Blonde Ale Miller Lite (Really Triple Hopped)

I have only dry hopped my hoppy beers, IPAs and such. General rule of thumb I think is about 4 days and up to 7 days. Beyond that they say you can get a grassy characteristic. I have never noticed that and I am sure it depends on the kind of hops but usually I will dry hop the weekend before I plan to keg a beer.

I transferred the pseudo ML a little bit ago on top of the AE. The beer is already 1.005 with an OG of 1.037 which puts it at 4.2% now. It tastes pretty darn good too. I was wondering if I should add the enzyme even, but I am following the directions.

I am going to dry hop with Tettnang in one and something else in the other. Anyone have any ideas about how much hops in the secondary?

branman said:

Don't have much experience with dry hopping... should the hops be in there for the whole two weeks like the AE? I put them in secondary at the same time and I have 1 week left before kegging.

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Let them go for two weeks. My point was not to dry hop and forget about them sitting on your beer.

95Nasty said:

I have only dry hopped my hoppy beers, IPAs and such. General rule of thumb I think is about 4 days and up to 7 days. Beyond that they say you can get a grassy characteristic. I have never noticed that and I am sure it depends on the kind of hops but usually I will dry hop the weekend before I plan to keg a beer.

I transferred the pseudo ML a little bit ago on top of the AE. The beer is already 1.005 with an OG of 1.037 which puts it at 4.2% now. It tastes pretty darn good too. I was wondering if I should add the enzyme even, but I am following the directions.

I am going to dry hop with Tettnang in one and something else in the other. Anyone have any ideas about how much hops in the secondary?

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Dry hop with one ounce. This what I posted in the OP.

Anything more would be too much.

Thanks for the 1oz advice. I see that is what was in the OP but I was unsure if using a German noble hop would change the amount.

I see no sign of secondary fermentation 12 hours after transfer with the AE, but I was already at 1.005 so maybe most of the sugar is gone already. Tasted good already at transfer. I used WLP001, seems to ferment stronger and drop quicker then us05. The beer was already very clear. Do you suppose maybe I didn't carry enough yeast into secondary and that is why I see no activity?

95Nasty said:

Thanks for the 1oz advice. I see that is what was in the OP but I was unsure if using a German noble hop would change the amount.

I see no sign of secondary fermentation 12 hours after transfer with the AE, but I was already at 1.005 so maybe most of the sugar is gone already. Tasted good already at transfer. I used WLP001, seems to ferment stronger and drop quicker then us05. The beer was already very clear. Do you suppose maybe I didn't carry enough yeast into secondary and that is why I see no activity?

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When I transferred onto the AE mine was at 1.006. I never saw any activity, but when I transferred and bottled, it had dropped to 1.003. Not a huge change, but still a change none the less...

Schlenkerla said:

Let them go for two weeks. My point was not to dry hop and forget about them sitting on your beer.

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That's what I thought I read in a previous post but I am still fresh to dry hop and thought I would make sure... thanks for all the help schlenkerla. Its almost there :excited:

95Nasty said:

Thanks for the 1oz advice. I see that is what was in the OP but I was unsure if using a German noble hop would change the amount.

I see no sign of secondary fermentation 12 hours after transfer with the AE, but I was already at 1.005 so maybe most of the sugar is gone already. Tasted good already at transfer. I used WLP001, seems to ferment stronger and drop quicker then us05. The beer was already very clear. Do you suppose maybe I didn't carry enough yeast into secondary and that is why I see no activity?

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dhammers91 said:

When I transferred onto the AE mine was at 1.006. I never saw any activity, but when I transferred and bottled, it had dropped to 1.003. Not a huge change, but still a change none the less...

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Its possible that there is minimal benefit being at a low gravity or the AE is bad.

You can check for activity by placing a flashlight against the glass on the carboy. If its doing anything you will see tiny bubbles rising slowly.


