Red Lake Ale

Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Unfiltered Amber Ale / Burlington, VT / 5%

Heat 3.5 gallons of brewing water to about 165°F (74°C) to allow for mash temperature drop when grains are added.

Heat strike water

Add the crushed base malts (2-row and Maris Otter), Munich, Vienna, crystal malts and flaked oats to the mash tun. Pour in the strike water and stir to reach a stable mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). Target mash thickness approximately 1.25 - 1.5 quarts per pound.

Mash in

Hold the mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Gentle stirring or recirculation a couple times during the hour will help efficiency and conversion.

Mash rest

Raise the mash temperature to 168°F (75.5°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity (mash out).

Mash out

Sparge with enough 170°F (77°C) water to collect approximately 6.5 - 7.0 gallons of wort in the kettle (pre-boil volume target ~6.5 gal). Aim for a gentle flow to avoid tannin extraction.

Sparge

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. Once boiling, add the First Wort addition hops (1.0 oz East Kent Goldings) if you prefer first-wort hop technique; otherwise add at 60 minutes remaining.

Bring to a boil

Start a 60-minute boil timer after first-wort or initial 60-minute hop addition. At 40 minutes remaining (i.e., with 20 minutes left), add 0.5 oz East Kent Goldings. With 5 minutes remaining, add 0.5 oz East Kent Goldings and 1 tsp Irish Moss (if using). At flameout, add 0.5 oz East Kent Goldings for aroma — steep for 10 minutes before chilling.

60 minute boil schedule

Maintain a steady boil, watching for boilovers. Skim or reduce heat as needed. Total boil time 60 minutes.

Boil management

After flameout hop steep (about 10 minutes), chill the wort rapidly to yeast-pitching temperature (65-68°F / 18-20°C) using an immersion chiller, counterflow chiller, or an ice bath. Aim to get to target within 30-45 minutes to minimize infection risk.

Cool wort

Transfer the chilled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving trub behind. Top up with clean, pre-boiled and cooled water if necessary to reach 5.0 gallons. Aerate by vigorous shaking, splashing, or using sterile oxygen for 60-90 seconds to achieve good dissolved oxygen for healthy fermentation.

Transfer and aerate

Pitch the ale yeast (1 pack dry Nottingham or equivalent slurry) into the wort at 65-68°F (18-20°C). If using a liquid yeast, make a starter appropriate for the gravity. Close the fermenter and install an airlock.

Pitch yeast

Ferment at 66°F (19°C) for 5-7 days or until vigorous fermentation subsides. Then allow fermentation to finish at 64-66°F (18-19°C) for another 3-7 days to ensure cleanup of fermentation byproducts. Total primary fermentation ~10 days.

Primary fermentation

If fermentation finishes cooler, raise temperature to 68-70°F (20-21°C) for 24-48 hours to help yeast clean up diacetyl, then cold crash to near 35-40°F (2-4°C) for 48 hours to help clarify before packaging.

Optional diacetyl rest and cold crash

Boil 3.5 oz (approx. 100 g) priming sugar in 2 cups (about 470 ml) water for 5 minutes, cool to room temperature and sanitize a bottling bucket or other vessel.

Prepare priming sugar

Rack beer from the fermenter to the sanitized bottling bucket onto the cooled priming solution, gently mixing to distribute priming sugar evenly. Avoid splashing to minimize oxygen pickup.

Transfer to bottling bucket

Fill sanitized bottles, leaving ~1 inch headspace, cap with sanitized caps. Expect approximately 48 x 12-oz bottles from 5 gallons.

Bottle and cap

Condition bottles at 68°F (20°C) for 10-14 days to carbonate. Then age at cellar temperature (55-60°F / 13-15°C) for an additional 1-2 weeks for flavor integration. Optionally cold condition for another week before serving.

Carbonation and conditioning

Serve the amber ale slightly cold (45-50°F / 7-10°C) in a pint glass. Expect an unfiltered, slightly hazy amber color, balanced malt sweetness, and gentle floral/earthy Goldings hop character. Enjoy.

2-row Pale Malt (crushed)

Maris Otter Pale Malt (crushed)

Crystal/Caramel 40L (crushed)

Crystal/Caramel 120L (crushed)

Munich Malt (light) (crushed)

Vienna Malt (crushed)

Flaked Oats

Water (brewing)

First Wort / Boil: East Kent Goldings (or UK Golding) pellets

20 minute addition: East Kent Goldings pellets

5 minute addition: East Kent Goldings pellets

Flameout/aroma: East Kent Goldings pellets

Ale yeast - Nottingham Dry Ale or Wyeast 1056 / White Labs WLP001 equivalent

Priming sugar (corn sugar / dextrose)

Irish Moss (optional, for clarity)

Yeast nutrient (optional)

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Descriptors

Tasting Notes

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