How to Brew Red IPA

A Red IPA relies on a slightly more complex malt bill than a standard IPA. While still hop-forward, it incorporates specialty malts to enhance body, color, and malt complexity.

• Pilsen Dry Malt Extract (DME) – Provides a clean and slightly sweet malt backbone while keeping the beer fermentable. 
• Munich Malt – Adds a deep malt richness and a touch of biscuity character. 
• Caramel 40L or Caramel 60L – Enhances color and mouthfeel while contributing a subtle caramel sweetness. 
• Vienna or Victory Malt (Optional) – Adds a toasty, nutty depth to balance the hop bitterness.
• Roasted Barley – Adds sharpness of a Red Ale for unique malt profile. 
• Optional: Flaked Oats – Adds some heft, smoothness and body.

Red IPAs strike a balance between robust malts and bold hops. It’s essential to select hops that complement both the malt backbone, while still shining in their own right. The best way to achieve a smooth hop character is by focusing on late boil additions and dry hopping. Consider these varieties when building a Red IPA recipe:

• Centennial – Adds bright citrus, floral, and piney notes with a clean bitterness.
• Amarillo – Provides orange, grapefruit, and slight tropical fruit undertones.
• Chinook – Delivers bold pine and subtle spice for added complexity.  

Yeast selection plays a crucial role in Red IPA fermentation, ensuring the final beer is balanced, crisp, and not overly sweet. 

• US-05 Dry Ale Yeast – A top choice for Red IPAs, providing a neutral fermentation profile that lets the hops and malt shine. 
• Nottingham Ale Yeast – Offers high attenuation, ensuring a crisp, dry finish that prevents excessive malt sweetness. 
• BRY-97 West Coast Ale Yeast – Another clean option that enhances hop character while fermenting clean and dry. 

A stock pot is essential for boiling your wort. When brewing Red IPA at home, you’ll need: 

• A 1-2 gallon pot for small batches. 
• A 5+ gallon pot for a full-sized 5-gallon batch. 
• A pot that allows room for foam and prevents boil-overs.

Temperature control is crucial in the brewing process. Keeping your temperatures consistent ensures proper enzyme activity, yeast performance, and hop oil extraction. Our IPA making kit includes a traditional glass lab thermometer, but a digital food-safe thermometer works just as well. 

• Mash temperature: 150-155ºF for steeping grains. 
• Yeast pitching temperature: Below 75ºF for optimal fermentation.

Fermentation is where the magic happens! A 1-gallon glass carboy or 5-gallon fermenter is ideal for brewing Session IPA at home. A rubber stopper and airlock ensure a sealed environment, keeping unwanted bacteria and oxygen out while allowing CO₂ to escape. Each Craft a Brew 1 gallon IPA making kit includes a fermenter, airlock, and all necessary brewing accessories, making it easy to brew Red IPA at home with confidence.

A racking cane is used to siphon beer from the fermenter into bottles, reducing oxidation and preventing unwanted hop sediment from entering the final product.

After fermentation, you’ll need bottles to carbonate and store your Red IPA. For a 1-gallon batch, you’ll need:

The first step in home IPA brewing is brew day, where you'll extract flavors from grains, add hops, and prepare the wort for fermentation. 

Step 1: Sanitize Everything 

Proper sanitation is crucial to prevent unwanted bacteria or wild yeast from contaminating your beer. 

• Mix half of the sanitizer packet with approximately 1 gallon of water in a bucket.
• Sanitize all brewing equipment, including the fermenter, airlock, thermometer, and yeast packet. 
• Let the sanitized equipment air dry on clean paper towels. 

Step 2: Heat the Water & Steep the Grains 

• Pour at least 2.5 gallons of water into a large brew pot and heat it to 155°F. 
• Place your specialty grains into a steeping bag and submerge it in the water for 20 minutes.
• Remove the grain bag and discard—do not squeeze, as this can extract unwanted bitterness. 

Step 3: Boiling & Adding Malt Extract 

• Bring the wort to a boil, then turn off the heat. 
• Stir in half of the malt extract (Pilsen Dry Malt Extract) to prevent clumping. 
• Bring the wort back to a slow rolling boil.

