AG2: Strong Blonde Ale... Too Strong?

njnear76 · 02-03-2008, 04:03 PM

My second AG went a lot better. I did Jamil's Blond Ale and hit and got 80% efficiency.

12lb of Pale Malt
.75lb of Carmel Malt
1oz Willamette (60 minutes)

Unfortunately, I think my beer is out of style. I mashed in at 151F and let it go for 90 minutes. This time I used 5.2 PH stabalizer since it was a light beer and my water is more suited for Amber ales.

The boiling OG (corrected for temperature) was 1.051 for 7.25 gallons of wort, which makes it a 1.067OG for 5.5 gallons. Oops.

I anticipated a 65% efficiency on this because my first AG was only 55%. Will a 6.5-6.7% blond ale be too harsh?

**Bobby_M** · 02-03-2008, 05:27 PM

Woah. I actually think my 5% blonde is a little alcohol heavy. Yours is certainly out of style for blonde but if you like it, no big deal. I'd recommend fermenting it at the bottom end of the range just so you can absolutely avoid fusels which will make it worse.

Desert_Sky · 02-03-2008, 05:29 PM

too strong to fit into the guidelines, but it is still beer. So if this is just for you to drink at home, then I say you may have a pretty good beer on your hands

Let it age a bit longer than you normally would since it is bigger, but who knows you may be on to something. Keep us posted

**david_42** · 02-03-2008, 05:33 PM

I think so. Willamette is a low AA hop, so your IBU won't be very high. If there is room in the fermenter, I'd be tempted to boil 1/2 ounce of Willamette in a gallon of water and add it. That would reduce the target ABV to about 5.5% You could also wait until it's time to rack it.

njnear76 · 02-03-2008, 06:44 PM

Well, I'm using a Nottingham Ale and the the yest pitching temperature was ~55-60F. I plan on keeping it in the primary for 3 weeks and then bottle conditioning it for 3-4 weeks.

Could I dillute by a gallon on bottling day if it is too harsh?

**Bobby_M** · 02-03-2008, 07:10 PM

You could dillute it with as much as it takes to make it taste good to you. It's probably gonna be tough to know for sure since the beer will be flat, but you could even go with a 50/50 mix. Don't forget to boil the water first to get the O2 out.

njnear76 · 02-03-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby_M

You could dillute it with as much as it takes to make it taste good to you. It's probably gonna be tough to know for sure since the beer will be flat, but you could even go with a 50/50 mix. Don't forget to boil the water first to get the O2 out.

50/50 mix? Wow. Hmmm...

Actually, I might be good to go with just adding a gallon of boiled water. Jamil's recipe target OG was 1.050 with a 20.1 IBU using the rager calculation. The Williamette I used was 6.2% Alpha. In promash, 6.5 gallons will give me 20.8I BU so it might be well balanced. I can deal with 5.5% brew. :-)

Just to confirm, I can rack on top of this gallon of pre-boiled water on bottling day? How long should I boil the water to deoxidate it?

Thanks,

Mike

Desert_Sky · 02-03-2008, 09:00 PM

you could dilute it....

or you could just let it ferment and brew another one

njnear76 · 02-03-2008, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chimone

you could dilute it....

or you could just let it ferment and brew another one

Heh. Well, I wanted to make a brew that my sister-in-law would like since I always brew over her house. I think I'm going to dilute it.

**Bobby_M** · 02-04-2008, 02:37 PM

You could actually just use a gallon of water for your priming solution instead of the usual two cups.

I'd be curious where this ferment finishes. If you get down around 1.010, I'd suspect the alcohol to be a bit prominent. If you by chance had a higher mash temp and it finishes a little sweet around 1.016, it might balance the alcohol well. If you're going for an easy drinking BMC substitute, I'd go with the dilution or it might remind you a little of a Belgian Golden Strong without the phenolics of belg yeast.