Blonde Ale Miller Lite (Really Triple Hopped)

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alright, thanks for the input. i'll be putting us 05 onto my next order.

i was looking for a nice, light, lawnmower beer for the summer, and this sure looks just about right. i have a beer that's about done, so i may just pitch this right on the old yeast cake and hope for the best. hopefully overpitching will avoid any esters. perhaps we'll see.
 
bafroom said:
alright, thanks for the input. i'll be putting us 05 onto my next order.

i was looking for a nice, light, lawnmower beer for the summer, and this sure looks just about right. i have a beer that's about done, so i may just pitch this right on the old yeast cake and hope for the best. hopefully overpitching will avoid any esters. perhaps we'll see.
Click to expand...

Low esters are easy to achieve at lower fermentation temps. Like 68F to 62F. Try using your basement and possibly use a water soak with wet towels draped over the fermenter. Thats the low cost best option.
 
Schlenkerla said:
Low esters are easy to achieve at lower fermentation temps. Like 68F to 62F. Try using your basement and possibly use a water soak with wet towels draped over the fermenter. Thats the low cost best option.
Click to expand...

no basement, but i use a cold water bath (the swamp cooler thing wasn't cutting it) and usually ferment in the low 60's with notty. i haven't had any ester issues since i've done that, which was kind of why i was hoping notty might work.
with that said, notty is one of the only yeasts i've really used a lot (over the past 2 years) so i don't have a whole lot to compare it to. i'd always heard/read that notty and us 05 were pretty similar, especially at low fermentation temps.
unless i run into a good reason not to, i suppose i'll probably try this out with notty. worse case scenario is that i can warn others if it doesn't work out so well, right?
again, thanks for your help, i do appreciate it.
 
Ok, I tried this again with the following:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.00 lb Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) Grain 42.86 %
2.00 lb Brewers Malt 6-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) Grain 28.57 %
1.75 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 25.00 %
0.25 lb Caramel Malt - 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 %
0.25 oz Sorachi Ace [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 13.0 IBU
1 Pkgs US-05 Yeast-Ale

Somehow I ended up with OG 1.041 and FG 1.004 (was 1.009 until AE)

It is three weeks old and a bit bitter. I want to take this to a weekend party so I am hoping the bitterness will tone down by Sat. Thoughts? Maybe I shouldn't have used Ace but it has been in the freezer for over 12 months so I thought what the heck.

The color is dead on to Miller Lite and Coors. The caramel took care of that. The body is also better with the extra pound of 2 row.
 
Are you kegging? Its usually a bit harsh if its just freshly been force-carbed. Its seems about two weeks is needed to get it just right.
 
No good. My sister liked it but the rest of us did not. The citrus is just a bit to forward. No biggie. The color and body were perfect so I will try again with Haller.
 
Here is my attempt. Just served it at my class reunion. The BMC'ers really took to it. I did the all cascade version. A little chill haze but quite tasty. My five-year-old pulled this one for me after I cut the grass. Nice pour for only 5 eh?

2010-07-07_12_38_58.jpg
 
mymbtheduke said:
No good. My sister liked it but the rest of us did not. The citrus is just a bit to forward. No biggie. The color and body were perfect so I will try again with Haller.
Click to expand...


It will grow on you!!!! Drink this beer with chips & salsa. You may change your mind. I love cascade.

Make this with hallertauer or saaz and you will have exactly what looking for in a typical light beer.

Be advised on the first post, I suggested to use hallertauer for the hardcore BMC'rs.
 
lschiavo said:
Here is my attempt. Just served it at my class reunion. The BMC'ers really took to it. I did the all cascade version. A little chill haze but quite tasty. My five-year-old pulled this one for me after I cut the grass. Nice pour for only 5 eh?

2010-07-07_12_38_58.jpg
Click to expand...

You're lucky to have a little one so talented!!

I would not let SWMBO know about this though....
 
