ON TAP: Can't Sett'er down.

Now on tap, Can't Sett'er down - MRB Traditional Irish Ale.

This Irish red ale was brewed for the upcoming St. Patrick's day.  St. Patty's day has always been a fun night for drinking.  Besides the obvious pint of Guinness Extra Stout, the choice beverage of many is the Irish red.

Traditionally, amber-red ales brewed in Ireland were sweet and predominantly malty, with a strong aroma and a smooth, dry, nutty mouth-feel.  The variety between Irish reds  comes from balancing the malty base with a range of mild hoppy undertones to sharp, floral, and citrus top flavor.

Like it or not, the de facto American Irish red ale is George Killian's Irish Red, now owned and brewed by Coors.  It is widely distributed, dirt cheap ($5.25/6 pk.) and extremely consistent across batches.  I describe the aroma and taste as more lager than ale.  There are plenty of reviews of Killian's here and here.

I set out to brew a sweeter, more malty, full body ale using geographical appropriate ingredients.

I started with 10 lbs. Golden Promise, 7 oz. CaraMalt 20L, 7 oz. CaraMalt 60L, and 3 oz. roasted barley.

For bittering hops I used 1 oz. East Kent Goldings, and 1/2 oz. UK Fuggles in the last 15 minutes of a 60 minute boil.

That's it, buddy.  No other flavoring besides the yeast.  For that I used White Labs Irish Ale yeast.

As you can see, my ale is a blunted dark amber, cloudy, with a moderate head.  The aroma is a malty with a bit of a fresh baked bread scent.  It feels great in the mouth, with a excellent balance of malt and light hops.

It is good; delicious even.  I just can't sett'er down.

Predicted measurements SRM = 12  IBU = 22.3  ABV = 4.1%

Update: This beer is now gone.  It was just over 2 weeks ago that I kegged this beer (I did share a good amount).  Before the keg was empty, or in other words ~10 days after kegging, this beer became extremely clear.  It was absolutely delicious.  It went from a yeasty character to a well balanced red, that was truly hard to stop drinking.  Plus, the intoxication factor was tremendous.  Three pints of this and it was "feelin' good time".

I do not know if I would change a thing if I were to brew this again, other than maybe letting it sit undisturbed for 3 weeks.  I probably rushed it.