Step 4: Hop Additions 

Set a 60 minute timer and add your Bittering Hops.

These are some common hop additions you may use your Red IPA:

• 30 minutes left – Add mid-boil hops for flavor development. 
• 10-15 minutes left – Add late boil hops for flavor & aroma.
• 2-5 minutes left – Add aroma hops to enhance the beer’s fresh, bright hop character. 
• End of the Boil – Turn off the burner and immediately add flameout hops for maximum aroma. This technique is commonly used in NEIPAs and Hazy IPAs, but can also be used in other IPA styles for a layered, pervasive hop profile.

Step 5: Cooling the Wort 

• Quickly cool the wort to below 75°F by placing the pot in an ice bath in your sink. 
• Cover the pot with a lid to prevent contamination. 
• While cooling, sanitize your fermenter and all equipment that will touch the beer post-boil. 

Step 6: Transferring & Pitching Yeast 

• Once the wort reaches 75°F or lower, transfer it to the fermenter, leaving behind thick sediment. 
• Add cold water as needed to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. 
• Pitch the yeast. 
• Aerate the wort by sealing the fermenter and gently rocking it back and forth.
• Fill the airlock with water and insert it into the rubber stopper. 
• Place the fermenter in a cool, dark area (60-75°F) for fermentation. 

Fermentation is where yeast converts sugars into alcohol and CO₂. 

• Within 12-72 hours, fermentation will become active. Expect bubbling in the airlock and foam on the surface. 
• After the first 72 hours, fermentation will slow down, but let the beer sit for two full weeks to ensure complete fermentation. 

Dry hopping is essential for how to brew IPA at home, as it enhances hop aroma without increasing bitterness.  

• Add dry hops directly into the fermenter through the lid hole. 
• Seal the fermenter again and let the hops infuse for 4 days.

After 2 weeks of fermentation, it's time to bottle and carbonate your beer. 

Step 1: Sanitize Bottling Equipment 

• Mix the remaining half of the sanitizer packet with water. 
• Sanitize bottles, caps, bottling attachment, and flexible tubing. 

Step 2: Prepare the Priming Solution 

• Mix 2/3 cup of white table sugar with 2 cups of water. 
• Bring it to a boil, then let it cool to room temperature. 
• Pour the cooled priming solution into the fermenter and gently stir. 

Step 3: Bottle Your Beer 

• Fill sanitized bottles, leaving about 1 inch of space at the top. 
• Cap the bottles and store them in a dark, room-temperature area for conditioning.

• Let bottles condition at room temperature for two weeks to develop natural carbonation. 
• After 14 days, refrigerate and enjoy your homemade IPA! 
• TIP: Dry hopped beers can benefit from a few days of refrigeration before enjoying. This helps draw hop matter and other sediment out of suspension for better clarity, cleaner flavor and crisper mouthfeel.

✅ How to Avoid It: Limit caramel malt usage to 5-10% of the total grain bill to achieve the desired color without compromising balance.​ Balance sweetness with appropriate hop bitterness to maintain harmony in flavor.​ 

✅ How to Avoid It: Maintain a stable fermentation temperature within the yeast's optimal range, typically between 65-70°F (18-21°C).​ Utilize a temperature-controlled environment or fermentation chamber to ensure consistency.​ 

✅ How to Avoid It: Test your brewing water and adjust mineral content to suit the beer style, enhancing hop bitterness and malt character.​ Consider adding brewing salts like gypsum or calcium chloride to achieve the desired flavor profile.​ 

✅ How to Avoid It: Add hops at various stages: early in the boil for bitterness, mid-boil for flavor, and late or post-boil (dry hopping) for aroma.​ Follow a well-structured hop schedule to achieve a harmonious blend of bitterness, flavor, and aroma.​

• A Red IPA is all about balance—the toasty, caramel malts should complement, not overpower, the hop bitterness and aroma. Too much caramel malt can make the beer overly sweet, while too many bittering hops can overwhelm the malt backbone. 
• Stick to 5-10% caramel malt in the grain bill to achieve color and subtle sweetness without excessive residual sugar. 
• Use late-boil and dry hop additions to enhance hop aroma without increasing harsh bitterness. 
• Consider using American hops like Simcoe, Amarillo, and Centennial for a classic Red IPA flavor. 

