting yeast (S. pastorianus).

But I digress. Both the Irish and Belgian Reds will be brewed using the same base grain bill - in other words the same recipe. What is that recipe you may ask? Well most beers start with a good base grain of pale malted barley. In our case both have about 7.5 pounds of an English pale malted barley (Maris otter by name). To impart flavor, sweetness, and color to different styles of beer, other varieties of malted barley that have been kilned to various degrees are used. The longer the malted barley is kilned, the more caramelized and darker the barley becomes. These darker malts (called crystal malts) will darken the color of the beer along with adding more roasted and toffee like flavors to the beer profile. In our case we are using about a 1/3 pound of 60 degree crystal malt - a medium kilned malted barley that will impart some residual sweetness to the beer. We also will be using a very small amount of roasted barley. Roasted barley is essentially kilned for a long time giving it a burnt appearance and strong black color. This type of grain is typically used in Irish stouts to give a strong roasted, coffee like flavor as well as dark black color. In our case we are only using about 1 oz which should impart a nice reddish hue with very little flavor added.

The other major ingredient of beer of course is hops. Hops is used both to add bitterness to the beer as well as flavor and aroma. In the case of our styles, we are wanting a medium bitterness and only a slight hop aroma and very little hop flavor. Both will use 1 oz of Northern Brewers hops for bittering but as for finishing hops, we will use the more traditional English Fuggles hops for the Irish and Czech Saaz hops for the Belgian.

So if both are using the same grain bill, won't they then taste the same you may ask? Ah, here is where the magic truly begins. Although much of the flavor of beer is due to the grains and hops used in the recipe, yeast plays an equally important role. In our case, the Irish Red will be fermented using an Irish Ale yeast strain - a variety of S. cerevisiae used extensively in Ireland that will leave the beer slightly malty with a residual dryness - similar to a Guinness. The hop character will be accentuated but the yeast overall will impart very little flavor - the grains and hops will be the main players in the taste of the beer. Our Belgian Red however will use a Belgian Ale yeast strain - a variety of S. cerevisiae that will impart a fruity, spicy, phenolic note to the finished beer (many insist that we have added spices such as coriander or peppercorns to our Belgian beers when in fact the spicy note is solely due to the yeast). This yeast strain will add a uniqueness as well as dryness to the flavor of the beer - much different from the Irish. In addition, we will be adding a pound or so of dextrose (corn sugar) to the Belgian wort which will ferment out creating a much higher alcohol beer than the Irish as is typical of the Belgian styles - more along what typically is called a Belgian Double.

From what started out using the same grains and only slightly different finishing hops, will be two very different beers due to the yeast. Both should be ready just in time for St. Paddy's day. Of course I am giving you the Reader's Digest version of what all goes into brewing. From time to time, maybe we will share more if there is interest. Or better yet, the best way to learn how we do it, is to join us for some hands on learning.

All this typing has made me thirsty. Lucky for me I have a bottle of Boulevard's Irish Ale down in the beer chest to quench that thirst. In the mean time - head down to your own local liquor store and pick a few red styles of your own to sample. Cheers!

-Ben