When I did my very first batch my carboy had an inch of air space. I think had about 1.008~1.010 SG. I racked the beer onto hops and AE, I left the house for a few hours, when I came back my airlock had beer in it and was dribbling onto the flour. That did not last long. I believe it was done blowing off when I got home. It was not really a blow-off like what occurs in a primary. It was more of an over flow out the airlock.



Post Pictures when you drink this beer!

Here are pics of the secondary. Crystal clear. No activity to speak of. Will keg next weekend....dry hop will go in Tuesday.

95Nasty said:

Here are pics of the secondary. Crystal clear. No activity to speak of. Will keg next weekend....dry hop will go in Tuesday.

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That looks great! WAY clearer than mine... I can not seem to ever manage a clear beer... Frustrating....

Very nice! Mine will go to the keg Wed. Seems like I've been waiting on this one forever...

dhammers91 said:

I can not seem to ever manage a clear beer... Frustrating....

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Have you tryed cold crashing for a 3-4 days before kegging, it does help...

branman said:

Have you tryed cold crashing for a 3-4 days before kegging, it does help...

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I bottle condition, that's the issue...

dhammers91 said:

I bottle condition, that's the issue...

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I see... I'm not a pro at this but maybe gelatin 3ish days before bottling..? Don't know what kind of effect it would have on the final product but I've read people having good success when done properly

Nice color, your beer will look nice in the glass. It will have commercial quality visually. Damn if it won't taste better.

Does anyone have the Beersmith file for this? Im trying to do it manually but with my keggle and cooler I am having a hard time getting the mashout temp.

Anyone have any advice?

branman said:

I see... I'm not a pro at this but maybe gelatin 3ish days before bottling..? Don't know what kind of effect it would have on the final product but I've read people having good success when done properly

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I have done this with a blonde once, but it really hindered the carbonation lag time. It took nearly a month for it to even show any sign of carbonation. I thought I had ruined it and was going to have to drink flat beer! so I guess I will go for a quicker turn around time with bubbles and a cloudy beer at this point... Until I start kegging that is... Just can't find a good deal!

dhammers91 said:

I bottle condition, that's the issue...

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You can cold crash and still bottle, actually. Sometimes I do it for just one or two days and it definitely improves clarity. I haven't noticed a difference in time to carbonate either, though I don't usually try them until 3 or 4 weeks in bottles. The other thing is just be careful when siphoning to secondary or bottling bucket.

Well, its kegged and primed up. I'll letcha know how mine turned out in a few days

branman said:

Well, its kegged and primed up. I'll letcha know how mine turned out in a few days

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I can definitely taste the "grassy" part will it dissipate in time or here to stay? Ordering the stuff to do it again today maybe dry hop for 1 week instead of 2... still good beer and very drinkable

So there it is.. still slightly hazy (probably chillhaze) I just got a wort chiller

branman said:

I can definitely taste the "grassy" part will it dissipate in time or here to stay? Ordering the stuff to do it again today maybe dry hop for 1 week instead of 2... still good beer and very drinkable

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Yes the grassy taste will disappear, unfortunately, the beer may be gone first if you like it....

Reggie5don said:

I needed a blow-off on my secondary. It bubbled like crazy for a week.

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You are only one besides myself who say they needed a blow off.

Following up from previous post. I kegged this today (my first keg too). Nice and light, tasted good too.

How do u guys add the amylase? Just sprinkle it in? or do something to sterilize it? Might be a stupid question, ive just never used it.

Put AE in the secondary and rack to it from the primary. Then wait about two weeks. Check the post #1

Just poured the first pint from my first batch! Followed recipe exactly up until secondary where I added a tiny bit of lemon peel. The result is amazingly crisp and clear with a touch of lemon! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I think I am going to call it Johnny Lite (and make it again)!!!

