Last light on the high rim
A 6.2% American red ale named for Oregon's Owyhee River, caramel malt and Centennial pine, made for pouring at the end of a long day.
Brewed to order
Owyhee River Sundown Red Ale wears a label of tall rust-red cliffs with a teal river winding between them. Burnt orange, cream and sage green fill the art, a match for the caramel-red beer it names.
- ABV
- 6.2%
- IBU
- 35
- Colour
- 14SRM
- OG to FG
- 1.0601.013
- 6.2% ABV red ale at 35 IBU
- Caramel malt with Cascade and Centennial hops
- Rust, cream and teal river label
- Second batch difficulty, 5 US gallons
- First pint in 35 days
In the glass
Toffee and bread crust up front, orange peel and pine behind, a dry finish
- Serve
- 50°F in a nonic pint glass
- Alongside
- Grilled bratwurst, sharp cheddar, smoked almonds
Rust-red cliffs stack up on the label, and a teal river bends through them under a pale cream sky. Behind it, low sun turns the real rock rim gold and the far walls fall into soft shadow.
Toffee and warm bread crust come first, then a little orange peel and pine from the Cascade and Centennial. It finishes dry, so the second sip comes easy. Open one when the light goes amber and the rods are back in their tubes.
Crystal 60L carries most of the colour and all of the caramel here. Weigh it to the ounce, keep the mash at 154°F, and let the single ounce of roasted barley do the rest of the reddening.
The numbers
6.2%Alcohol by volume
(1.060 − 1.013) × 131.25
35Bitterness, IBU
Bitterness only means anything against the style. This one is a American red ale.
14Colour, SRM
The swatch above is this number on the standard reference ramp, not an impression of it.
Gravity1.060 down to 1.013 — 78% apparent attenuation.
Details
Details
- River
- Owyhee River, Oregon
- Style
- American red ale
- ABV
- 6.2%
- Tasting notes
- caramel, toffee, bread crust, orange peel, pine
- Colors
- burnt orange, rust red, cream, sage green, teal
Make it yourself
At a glance
- Style
- American red ale
- Gravity, OG → FG
- 1.060 → 1.013
- ABV
- 6.2%Derived from OG and FG
- Bitterness
- 35 IBU
- Colour
- 14SRMdeep amber
- Difficulty
- Second batchthe crystal malts and a steady mash reward a brewer who has one batch behind them.
- First pint
- 35 daysFrom brew day, including conditioning
- Brew day
- 2 h 10 minKettle on to kitchen clean. The rest is the yeast.
- You supply
- 8-gallon kettle, mash tun, fermenter with airlock, thermometer, hydrometer, wort chiller, sanitizer, bottles, capper
- Written for
- 5 gal (18.9 L)
- Efficiency assumed
- 72%Brew-in-a-bag, full-volume. House guidance
Grain bill
5 malts · 11.25 lb for 5 gal
Milled grain, weighed for each batch size. The percentage is each malt's share of the grist and stays the same at every size.
| Malt | % of grist | 12-pack batch · 1.25 gal | Classic · 5 gal | 12×12 batch · 15 gal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pale 2-row | 80% | 2.25 lb (1.02 kg) | 9 lb (4.08 kg) | 27 lb (12.25 kg) |
| Munich | 8.9% | 4 oz (113 g) | 1 lb (0.45 kg) | 3 lb (1.36 kg) |
| Crystal 60L | 8.9% | 4 oz (113 g) | 1 lb (0.45 kg) | 3 lb (1.36 kg) |
| Crystal 120L | 1.7% | 0.8 oz (21 g) | 3 oz (85 g) | 9 oz (255 g) |
| Roasted barley | 0.6% | 0.3 oz (7 g) | 1 oz (28 g) | 3 oz (85 g) |
| Total grain | 100% | 2.81 lb (1.28 kg) | 11.25 lb (5.1 kg) | 33.75 lb (15.31 kg) |
Hop schedule
3 additions · 60 min boil
Pellet hops, weighed in grams. Boil times count down to the end of the boil, so 60 minutes means the first thing in the kettle.
| Hop | Use | Time | 12-pack batch · 1.25 gal | Classic · 5 gal | 12×12 batch · 15 gal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial | Boil | 60 min | 5.3 g (0.19 oz) | 21 g (0.75 oz) | 64 g (2.25 oz) |
| Cascade | Boil | 10 min | 7.1 g (0.25 oz) | 28 g (1 oz) | 85 g (3 oz) |
| Cascade | Boil | Flameout | 7.1 g (0.25 oz) | 28 g (1 oz) | 85 g (3 oz) |
Yeast and pitch
Safale US-05 American ale yeast · 1 dry pack for 5 gal
Safale US-05 American ale yeast. Pitch at 64°F.
