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KC10Chief · 07-08-2011, 02:23 AM

This is my favorite beer to brew. I've made it 4 or 5 times now and it's always a hit. I am having a hard time keeping it on tap. I'm just going to start keeping two of my four kegs filled with the Blonde. My guests will usually try my other beers, but then go right back to emptying the Blonde. It's fantastic! Cheap to make too!

Prionburger · 07-12-2011, 11:48 PM

After 3 years I'm finally getting to this recipe. Did 10 gallons of it! Nailed the gravity, and hopefully the bittering. Next after this will be Edwort's Pale Ale!

pvburton · 07-13-2011, 10:43 AM

I've got a 5G AG batch fermenting. Hit 86% efficiency and am using WLP007 Dry English Ale since liquid Notty was out (I'm too impatient for dry yeast). Anybody got an idea of how these two changes might affect the final product?

I took a grav reading at 8 days and I don't think its quite done (72% attenuation and still pretty cloudy, dark blonde color)... assuming that's due to the higher OG? This morning I'm still seeing clumps of flocculated yeast rocket off the cake hypnotically, so I'm expecting to get a pretty dry product here.

Grasslands · 07-13-2011, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pvburton

I've got a 5G AG batch fermenting. Hit 86% efficiency and am using WLP007 Dry English Ale since liquid Notty was out (I'm too impatient for dry yeast). Anybody got an idea of how these two changes might affect the final product?

I've got no idea about the variation - though I'd assume it might be a bit drier than what the typical final product calls for. However, I will vouch for Notty - even without hydration, it's taken off extremely fast every time I've used it - especially with this recipe. Your impatience in this instance would definitely be eased.

I'll swear by Notty and US05 for dry yeasts.

kyle6286 · 07-14-2011, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smagee

Koz is correct; the only variable is the specific AA% on the Centennial that you have. If you ended up with a batch in the 8.5% range, you'll need to up the additions slightly (or shift their timing, if you prefer). If yours are upwards of 10.5%, scale down accordingly. Using Beersmith, this is easy; since you know the IBUs you're shooting for (~20ish), enter the recipe as listed above. Then double-click your hop additions and specify the AA% your Centennial has. If yours are lower, your IBUs will drop a bit, so simply increase the amount of one of the additions until the IBUs are back in the vicinity of 20.

Or, just do what I did when I was doing partial boils and just let it ride

. Since this beer is specifically designed to be low-IBU, I wouldn't worry terribly much about it. Lower might actually be a boon for the BMC crowd on this one. That said, when I last made it, my LHBS and I determined that it needed a bit more bitterness than I ended up with. Next time, I'll err on the side of more hops.

Sorry, you lost me on the Beersmith recipe edits. I downloaded the free trial and started to input the recipe, but I'm confused about the hops. I'm clear on everything else but don't know what to do in terms of the AA% for the hops. Any help is really appreciated and sorry for the ignorance. I will have to familiarize myself with this software. I'm doing the extract version in a 5 gallon pot. Thank you

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 3.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.041 SG
Estimated FG: 1.010 SG
Estimated Color: 3.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.4 IBU
Boil Time: 55 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 83.3 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 16.7 %
0.375 oz Centennial [9.50%] (55 min) Hops 8.6 IBU
0.375 oz Centennial [9.50%] (30 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
0.375 oz Cascade [7.80%] (10 min) Hops 2.6 IBU
0.375 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

**smagee** · 07-14-2011, 02:11 AM

Not a problem; Beersmith certainly takes some getting used to, but it's well worth it once you're familiar!

Assuming the values you have there are the defaults when each hop is entered, you can modify the values for each hop to match the values for the hops you've purchased. The hop packages you buy from your shop (or online store or whatever) should indicate their AA percentage on the label. To modify your recipe in Beersmith, double-click each hop entry and adjust the value listed in the "Alpha" field under "Percent Acid" in the resulting pop-up window.

Repeat that process for each hop that you have and the recipe will now be tailored to your ingredients. Now check the total IBUs listed in the "Bitterness" field below the ingredients listing; it should be relatively close to 20ish. If it's too high (say, 25-30), then decrease the amount of one (or multiple) hop addition to bring it down in the right range.

It sounds complicated in text, but once you tinker with it, it becomes a bit more intuitive. Don't worry about getting the value exact; just get it within a few IBUs of the target in the original recipe.

kyle6286 · 07-14-2011, 03:24 AM

Oh ok I understand. As far as hop addition times, do I adjust those as well, or leave them be? Thanks for the clarification by the way!

**smagee** · 07-14-2011, 04:39 AM

You're certainly welcome; that's what the forum is here for, after all

.

I'd leave them alone; you can shift time to adjust the IBUs as well, but it'll also alter the flavor profile (e.g., moving hops later on will result in more "hop" flavor, which can certainly be a good thing, but not exactly what this recipe's about). You'll get a more accurate representation of the blonde by adjusting the amounts rather than the times.

FireBrew63 · 07-14-2011, 07:32 PM

I just kegged my first 10g. of this 4 days ago and it is an amazing summer beer. The only changes I made were that I keg hopped 5 gal. w/ .5 oz. of Cascade and used WLP001. OG was 1.042 and FG was 1.008. I pulled 'some' samples last night and both were fantastic, but am leaning more towards the keg hopping. Thanks BM for a great recipe. I will be brewing 20 more gallons by the end of the month because this will go quick! I am going to try cucumber with 5gal. as well. I tried a few cucs with one of my sample pints last night and it was very tasty.
Cheers

johnodon · 07-24-2011, 02:27 PM

Well, my last 5 gallon batch lasted exactly 4 days between my Father-in-Law, my neighbor and myself.

So, I just did my first 10 gallon batch ever this weekend. Everyhting went well except for the fact that the pot I use to bring sparge water up to temp is only 20 quarts and I needed 14 gallons in the kettle. My first runnings yielded only 3.5 gallons. I think I had to sparge 4 times. The last one was only about 1 gallon just to get me to the 14 that I needed. I think I may be off today to find a bigger pot.

Regardless, I hit all of my #s spot on. Also, I think I got some really good packets of Notty. Man were they active this morning!

John