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Styles · Irish Red Ale

Beer style · BJCP 2021 15A

Irish Red Ale

Irish Beer

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.036–1.046
Final gravity
1.010–1.014
Bitterness
18–28 IBU
Color
9–14 SRM (18–28 EBC)
Alcohol
3.8–5.0 % ABV

What it is

An easy-drinking amber ale with light caramel sweetness and a dry, faintly grainy finish that comes from a touch of roasted barley. Balance is close to even, and nothing about it demands attention.

Flavor

What a Irish Red Ale should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Room for floral or earthy/woody.

Malt

Grainy, caramel and toasty, with room for bready/biscuit, sweet/honey or coffee/roast.

Fermentation

Clean, with room for fruity esters.

Hops that suit it

The traditional choice

What Irish Red Ale has classically been brewed with.

Nothing else on character: the hops here are there for bitterness and balance, and any variety whose aroma you would notice is out of place.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.