| Yeast | 12-pack batch · 1.25 gal | Classic · 5 gal | 12×12 batch · 15 gal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safale US-05 American ale yeast | 1 dry pack | 1 dry pack | 3 dry packs |
One pack per 5 gal, and one more above 1.060 OG in a batch over 3 gal. Never fewer than one. House guidance
Water
8.15 gal into the mash for 5 gal
Full-volume brew-in-a-bag: all the water goes in at the start and there is no sparge. Volumes are the total to heat, so the kettle has to hold the mash and still leave room to boil: the 12-pack kit sells a 5 gal stockpot and the 12×12 kit a 30 gal kettle for that.
| Water | 12-pack batch · 1.25 gal | Classic · 5 gal | 12×12 batch · 15 gal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Into the mash | 2.13 gal (8 L) | 8.15 gal (30.9 L) | 19.95 gal (75.5 L) |
| Boiled off | 0.5 gal (1.9 L) | 1.25 gal (4.7 L) | 1.25 gal (4.7 L) |
| Held by the grain | 0.23 gal (0.9 L) | 0.9 gal (3.4 L) | 2.7 gal (10.2 L) |
| Left as trub | 0.15 gal (0.6 L) | 1 gal (3.8 L) | 1 gal (3.8 L) |
| Into the fermenter | 1.25 gal (4.7 L) | 5 gal (18.9 L) | 15 gal (56.8 L) |
Boil-off, grain absorption and trub are typical figures for a stovetop pot and a propane kettle, not measurements of your own gear. Brew once, note what you end up with, and adjust. House guidance
Water profile Moderate minerals with sulfate and chloride near even keep the malt round and the hops crisp.
Mash
154°F · 60 min
The mash turns starch into sugar. Hold the temperature steady and the beer finishes the way the recipe intends.
- Rest154°F for 60 minutes
- Strike waterHeat to 164°F; the grain cools it to the rest temperature. House guidance
- Mash-outRaise to 168°F and hold 10 minutes, then lift and drain the bag. House guidance
- Mash ina slightly warm rest leaves the body round enough to carry the caramel
- Mash outthis stops conversion and loosens the sugars for the sparge
Boil
60 min · 3 hop additions
Hops go in on a countdown from the end of the boil. Early additions give bitterness; late ones give aroma.
- Length60 minutes
- 60 minCentennial
- 10 minCascade
- FlameoutCascade
- 15 minA kettle fining (whirlfloc or Irish moss) clears the beer if you have one. House guidance
- Chillto 64°Fpitch cool so the yeast stays clean
Fermentation
3 steps · first pint in 35 days
The recipe's own schedule, in order. Temperature control matters more than almost anything else on this page.
- 7 days at 66°F
- 3 days at 68°F
- 2 days cold crash at 38°F
First pint 35 days from brew day.
Packaging and carbonation
2.4 volumes CO₂ · bottle or keg
Target 2.4 volumes of CO₂.
| Bottling | 12-pack batch · 1.25 gal | Classic · 5 gal | 12×12 batch · 15 gal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corn sugar to prime | 1.03 oz (29 g) | 4.12 oz (117 g) | 12.37 oz (351 g) |
| 12 oz bottles it fills | 12 | 50 | 144 |
Dissolve the sugar in a little boiled water, stir it gently into the beer, then bottle. The amount is worked out for 68°F, the warmest the beer got while it fermented.
Kegging Set the regulator to 10.2 psi at 38°F.
Kegging instead Skip the bottles with 3 × 5 gal ball-lock kegs, 1 × 5 lb CO₂ tank, 1 × dual-gauge regulator, 1 × gas and beer lines with picnic taps: the kegging upgrade for the 15 gal home brewery, $594.
Brewer's notes
3 tips
- Weigh the roasted barley on its own; one ounce is all the red you need.From the recipe
- Hold fermentation at 66°F for the first week to keep the yeast from throwing fruit.From the recipe
- Add the flameout Cascade the moment the burner goes off, then start chilling.From the recipe
Every kit size
Ingredients only
Ingredient kit · 12-pack batch
$21.10
$1.76 a bottle
Grain milled, hops bagged per addition, yeast, priming sugar and 12 caps, for 1.25 gal.
