Brewday - Hop Treader India Red Ale

The hat of the Hop Treader

When hops are processed nowadays they are kiln-dried and then stuffed into large cloth bags using hydraulic presses. It was not always so, however. A century ago hops were gathered and brought into an oast house, a multi-storied structure with a wood or coal-fired kiln at the bottom. The floors were perforated to allow the hops to dry, after which they were cooled and prepared for transportation. Enter the Hop Treader. Wearing a massive hat to keep hop particles out of his eyes, nose, and mouth, he would climb into a sack that reached above his head into which hops would be poured from above. The Hop Treader's job was to literally tread the hops into the sack, called a pocket, with his feet, pressing in as many as possible before the pocket was transported to market. It is to these hard working and little known labourers that this beer is dedicated as this is the third and last of my blue-collar series of beers.

I've never actually tried making a red ale before, but from what I've read, a small amount of roasted barley or black malt is the key to achieving the red colour. I also used a fairly large amount of Munich malt and smaller additions of crystal malts, both for colour and a bit of sweetness that is desirable in an IPA.

I went pretty hop-heavy on this beer (surprise, surprise). Bravo and Calypso hops were used for bittering, and a portion of these bittering hops I used for first wort hopping (see earlier post). For flavour I went with a combination of Calypso, Centennial, and Cascade. Hopefully this should make for great flavour between the pear, apple notes of the Calypsos, the floral character of the Centennials, and the citrusy flavour of the Cascades. I used the same hops for the aroma addition, but upped the Cascades as well as adding the zest from two Seville oranges to hopefully create a strong orangey citrus bouquet. Hopefully this will be a winner as there's nothing like a great IPA, even if it doesn't turn out red.

Geek Info


Method: All Grain
Target Original Gravity: 1.055             Actual Original Gravity: 1.053
Target Final Gravity: 1.008                   Brewhouse Efficiency: 72%
Target Alcohol by Volume: 6.1%          Bitterness: 89.3 IBU
(based on actual OG)

Malt
6 lbs. Pale 2 row                48%
5 lbs. Munich                      40%
12 oz. Crystal (60L)            6%
8 oz. Crystal (120L)            4%
2 oz. Black                          1%


Hops (all pellets)
0.6 oz. Bravo                         60 min.
0.6 oz. Calypso                     60 min
0.5 oz. Cascade                    20 min
0.5 oz. Calypso                     20 min
0.5 oz. Centennisal               20 min
0.5 oz. Cascade                   10 min
0.5 oz. Calypso                     10 min

0.5 oz. Centennisal               10 min

1 oz. Cascade                       5 min

0.25 oz. Calypso                    5 min

0.25 oz. Centennial                5 min

1 oz. Cascade                       dry-hop

0.25 oz. Calypso                   dry-hop

0.25 oz. Centennial               dry-hop

Other Ingredients
peel from 2 Seville oranges    5 min


Yeast

Wyeast 1056 American Ale