Best Red X For A Mild ?

[Greg2013]

Had a Bass XXXX Mild recipe done up on BS to my own spec but unfortunately HBC does not have some of the stuff i am looking for but they have the Mild Ale Malt,HBW has the other bits but not the Mild Ale Malt.HBW does have Best Red X malt though and i will be using Dark LME in this brew so i figure with the Red X that would work ?  Basically fermentables would be Red X Malt + Dark LME. 


Yeast will be M79 Burton Union Ale Yeast. Below is a screenshot of the recipe as it stands atm but open to minor changes.

[Tom]

Red X?!?! Nooooooo!

[Greg2013]

Red X?!?! Nooooooo!

I had a funny feeling i was going to get that response lol The recipe specifically calls for mild ale malt and i want to stick with that basically because i want to see what it is like as i intend brewing more milds and bitters going forward.However only HBC stock mild ale malt,but they don't have the dark LME i am after hence the conundrum(in my head anyway).

So Tom can you suggest a suitable sub for mild ale malt other than normal pale ale because i have loads of that but i don't want to use it on this brew.

[Greg2013]

Forgot about the guys in Norn Iron,they have everything i need so crisis averted, aye surely.

[Leann ull]

Lamberts did a couple of lovely beers with RedX

[Tom]

Yeah, but they have some kind of witchcraft going on down there. Red X for us Fuggles (non-wizard brewers) didn't live up to hype. For me.

I love mild ale malt. The English pale malts seem to be paler than the Irish, from what I've seen so far. No substitute for mild ale malt if you're making a mild. Lovely beer. Mild malt, some torrified wheat or barley, and a couple of percent chocolate malt. Ferment with anything British EXCEPT NOTTY!

Are you making a mild?

[Greg2013]

Yeah, but they have some kind of witchcraft going on down there. Red X for us Fuggles (non-wizard brewers) didn't live up to hype. For me.

I love mild ale malt. The English pale malts seem to be paler than the Irish, from what I've seen so far. No substitute for mild ale malt if you're making a mild. Lovely beer. Mild malt, some torrified wheat or barley, and a couple of percent chocolate malt. Ferment with anything British EXCEPT NOTTY!

Are you making a mild?

Yes Tom i am making a Bass XXXX Mild, i have a recipe someone gave me from a GW book i think,and i have tweaked it while trying to still maintain the mild malt grain.

[Greg2013]

I also have to figure out how to do a 40 litre batch on a 23 litre setup.

[molc]

Parallel brew day. Two mashes, one done while the other is boiling. It only adds a little bit to a brew day by all accounts, though I've never needed enough beer to consider it.

[Bubbles]

Yeah, but they have some kind of witchcraft going on down there. Red X for us Fuggles (non-wizard brewers) didn't live up to hype. For me.

I love mild ale malt. The English pale malts seem to be paler than the Irish, from what I've seen so far. No substitute for mild ale malt if you're making a mild. Lovely beer. Mild malt, some torrified wheat or barley, and a couple of percent chocolate malt. Ferment with anything British EXCEPT NOTTY!

Are you making a mild?

Whoh Tom! What's your beef with notty? Very attenuative, almost too much, I'll give ya.. But decent English flavour when you're dealing with higher OGs... No...?

[Greg2013]

Parallel brew day. Two mashes, one done while the other is boiling. It only adds a little bit to a brew day by all accounts, though I've never needed enough beer to consider it.

It's a double batch to be split between me and a m8,parallel sounds good but i would worry about lack of homoginization.

[Tom]

Was worried you'd got hold of a Firkin there, looking to do a 40 litre batch!

My beef with Notty is, as you mention, its excellent attenuation. I made a beautiful mild ale wort that was ruined by Notty. Stripped it bare! I have the GW book (though I don't know which edition), and I regularly do a mild or a bitter out of them. Always nice beers, but always a little samey. They are all excellent versions of English bitters or milds, like the ones you'd get in a classic boozer, but then it makes you realise just how dull a standard bitter can be (and I really like English bitters). I think some interesting White Labs wet yeasts or the MJs are in order to add a little variety from the usual S04 or Notty (if that's what you do). I saw a good review of the Muntons standard yeast there recently, as well.

Anyway, off topic, really sorry! I'm just bitchin' about your ingredients here.

[Greg2013]

Was worried you'd got hold of a Firkin there, looking to do a 40 litre batch!

My beef with Notty is, as you mention, its excellent attenuation. I made a beautiful mild ale wort that was ruined by Notty. Stripped it bare! I have the GW book (though I don't know which edition), and I regularly do a mild or a bitter out of them. Always nice beers, but always a little samey. They are all excellent versions of English bitters or milds, like the ones you'd get in a classic boozer, but then it makes you realise just how dull a standard bitter can be (and I really like English bitters). I think some interesting White Labs wet yeasts or the MJs are in order to add a little variety from the usual S04 or Notty (if that's what you do). I saw a good review of the Muntons standard yeast there recently, as well.

Anyway, off topic, really sorry! I'm just bitchin' about your ingredients here.

No such look on the Firkin 

I have done a double batch of another Mild recipe last year(recipe is up here somewhere) , i used Mangrove Jacks Burton Union Ale Yeast M79 on half which i gave to my friend and he loved it,my half didn't turn out so good as i used reclaimed Belfast Ale yeast(never again). This time however i am sticking with the M79(two packs) and will be brewing the 40 litres together for splitting at bottling stage.

I will stick up the original and revised final recipe soon as i get it done.

[Bubbles]

My beef with Notty is, as you mention, its excellent attenuation. I made a beautiful mild ale wort that was ruined by Notty. Stripped it bare! I have the GW book (though I don't know which edition), and I regularly do a mild or a bitter out of them. Always nice beers, but always a little samey. They are all excellent versions of English bitters or milds, like the ones you'd get in a classic boozer, but then it makes you realise just how dull a standard bitter can be (and I really like English bitters). I think some interesting White Labs wet yeasts or the MJs are in order to add a little variety from the usual S04 or Notty (if that's what you do). I saw a good review of the Muntons standard yeast there recently, as well.

Aye, it's a bad choice for a mild alright. It's a pretty aggressive yeast, almost as aggressive as Cal Ale. WLP007 is often reported to be its liquid equivalent, and I've had many similar experiences with that too. You have to be careful about which beers you use it in - I find it good in big stouts, dry pale ales/IPAs etc. Great flocculator too, and very easy to deal with. Probably why several Irish micros use it - I understand Metalman and O'Haras both use Notty for a lot of their beers.

Don't get me started on Wheeler's book! 

(Greg, sorry for dragging OT! It's an interesting side discussion though.)

[molc]

My beef with Notty is, as you mention, its excellent attenuation. I made a beautiful mild ale wort that was ruined by Notty. Stripped it bare!

Aye, it's a bad choice for a mild alright. It's a pretty aggressive yeast, almost as aggressive as Cal Ale.

I find Cal ale has heaps of character. Ferments out really clean, slightly fruity, while keeping the malt character. I'm a massive fan actually.