Old Woolen Shirt

I live on the west coast, where "good beer" is a euphemism for "over-hopped". I occasionally drink (or brew) a hop monster, but that's not really my thing.

Among my favourite beer styles (well, there are many) is Irish Red Ale. I like the malty flavours and the slight hint of roasty bitterness. I've been trying to make an IRA for the last couple years, and it looks like a friend and I actually succeeded.

After a vigourous pour:

From Old Woolen Shirt III

I've called my IRA attempts "Old Woolen Shirt", a line I stole from an old Irish Rovers song. It just sounds like a solid drinking beer. The recipe for this beer is on Hopville: "Old Woolen Shirt III"

This beer's a little higher in alcohol than an IRA really should be: 5.5% ABV. But the colour's spot-on, it's got a thick head, and a pleasant caramel flavour with some nice roastiness.

A few minutes (and a couple sips) after pouring, the head has settled into a dense foam.

From Old Woolen Shirt III

I wrote the recipe with Cascade hops, because I used some hops that were growing wild, and I have no idea what they really are. Were I actually to buy some hops to make this beer, I'd use Fuggles or Goldings.

The careful reader will catch that I used Munich yeast, which is really a wheat yeast. I used it because I had a packet sitting around. It was past its expiration date when I bought it, so after sitting around six months in my fridge, I thought I'd get rid of it. I suppose it would be more to style to use some Irish yeast strain, but I like dry yeast. Next time I'll probably use either Nottingham or US-05.

The mash was a triple decoction. I've been on a bit of a decoction kick for a while: It may or may not make the resulting beer taste better, but it's sure a lot more fun than infusion mashing.

I've been hesitant to use a protein rest in my mashes for fear that I'll kill head retention. That hasn't happened with this beer: there's still thick foam in my empty glasses.

Of all the beers I've made (either solo or with a friend), this one has by far been the best received. I made a second batch a week later, and it was just as good. This is absolutely going to become a recurring brew.