Brewed this one 6/12/10 with the following:
2 lbs. American 2-row pale
2 lbs. American 6-row pale
2 lbs. Flaked Corn
0.75 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.0 60 min
1.00 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.0 flameout
1.00 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.0 Dry Hop

Amylase left this one at 1.0, around 4% ABV, Nice golden color & almost clear.

Kegged & served for 4th of July. Definitely better fully chilled and carbed. Even though it isn't my favorite style of beer it was way better than BMC, quite drinkable, and well received by others who drink BMC. A little "watered down" for my tastes but for the price & simple recipe, I'll do it again.
 
Just brewed this as my first AG attempt on Sunday. It was a long beautiful day, managed to get some sunburn on my feet. SWMBO thought it had a nice smell when it was boiling (I'm using all cascade). I followed the original recipe on page 1 but had to use the WYeast american ale #1056 so hopefully that turns out alright.

I had a few troubles which I kind of expected with my first AG batch but nothing that I hope will ruin the batch.

I had trouble hitting my mash temp, but I was only a little bit low like 148 so it wasn't too hard to bring it up to 150. I also had a stuck sparge, but once I realized I needed to start the sparge very slow it went great after that. I also had a few boilovers so I'm not sure if my brewpot is big enough, I had to add a little water once I was done since I only ended up with around 4.5 gallons.

Also I realized next time I'll have to buy some ice or save up some ice to help with the chilling. My homemade IC did pretty well to get it down to 80 fairly quickly, but on a hot summer day I could not get it down to 75 and I didn't have much ice in the freezer for a cold bath to help it along.

Anyway, I'm pretty hopeful this will turn out good. My dad is a strict High Life Lite guy and he wouldn't even try my light amber I brought home :/ so I'm hoping this is more up his alley.

I hope I turn out with some nice pictures like you guys have!
 
Your beer should be pretty good. The lower mash should have worked out ok, sometimes lower slightly better for lighter beers. I believe you get slightly better conversion.

Your beer, if you used cascade, will be a little citrusy. Not exactly like ML but still quite light and refreshing. The BMC crowd will still like it.

If you used saaz or hallertauer it will be more like a typical light beer. The citrusy taste is good for the summer.
 
KCPyrate said:
A little "watered down" for my tastes but for the price & simple recipe, I'll do it again.
Click to expand...

Yah, tha's the problem with light beer. I like this beer since its light and low in ABV.

I started making these, low ABV beers, after my wife had a baby. I needed a beer with less alcohol so that I would be ok after having a few.
 
I brewed an extract version of this using Pale Malt extract and dry rice extract, hopped with Hallertau. Color is a little darker then most posts on here but still the lightest i've brewed yet.

OG was 1.034 - I had something interesting happen that I have never seen before. This brew sat in the primary for 7 days, it hit 1.006, then it was racked to the secondary and I added a teaspoon of Amalyse Enzyme. After 14 days in the secondary it only dropped to 1.002.

But the strange thing is that this beer has begun to carbonate in the secondary?? when I dropped in the siphon, bubbles began rising ... and when I was filling the bottles, the beer had a foamy head?? Is this normal? Are these bubbles and foam a result of the Amalyse? ... further to that, because I primed as normal, will i be seeing my first bottle bombs?

Please dont jump over me when I tell you that I added Lime Juice to the bottling bucket for the last 12 bottles. :p i cant help but experiment. (later tonight I was thinking of pouring a bottle of Strawberry Blonde and a bottle of Chocolate stout into the same glass...)

The next time someone comes over and tries my Stout or Pale Ale and says "yea, it's not bad, but do you know what would be really good, if you made a beer with Lime in it!" I can take a deep breath and pour them one of these.
 
Just cold crashed it for 3 days after 10 days in the prim now looking to add the AE for two weeks. Starter required or just sprinkle the AE on top of the wort that im going to add to the secondary.
 
Shamrock28 said:
Just cold crashed it for 3 days after 10 days in the prim now looking to add the AE for two weeks. Starter required or just sprinkle the AE on top of the wort that im going to add to the secondary.
Click to expand...

