BeerBorg

I'm brewing another beer with Red X this weekend and using 40% Red X. Lots of what I read shows that unless you use 90-100%, the beer under attenuates but I don't want to use all Red X so, I'm thinking to do a step BIAB mash. It's a pain in the arse but for those who have used Red X, have you noticed an attenuation problem?
I may just add a bit more 2 row and call it even since step mashes take more time and effort and, well, I'm not lazy but going in that direction. Would a longer mash help?
Ideas, thoughts?

I only used it the one time and I used 100%. Don't cite my results as an example, though since I used it in my Levitation recipe and mashed really high. Mine finished at 1.022 which isn't uncommon for where my Levitation finishes. So what I can say is that it finished in line with previous batches that didn't use Red X.

What I can tell you is that 100% Red X malt makes for a beautiful color beer, though. I'll try to find a pic.

I remember those pics and I know I used it at about 80% my first try and looking at my notes, it should have finished at 1.011 and finished at 1.016. Not horrible but it was still very good once I got rid of the green pepper flavor from the Equinox (remember, I keg hopped it with Amarillo and Cascade and a few weeks later, it was drinking ok).
Once again I'm playing around with hops with this recipe. Guess I should really try 'normal' hops with Red X next time.

Meh, what's "normal" to the spider is a calamity to the fly.

Your notes say it "should" have finished at 1.011, but what do your notes say your actual mash temperatures where? What yeast did you pitch, how much, what was your OG. There are other variables that determine FG. Let's look at all of them.

Beer-lord wrote:I'm brewing another beer with Red X this weekend and using 40% Red X. Lots of what I read shows that unless you use 90-100%, the beer under attenuates

I don't understand that. If Red X had/caused attenuation problems, then the MORE you use the worse it should get, not the other way around.

I think the people reporting this are on crack and just mashing their beer higher then normal and then bitching about it and blaming the Red X.

We'll know soon. It does seem it's 50/50. Google Red x malt and attenuation and it's full of both camps.

I've only used Red X malt once, in a 5 gallon partial mash, so I really can't compare my results to doing an all grain version. I do know that for each 0.5F change in mash temperature, above or below 153.5F, the Apparent Attenuation % changes by 0.625%. What that boils down to is a 0.001 point change in final gravity. Where a mash at 153.5F has an AA% of 25%, a mash at 152.5F an AA% of 23.75% and a mash at 154.5 an AA% of 26.5%. The higher the AA% the more fermentable the wort and the lower the AA% the less fermentable the wort.

Of course the story doesn't quite end there either, since the Apparent Attenuation % of the yeast also influences final gravity. A large pitch of healthy yeast in well oxygenated wort might produce 85% attenuation, where a not so good pitch of the same yeast might only yield 70% attenuation.