Commander_Nate
Active Member
I'm planning on doing a red ale for my next batch and I'm curious what ingredients and techniques people would recommend in order to get as close to a true red color as possible. I've searched around the forum and elsewhere a bit and have seen some pretty interesting suggestions, but I'm wondering what might work best.
I want to use legit ingredients for the color, rather than "cheating" with food coloring or something like that. Using beets was one idea I came across, but I'm a bit concerned about how that might affect the flavor. I don't have the space for all-grain, so this is going to be an extract batch. I typically brew 5-gallon batches and usually do darker stuff, like stouts. I also only have 1 carboy for now, so I won't be able to do a secondary fermentation.
Basically I want to make a red ale that people look at and say "hey, that's red!" (not amber, etc). Any suggestions on what "magic ingredient" I can use to achieve this?
I want to use legit ingredients for the color, rather than "cheating" with food coloring or something like that. Using beets was one idea I came across, but I'm a bit concerned about how that might affect the flavor. I don't have the space for all-grain, so this is going to be an extract batch. I typically brew 5-gallon batches and usually do darker stuff, like stouts. I also only have 1 carboy for now, so I won't be able to do a secondary fermentation.
Basically I want to make a red ale that people look at and say "hey, that's red!" (not amber, etc). Any suggestions on what "magic ingredient" I can use to achieve this?