Brewing with Best Malz Red X Malt – Part 1

If you’ve been into Jay’s Brewing lately, you’ve probably noticed a grain bin isolated from the others. Don’t worry, it hasn’t been quarantined, it just hasn’t found a permanent home yet.This bin belongs to the newest malt in the store, Best Malz Red X Malt. No, that’s not just a fancy name, it was designed to actually make a truly red beer.

In my research on Red X, it appears to be a blend of malts (Munich, Melanoidin, and perhaps Cara-Munich?). Honestly, I haven’t found any concrete evidence of exactly what it is, that’s just a best guess based on color and sugar. For best color results, Best Malz suggests keeping the gravity to 1.050, and using it as the only malt in the grain bill. Your final SRM will be approximately 12. It contains 36 PPG (Points Per Gallon), so it’s pretty inline with most base malts. The interesting thing about a malt like this is the experimentation of using as much as 100% of your grain bill, or as little as 10%.

Now, I know what you are thinking, won’t all 12 SRM beers be mostly red? To a point, that’s fairly accurate, however I believe the blend they’ve used is what really brings the color out. I’m told it’s quite brilliant.

And that my friends is the kicker. All of this is what I’ve been told or have read. The last time I was at Jay’s I did take a couple kernels from the bin and eat them, and they had nice flavor to them — don’t tell Jill. However, I don’t want to sell you a bag of magic beans here, so I’m going to take one for the team.

What I’ll be Brewing

First, I’m going to make a SMaSH (Single Malt / Single Hop) Munich Dunkel, using 100% Red X Malt and Liberty Hops. I will be using the White Labs WLP833 German Bock yeast for this one. I’ll also be doing the Quick Lager method here so we can get the results back to you as soon as possible.

Since I’m using Red X as 100% of the grist, I’m going to do a step mash, as I’ve read that people have had problems with under-attenuation.

Second, I’ll be making a Red X Rye IPA, using 54% 2-Row, 31% Red X and 15% Rye Malt. I’ll be using Chinook and Cascade hops on a standard 60/30/10 schedule and Safale US-05 for the yeast.

Both recipes can be found below. Mind you, I haven’t brewed these yet, so don’t blame me if they’re bad!

My Challenge to You

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, find interesting things to do with Red X Malt. Stop in at Jays Brewing, pick up some Red X Malt. Share your recipes on this post or at the Jay’s Brewing Facebook page. I want to see what we can do with this new addition to the Jays Brewing family of malts.

We’ll be following this up in the next month or two as both beers finish, so keep your eyes peeled for series 2 and 3 of the Red X Challenge. I will be brewing these as 1.5 gallon test batches, however the recipes below are for a full 5.5 gallon batch.

Red X Rye IPA – X-periment #1

OG: 1.054
FG: 1.008
ABV: 6.1%
IBU: 55
SRM: 7
Batch Size: 5.5 Gallons
Mash: Single Temp. Infusion – 149°F for 60 min.

Grain Bill
6.4 lb. – Pale 2-Row (54%)
3.7 lb – Best Red X (31%)
1.8 lb – Rye Malt (15%)

Hops
.8 oz – Chinook @ 60 min.
1 oz – Cascade @ 30 min.
1 oz – Cascade @ 10 min.
1 oz – Chinook @ 3 Days Dry Hop
1 oz – Cascade @ 3 Days Dry Hop

Yeast
Safale S-05 (Fermented @ 68°F)

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Red X Munich Dunkel – X-periment #2

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.011
ABV: 4.8%
IBU: 25
SRM: 13
Batch Size: 5.5 Gallons
Mash: Step Infusion – 122°F for 20 min, 146°F for 20 min, 156°F for 20 min, 170°F Mashout

Grain Bill
11.4 lb. – Best Red X

Hops
1.8 oz – Liberty @ 60 min.

Yeast
White Labs German Bock Lager Yeast WLP833 (Fermented @ 52°F)

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series in about a month or so. Until next time, happy brewing!

Stephen Boyajian has been an avid homebrewer for 4 years. A fan of many styles, with a particular love for IPA’s and Stouts. He lives in Gainesville, VA with his wife, 3 kids and dog. When not brewing, he enjoys playing golf or guitar.