21B Specialty IPA: Red IPA
Reet Petite (clone)
Grain bill
| Gladfield American Ale Malt | 4.4 kg | 71.9% |
| Gladfield Vienna Malt | 0.56 kg | 9.2% |
| Gladfield Aurora Malt | 0.29 kg | 4.7% |
| Gladfield Rye Malt | 0.29 kg | 4.7% |
| Gladfield RedBack Malt | 0.29 kg | 4.8% |
| Gladfield Shepherds Delight Malt | 0.29 kg | 4.7% |
Adjuncts
| Whirlfloc | 1 g @ 15 min |
| Yeast nutrient | 2 g @ 15 min |
| Candied ginger | 70 g @ 10 min |
Hop schedule
| Hop | 75 min | 30 min | 10 min | WP 80°C | DH#1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Jade | 14g | · | · | · | · |
| Centennial | · | 25g | · | · | 50g |
| Simcoe | · | · | 50g | · | 50g |
| Citra | · | · | · | 50g | · |
| Motueka | · | · | · | · | 25g |
Yeast
| Safale US-05 | 2 packets |
Tasting notes
About This Beer
Reet Petite is a Red IPA based on a Choice Bros kit recipe, a style that would become a recurring focus in subsequent brewing. The grain bill builds the red colour through a spread of Gladfield specialty malts — Aurora, RedBack, Shepherds Delight, and Rye — while keeping the base at American Ale Malt for a clean hop-forward foundation. Candied ginger was an optional addition to the kit, included at 70 g at 10 minutes.
OG was not recorded for this batch. Fermentation was not temperature-controlled.
Ingredients
The six-malt grain bill is doing specific jobs. Aurora and Shepherds Delight push the colour into the red-amber range and contribute bready, cola-ish complexity. RedBack adds a malty dried fruit note. Rye contributes a dry spicy mouthfeel without competing with the hop character. Vienna provides malt sweetness and body. The American Ale Malt base at 71.9% keeps the beer clean and hop-forward despite the coloured malt load.
The hop schedule runs Pacific Jade for bittering, Centennial and Simcoe for mid-to-late boil additions, Citra in the whirlpool, and all three dry hop varieties (Centennial, Simcoe, Motueka) in a single round. Motueka brings a lime and tropical citrus note that sits alongside Simcoe’s pine and Centennial’s floral citrus character.
The candied ginger worked as intended — present but not dominant, adding warmth without turning the beer into a ginger beer.
Brew Day
Brewed on the BrewZilla 35L Gen 4. Mash in at 67°C with 16 L, resting 60 minutes at 66°C, sparge with 16.5 L at 75°C. Pre-boil volume was 26 L, post-boil 24 L. Whirlpool held for 10 minutes before chilling. Volume into the fermenter was 21 L.
An OG reading was not taken at this batch.
Fermentation
Fermented without temperature control. Packaged into bottles on 2022-12-18 (14 days after brew day) with 103 g glucose and 15 g sucrose as priming sugar. A final gravity was not recorded for this batch.
The Result
No off-flavours were detected. The ginger contribution was subtle and well-integrated with the red IPA base rather than standing alone. An approachable early batch that established the Red IPA as a style worth returning to.
The source kit did not include OG/FG targets, and gravity readings were not taken during this batch. The lesson — record gravity checkpoints throughout the brew rather than relying on kit specs — was noted and carried forward.