My keg just kicked, time to brew another batch. Good stuff, thanks

Done this recipe 3 times now, though I'm getting better taste quality out of each one the abv is very low. If I added say, 2 extra pounds of 2 row would this do the trick or a 50/50 2 row, 6 row be better? (New to all grain) thanks for any advice

Yeah add more 2 row. If that's what you want. Now this like Miller light so the flavor is pretty non existent style wise

Not to mention ABV is low since its light beer.

branman said:

Done this recipe 3 times now, though I'm getting better taste quality out of each one the abv is very low. If I added say, 2 extra pounds of 2 row would this do the trick or a 50/50 2 row, 6 row be better? (New to all grain) thanks for any advice

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You might try my Tasmanian Cascade Pale Ale. Might be more of what you are after. I served it at a beer fest with about thirty beers from my home brew club. My Taz beer was first to kick.

Look for it in my recipe pull down.

i never racked this to secondary. after about 10 days i added the AE. another week after that added gelatin finings in liquid. after like another 4-5 days i added an ounce of cascade.
i kegged it on wednesday and checked final gravity. it cranked on down to 1.001
holy hell!
i started at about 1040 (i upped my malts on purpose to get a slightly higher ABV)
smelled pretty good. i'll pull a pint in a week and post a pic!

NewJersey said:

i never racked this to secondary. after about 10 days i added the AE. another week after that added gelatin finings in liquid. after like another 4-5 days i added an ounce of cascade.
i kegged it on wednesday and checked final gravity. it cranked on down to 1.001
holy hell!
i started at about 1040 (i upped my malts on purpose to get a slightly higher ABV)
smelled pretty good. i'll pull a pint in a week and post a pic!

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Awesome, you made a very good Miller High Life.

If you get a weird dry parched taste, don't sweat it. It disappears after a few weeks chilled. After that it's chuggable lawnmower beer.

You will be surprised how good this is and many of your BMC beer drinker friends will request it regularly.

I brewed this all grain a few months ago for a party and it was a big hit with my BMC loving family. My sister commented that she found it "too hoppy." I had to laugh. I did sub tettnang for the cascade. Thanks for a great recipe.

Does the AE in secondary at the same time as dry hopping cause the dry hop aroma to be pushed out of the air lock? Have you tried AE in primary, then rack 1 or 2 weeks later onto hops in secondary?

I do this recipe every year now, sometimes a few times a year. The ladies seem to love it as do a few of their men. Those are the men that ask for a glass of wine at a Beer n BBQ party.

I do the AE, then either dry hop on that or rack again and dry hop. I've moved my DH addition to a 5 min steep. SWMBO seems to prefer the non dry hop version.

I reasoned the AE would scrub a little of the hop flavor from the dry hopping.

Brewing this again on Saturday for our annual Halloween party. Thanks for a great recipe!!

Good choice. Glad you guys like it enough to brew it several times. You're Welcome

I have a question...

I brewed the extract version from the 1st post for my stepson who only drinks Bud Lite.

At 7 days I still had a good amount amount of krausen left so didn't rack. Checked on day 9, same situation so I rocked the fermenter a bit an gave it a few days more. Checked yesterday AM and krausen was gone so racked to secondary last night.

Anyway I pulled the hydro sample. Then added enzyme to the secondary and racked, put everything away. Came back to check the sample expecting 1.008-1.012 and toy surprise was at 1.001!

So IF I had checked the sample before racking (which I should have) and was that low already would you still bother with the enzyme and secondary? What would the enzyme actually add at that point?

Btw the color and flavor was spot on!

The enzyme will crunch down the gravity the last 8 points out so. If the yeast ever got it to a few points above zero, I might choose to skip the AE. I think it also helps make the beer crisp and clean. Another point worth mentioning is the AE leaves a temporary tart taste for about a week after it is done.

Just finished my mash and have the wort boiling. Some how I managed to get a stuck sparge go figure!! A few weeks ago was a pumpkin ale with pumpkin in the mash and that sparge didn't stick! I did manage to hit a pre- boil gravity of 1.020 so it should be spot on after the 90 minute boil. Thanks again!