Includes Pale 2-row · Munich · Crystal 60L · Crystal 120L · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 13 items
Ingredients
- Pale 2-row$5.15
- Munich$0.65
- Crystal 60L$0.72
- Crystal 120L$0.14
- Roasted barley$0.05
- Centennial (60 min)$1.50
- Cascade (10 min)$1.50
- Cascade (flameout)$1.50
- Safale US-05 American ale yeast$6.49
- Milling and kitting$3
Packaging
- Corn sugar for priming$0.40
- Crown capsIncluded
Guide
- Printed brew guideIncluded
Ingredient kit · 12×12 batch
$151.79
$1.05 a bottle
Grain milled, hops bagged per addition, yeast, priming sugar and 144 caps, for 15 gal.
Includes Pale 2-row · Munich · Crystal 60L · Crystal 120L · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 13 items
Ingredients
- Pale 2-row$61.83
- Munich$7.77
- Crystal 60L$8.67
- Crystal 120L$1.63
- Roasted barley$0.54
- Centennial (60 min)$8.98
- Cascade (10 min)$11.97
- Cascade (flameout)$11.97
- Safale US-05 American ale yeast$19.47
- Milling and kitting$8
Packaging
- Corn sugar for priming$4.96
- Crown caps$6
Guide
- Printed brew guideIncluded
Complete home brewery
Complete home brewery · 12-pack batch
$214.92
$17.91 a bottle
Bought separately $236.46 · you save $21.54
All the equipment, then the ingredient kit, for 1.25 gal. Works on a kitchen stove.
Includes 5 gal stainless stockpot · Fine-mesh brew bag · 1.5 gal glass fermenter with drilled bung · 3-piece airlock · and 23 more
Every item in this kit · 27 items
Equipment
- 5 gal stainless stockpot$49.99
- Fine-mesh brew bag$9.99
- 1.5 gal glass fermenter with drilled bung$17.99
- 3-piece airlock$2.49
- No-rinse sanitizer, 4 oz$12.99
- Hydrometer and test jar$15.99
- Digital probe thermometer$14.99
- Mini auto-siphon with tubing$13.99
- Spring-tip bottle filler$5.99
- 12 oz amber bottles$16.99
- Wing capper$19.99
- Brewery wash, 1 lb$9.99
- 0.1 g kitchen scale$14.99
- Long stainless spoon$8.99
Ingredients
- Pale 2-row$5.15
- Munich$0.65
- Crystal 60L$0.72
- Crystal 120L$0.14
- Roasted barley$0.05
- Centennial (60 min)$1.50
- Cascade (10 min)$1.50
- Cascade (flameout)$1.50
- Safale US-05 American ale yeast$6.49
- Milling and kitting$3
Packaging
- Corn sugar for priming$0.40
- Crown capsIncluded
Guide
- Printed brew guideIncluded
Complete home brewery · 12×12 batch
$1,247.79
$8.67 a bottle
Bought separately $1,369.57 · you save $121.78
All the equipment, then the ingredient kit, for 15 gal. You supply a propane tank and water.
Includes 30 gal stainless kettle with ball valve and thermometer · 72 · 30 gal brew bag · 50 ft copper immersion chiller · and 26 more
Every item in this kit · 30 items
Equipment
- 30 gal stainless kettle with ball valve and thermometer$399
- 72,000 BTU propane burner and stand$99
- 30 gal brew bag$44.99
- 50 ft copper immersion chiller$129
- 7.9 gal fermenting buckets with lids and airlocks$89.97
- No-rinse sanitizer, 32 oz$32.99
- Brewery wash, 4 lb$34.99
- Hydrometer and test jar$15.99
- Refractometer$29.99
- Digital thermometer$24.99
- ½" auto-siphon with tubing$24.99
- Bottling buckets with spigots$55.98
- Bottle filler$5.99
- 12 oz amber bottles (6 cases)$119.94
- Bench capper$59.99
- Mash paddle$24.99
- Digital scale$24.99
Ingredients
- Pale 2-row$61.83
- Munich$7.77
- Crystal 60L$8.67
- Crystal 120L$1.63
- Roasted barley$0.54
- Centennial (60 min)$8.98
- Cascade (10 min)$11.97
- Cascade (flameout)$11.97
- Safale US-05 American ale yeast$19.47
- Milling and kitting$8
Packaging
- Corn sugar for priming$4.96
- Crown caps$6
Guide
- Printed brew guideIncluded
The creator
How it was made
1 iteration led here; the saved one is marked
1 Saved
Remixes
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
“a beer brewed for Owyhee River, Oregon”
river beer · made
0 — nothing entered the score yet, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- red ale
- owyhee river
- oregon
- amber beer
- caramel malt
- cascade
- centennial
- homebrew recipe
- fly fishing
- golden hour
- rust red
- desert river