Add the AE, then rack the beer on top and wait two weeks.
 
CarbonatedColon said:
I brewed an extract version of this using Pale Malt extract and dry rice extract, hopped with Hallertau. Color is a little darker then most posts on here but still the lightest i've brewed yet.

OG was 1.034 - I had something interesting happen that I have never seen before. This brew sat in the primary for 7 days, it hit 1.006, then it was racked to the secondary and I added a teaspoon of Amalyse Enzyme. After 14 days in the secondary it only dropped to 1.002.

But the strange thing is that this beer has begun to carbonate in the secondary?? when I dropped in the siphon, bubbles began rising ... and when I was filling the bottles, the beer had a foamy head?? Is this normal? Are these bubbles and foam a result of the Amalyse? ... further to that, because I primed as normal, will i be seeing my first bottle bombs?

Please dont jump over me when I tell you that I added Lime Juice to the bottling bucket for the last 12 bottles. :p i cant help but experiment. (later tonight I was thinking of pouring a bottle of Strawberry Blonde and a bottle of Chocolate stout into the same glass...)

The next time someone comes over and tries my Stout or Pale Ale and says "yea, it's not bad, but do you know what would be really good, if you made a beer with Lime in it!" I can take a deep breath and pour them one of these.
Click to expand...

I am thinking since it was as 1.002 it was still cranking away. As for the lime it will probably ferment out, as for bombs, probably not an issue unless you added a bunch of juice. Wait and see. Next time use lime peel (zest) instead. I would do this in the last 5 minutes of the boil.
 
Hello,

I just made the extract version of this for a friend of mine and it seems that it went pretty well. I used Hallertau, however it was the first time I used the late extract addition technique and I think my IBUs ended up closer to 22 than 17ish. The OG sample tasted pretty bitter to my friend and I was wondering how much bitterness will subside over the fermentation/conditioning process.

Edit: Found the Enzyme on an online retailer
 
IslandMike said:
Hello,

I just made the extract version of this for a friend of mine and it seems that it went pretty well. I used Hallertau, however it was the first time I used the late extract addition technique and I think my IBUs ended up closer to 22 than 17ish. The OG sample tasted pretty bitter to my friend and I was wondering how much bitterness will subside over the fermentation/conditioning process.

Edit: Found the Enzyme on an online retailer
Click to expand...

Bitterness will not subside. Its pretty much locked in there. Still at 22 most HB'rs will like it though. As for IBUs, 16-18 is a good 5 points lower. Usually it take 5 points for most people to detect a difference.

Drinking it for awhile might make it seem to subside as your palate adjusts to the bitterness. You just need hot day to make you thirsty!

Did you keg the beer? Often freshly force-carbed beer has a harsh carbonic bite which can be confused with bitterness if you are not used to it. The carbonic bite dissipates after a week.

If you bottle your beer it might mellow after a couple weeks in the fridge. I don't think the bitterness will tame down but odd flavors will be less prominent. It will seem more crisp and clean tasting.

Good Luck, drink up! :mug:
 
Thanks for the info. I imagine I will end up liking it regardless, however I am trying to use this to bring a couple of my friends into the wonderful world of home brew. Can't wait to see the end result though.

Cheers
 
It coming along. I've had a bit of a problem getting some of that enzyme though so it is sitting right now at 1.009. Its pretty tasty and I imagine it will still be good once chilled and kegged. I am still hopeful that I can find somewhere else near me that will carry it. Homebrew stores are pretty much limited to brew-on-premises places or online stores with crappy shipping costs for me.

If I cant find the enzyme I will probably keg the beer and do another batch when I do get a hold of some.

Also any issues I thought there might be with bitterness are gone. I like it at slightly higher IBUs... mind you I don't have the original to compare it to.
 
IslandMike: you could try looking in a pharmacy for generic "digestive enzymes". Just read the ingredient list and make sure to have some amylase in there.

