Bestmalz Red X
Bestmalz Red X
I bought a sack of Bestmaltz Red X from The Homebrew Company recently. I have not seen many reviews on the malt, so here goes...
Re: Bestmalz Red X
I am brewing an Irish Red Ale this morning to showcase the Red X.
OG 1043
IBU 24
92% Red X
4% Wheat Malt
4% Caramalt
Pilgrim for bittering and EKG to finish
wyeast 2112 @ 18C
I have just doughed-in. The malt smelt good - a little more choclatey than a pale malt. The crush was good, but a little too much flour for my liking. I dumped the grain on the water in one go and a few dough balls quickly dissolved. Hit the target 67C exactly.
OG 1043
IBU 24
92% Red X
4% Wheat Malt
4% Caramalt
Pilgrim for bittering and EKG to finish
wyeast 2112 @ 18C
I have just doughed-in. The malt smelt good - a little more choclatey than a pale malt. The crush was good, but a little too much flour for my liking. I dumped the grain on the water in one go and a few dough balls quickly dissolved. Hit the target 67C exactly.
Last edited by Rubbery on Thu Jan 28, 2016 5:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Bestmalz Red X
No problems batch sparging. Ran through much the same as usual Crisp MO. First runnings are dark, but not all that red. Second runnings are also surpisingly dark. I'll post a picture showing the colour after the boil.
Re: Bestmalz Red X
Not as red as I hoped for, but not a bad colour.
Re: Bestmalz Red X
It will change colour a bit during fermentation. No idea if it'll be more or less red though 
Nice clarity for a post boil sample, will be interesting to hear how the brew turns out. I've never used that malt before
Nice clarity for a post boil sample, will be interesting to hear how the brew turns out. I've never used that malt before
Re: Bestmalz Red X
Change colour during fermentation? I have never heard that before - well I'll take another picture in the trial jar at the end of fermentation to see.
Yes, I was pleased with the clarity - another tick for Red X.
I got 74% total efficiency (against my usual 75% brewhouse efficiency). I put the 1% loss down to a minor tweak to my hop filter, so no problems with mash efficiency.
Yes, I was pleased with the clarity - another tick for Red X.
I got 74% total efficiency (against my usual 75% brewhouse efficiency). I put the 1% loss down to a minor tweak to my hop filter, so no problems with mash efficiency.
Re: Bestmalz Red X
I had a problem with the original yeast, so re-pitched S04 after 24 hours.
I had a taste from the trial jar... not overly malty, but a distinct roast malt flavour is coming through - more toasty than I was expecting, but not in-your-face.
I will report back in a few weeks when it is ready for drinking.
I had a taste from the trial jar... not overly malty, but a distinct roast malt flavour is coming through - more toasty than I was expecting, but not in-your-face.
I will report back in a few weeks when it is ready for drinking.
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sbond10
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Re: Bestmalz Red X
Looking good there was gonna buy some but didn't in the end sadly
Re: Bestmalz Red X
It is ok for a first attempt, but a few obvious changes I need to make to the recipe:
It is still way too bitter for the style. The bitterness is obscuring the malt.
The hop flavour is too dominant. I will choose a cleaner hop next time, possible a mix of Northdown and Northern Brewer.
Not enough Chloride in the water treatment. I did 2:1 Chloride:Sulphate, but it was still lacking. 3:1 next time!
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sbond10
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Re: Bestmalz Red X
Still looks a promising malt
Re: Bestmalz Red X
The verdict on the malt:
Good colour, but not the deep red I was after.
A decent body - Not full or thin - quite malty.
The roasty/toasty flavours mellowed but are still present and pleasing - a hint of chocolate/coffee and a slight toasty bite.
I think the malt will make an excellent Irish Red Ale with some tweaks to the recipe.
I shall be trying it in a Best Bitter next and think it could be quite good. I will use Red X as the base malt and use lighter crystal malts than I normally would.
Would I recommend? Yes, it is different enough to add something new, but not radically different so could be tried in a number of ways.
I shall be trying it in a Best Bitter next and think it could be quite good. I will use Red X as the base malt and use lighter crystal malts than I normally would.
Would I recommend? Yes, it is different enough to add something new, but not radically different so could be tried in a number of ways.
Re: Bestmalz Red X
Yes it is. I hope my comments are useful and others give it a go.sbond10 wrote:Still looks a promising malt
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sbond10
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Re: Bestmalz Red X
When I was looking at it this info recipe helped abithttps://www.nationalhomebrew.com.au/brewers-blo ... with-red-x
Re: Bestmalz Red X
Interesting link. However, I did not find a problem with attenuation, so single stage infusion is fine for me. Also, I had no problems with clarity.
From the same site this gives the maltster's recommendations https://www.nationalhomebrew.com.au/bee ... red-x-malt. The red colour in the picture is what I wanted. Maybe my lack of red colour is down to my OG 1043 being below the suggested 1050.
From the same site this gives the maltster's recommendations https://www.nationalhomebrew.com.au/bee ... red-x-malt. The red colour in the picture is what I wanted. Maybe my lack of red colour is down to my OG 1043 being below the suggested 1050.