Fermentation control is key to preventing off-flavors and achieving a crisp, well-attenuated beer. If the fermentation temperature fluctuates too much, your yeast can produce unwanted esters and phenols, leading to an inconsistent or overly fruity Red IPA. 

• Keep fermentation between 65-70°F (18-21°C) for a clean and balanced Red IPA. 
• Use a temperature-controlled fermentation chamber or place your fermenter in a cool, dark space. 

The Red IPA brewing process benefits from proper water chemistry, which helps bring out the crispness of the hops while enhancing the malt backbone. If your water is too soft, the beer can lack structure, and if it’s too hard, bitterness may become harsh. 

• Adjust water with gypsum (calcium sulfate) to emphasize hop bitterness. 
• Add calcium chloride for a rounder, maltier mouthfeel. 
• If using reverse osmosis (RO) water, add brewing salts to ensure the right balance. 

If you’re wondering, “How do I brew Red IPA at home without the guesswork?”, starting with a high-quality IPA making kit ensures foolproof results. The Craft a Brew Red IPA Making Kit includes pre-measured malts, hops, and yeast, plus easy-to-follow instructions, making it simple to brew Red IPA at home with professional-quality ingredients.  

A Red IPA brewing process is all about balance—malty sweetness and hop bitterness should complement each other without one overpowering the other. 

• Use 5-10% caramel or specialty malts to achieve the deep red color and a hint of sweetness without overdoing it. 
• Opt for American hops like Centennial, Amarillo, or Simcoe to balance malt complexity with citrus and piney bitterness. 
• Maintain a final gravity of 1.010-1.014 to ensure the beer finishes slightly dry but not too thin. 

For a foolproof Red IPA recipe, check out the Craft a Brew Red IPA Making Kit, which includes pre-measured malt, hops, and yeast to help you achieve the perfect balance effortlessly. 

Yeast selection plays a big role in how a Red IPA is brewed. You want a clean fermenting strain that allows the malt backbone and hop aroma to shine. 

• US-05 American Ale Yeast – A go-to strain for home Red IPA brewing, providing a clean and dry finish. 
• Wyeast 1056 (American Ale Yeast) – Similar to US-05 but with slightly more expressive hop character. 
• Nottingham Ale Yeast – Ferments clean and fast while enhancing malt sweetness and body. 

One of the biggest challenges in brewing Red IPA at home is achieving that deep, ruby-red hue without crossing into brown ale territory. 

• Use light to medium caramel malts (10L - 40L) sparingly to provide red hues without excessive sweetness. 
• Avoid dark roasted malts like Chocolate Malt or Black Malt, as they can overpower the red color and make the beer taste too roasty. 
• Consider adding a small amount of roasted barley (1-2%), which enhances red color while adding subtle dryness. 

A Red IPA brewing process requires hop-forward character but with a balanced bitterness that complements the malt backbone. 

• Bittering Hops (Early Boil - 60 mins): Columbus, Chinook, or Magnum – Provide clean bitterness without harshness.  
• Flavor & Aroma Hops (Late Boil - 15 mins to Flameout): Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial – Add citrus, pine, and floral notes. 
• Dry Hopping (After Fermentation Slows): Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic – Enhance juicy hop aroma without excessive bitterness. 

Oxidation is one of the biggest enemies of home Red IPA brewing, leading to stale flavors, off-colors, and loss of hop aroma. 

• Minimize splashing when transferring beer from the fermenter to bottles or kegs. 
• Use an auto-siphon to transfer beer smoothly with minimal oxygen exposure. 
• Dry hop carefully by quickly resealing the fermenter after adding hops. 
• Store bottles in a cool, dark place to maintain fresh hop character.