Might be a little more expensive that the specific homebrew stuff, but it got my version of this down from 1,040 to 1,000. It's crisp, a little citrusy from some flameout cascade and pretty quaffable even warm and uncarbed.
 
very long secondary fermentation, I added the AE and nothing happened, should i add more yeast?
 
this beer turned out really nice. I recently served it to some Coors Light drinkers who both threw back their heads with disgust after the first sip, however, after the glass was empty, the both had the same comments on two separate occasions without talking to each other. They both admitted they thought it was gross on the first sip and the taste wasn't what they were expecting, however the beer got better and better as they got closer to the bottom of the glass..... they both asked for another. Personally I was drinking a Chocolate Stout.
 
I will say this. If the beer is real young it can have a weird effect with regards to the dryness. I little bit of cold conditioning does wonders for this beer.

Also if you used cascade, it would without a doubt be a surprise. If you used hallertauer, liberty, hersbrucker or Saaz they wouldn't see much in the way of difference other than freshness.

Personally, I like cascade.
 
Just updating in case of future reference ... I made this recipe with cornmeal, the bottled after, had a strong taste of raw corn, I waited a little longer and the taste has not changed, I decided to return it to the fermenter before you throw away, left only 10L, added another 15G of Saaz and bottled again after a week. I'm drinking the first bottle now, adding the Saaz hid off flawors , if you pay attention, you can see he is still there, but is very drinkable now.
I'm not saying follow me, but as has been said by others .. never dump your beer!
tks all.
 
I made this beer, and the amylase is the key to drying it out. S05 chewed it down to 1.00! The only thing I added was a quarter pound of biscuit and victory malts, and the color came out much like actual miller light. I used hallertauer and spalt hops. I hope it carbs up quickly so I can get a taste, I've got it in the miller light home draft now, so we'll see how it turns out. The hyrdrometer sample was really good. No corn, a little more malt and hops than miller light, so a very good lawnmower beer. Its at 5.6%, so slightly more kick than a standard ML.
 
kammee said:
I made this beer, and the amylase is the key to drying it out. S05 chewed it down to 1.00! The only thing I added was a quarter pound of biscuit and victory malts, and the color came out much like actual miller light. I used hallertauer and spalt hops. I hope it carbs up quickly so I can get a taste, I've got it in the miller light home draft now, so we'll see how it turns out. The hyrdrometer sample was really good. No corn, a little more malt and hops than miller light, so a very good lawnmower beer. Its at 5.6%, so slightly more kick than a standard ML.
Click to expand...

Good Modification! :mug:

I take it you are in Illinois? I am presently in Decatur. A little south a you...
 
On the third batch scaled to 11G.. Used homegrown Mt Hood as the hop of choice. Used average numbers for the variety.
 
jtrainer said:
On the third batch scaled to 11G.. Used homegrown Mt Hood as the hop of choice. Used average numbers for the variety.
Click to expand...

I'll assume since you are on the 3rd go at it that you got good results and this is a further refinement. Mt Hood seems like a logical choice. It basically a west coast hallertauer.
 
Yes first 2 batches were 5 G each... Sample taste test by SWMBO didn't fair so well, I insisted she take a few more good swigs... Let's just say it didn't take long to kick the keg... Rinse repeat same effect.

Since I'm out of 2010 Mt Hood (home grown) already, I'll try cascade next (also home grown).
 
jtrainer said:
Yes first 2 batches were 5 G each... Sample taste test by SWMBO didn't fair so well, I insisted she take a few more good swigs... Let's just say it didn't take long to kick the keg... Rinse repeat same effect.

Since I'm out of 2010 Mt Hood (home grown) already, I'll try cascade next (also home grown).
Click to expand...

Yeah, a young batch seems to have a parched taste at the start. Give it time and the dry taste disappears. More merits for cold conditioning.

Cheers! :mug:
 
I'm going to attempt to make a 10 gal batch tonight. I've never made anything this lite. wish me luck!
 

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