Intro
This beer is inspired by the legendary Two Birds (RIP) – Sunset Ale, a sessionable red ale with a lot of malt complexity. We decided to take inspiration from this classic of a beer and dial it up to 11 by making it an IPA. Think big piney hop and citrus flavour supported by a spicy and caramel malt backbone. This beer has taken out best Specialty IPA at VicBrew as well as Champion Beer at the 2025 Merri Mashers IPA Competition with an average score of 43.
Brewfather Recipe
Stats
OG: 1.064
FG: 1.015
ABV: 6.4%
Boil: 60 mins
IBU: 66
BU/GU: 1.04
Colour: 33.5 EBC
Mash
Mash 67C for 60 minutes
Malt Bill
Maris Otter (70.7%)
Rye (11%)
Vienna (7.9%)
Caramunich II (5.4%)
Crystal (3.6%)
Black Malt (1.4%)
OPTIONAL – Smoke malt (2-3%) personally we believe this improves the malt character in a subtle way, but judges may disagree so we have found it’s best not to use it when brewing this for comps. Be mindful of variation between different smoked malts depending on which wood was used in smoking (some are much stronger!).
Hops
Hops (12L batch size, double for a full batch)
Boil: 13g Chinook 47.7 IBU at 60 mins
Whirlpool 80° for 20 minutes:
37g Simcoe
25g Chinook
16g Mosaic
Dry hop after fermentation is complete:
25g Chinook
34g Mosaic
16g Citra
65g Simcoe
Yeast
Nottingham is our go to, as you don’t want the beer to be hazy as it will look muddy rather than red.
Yeast
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Water
Brew Father American Amber ale profile
Ca2+: 100 ppm
Mg2+: 4 ppm
Na+: 50 ppm
Cl-: 75 ppm
SO42-: 200 ppm
HCO3-: 80 ppm
pH 5.3
Fermentation
Ferment for 2 weeks
Starting at 18 degrees and after one and a half weeks (or when you notice there is no more activity) increase the temp to 22 degrees. After a few days at final gravity, cool to 15 degrees and dry hop for 24-48 hours. Cold crash for 3-4 days.
Keys to brewing this beer
This beer really needs a lot of hops to be able to cut through the malt, but pairing piney citrus with complex and “chewy” malts leads to a very enjoyable beer that sets it apart. I recommend adding finings to the keg or, if you are bottling, add it while cold crashing. This helps the beer appear vibrant red in the glass to give a great first impression.