Blonde Ale Centennial Blonde (Simple 4% All Grain, 5 & 10 Gall)

Yakima 728
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I've made this recipe a total of 4 times and have dumped 3 of them, and these are 10 gallon batches. Here is what I did each time

1. 1.042 kegged after 15 days, 30psi for 3 days, served. It has a metallic/astringent aftertast, great nose but twangy. I imagined it to be much softer and subtle with slight hints of hops. My brewing methods, sanitation, kegging are all sound, leaves me to think this is a carbonation problem, a little to fast for a subtle beer.

2. Same as before but changed the hop additions up, cent/casc/cent/casc. This actually turned out better. I added a hop addition to the secondary, and kegged it at 30psi for 3 days. This actually came out great and I drank all 10 gallons

3. Boosted the grain bill a bit but came out with the same metallic wtf taste. I used a different yeast, a house yeast from a local brewery. Now I start to think it may be my counterflow chiller or my lines. I completely revamped my brewery with new lines, a new terminator, new water purifier, whatever I possibly could. And yes I dumped this one too

4. Ok, new stuff, fresh ingredients, great water time to brew. Fermented 10 days in controlled cooler, secondary then crash cooled in another 10. One I added strawberry's to and kegged them both up. I was subtle on the carbonation this time, around 15 psi for 7 days. IT TASTE LIKE THE SAME ****!

I've invested so much money and time into this recipe and am completely baffled as to why I cannot brew this. I've made many many batches in between, one placed silver, but this one I throw in the towl. I read all the review's of this recipe many times but it just didn't work for me. My honest conclusion, this is a very delicate recipe (it's a blonde) and everything needs to be spot on. Water should be good, mash temps, fermentation temps, good yeast, and carb it up slowly. But you know what, I did all that and it still tasted like shiza.

I welcome any suggestion, question, or explanation as to why this does not work for me, I've got the blonde blues
 
This sounds like a water problem to me. This recipe requires fairly soft water. Maybe try it using RO water (it's normally 35 cents a gallon) and acidify the sparge water to 5.2-5.8 pH to make sure you aren't pulling tannins out of the grain bed. This recipe is like brewing naked, there just isn't anything there to cover up any flaws.




Dane said:
I've made this recipe a total of 4 times and have dumped 3 of them, and these are 10 gallon batches. Here is what I did each time

1. 1.042 kegged after 15 days, 30psi for 3 days, served. It has a metallic/astringent aftertast, great nose but twangy. I imagined it to be much softer and subtle with slight hints of hops. My brewing methods, sanitation, kegging are all sound, leaves me to think this is a carbonation problem, a little to fast for a subtle beer.

2. Same as before but changed the hop additions up, cent/casc/cent/casc. This actually turned out better. I added a hop addition to the secondary, and kegged it at 30psi for 3 days. This actually came out great and I drank all 10 gallons

3. Boosted the grain bill a bit but came out with the same metallic wtf taste. I used a different yeast, a house yeast from a local brewery. Now I start to think it may be my counterflow chiller or my lines. I completely revamped my brewery with new lines, a new terminator, new water purifier, whatever I possibly could. And yes I dumped this one too

4. Ok, new stuff, fresh ingredients, great water time to brew. Fermented 10 days in controlled cooler, secondary then crash cooled in another 10. One I added strawberry's to and kegged them both up. I was subtle on the carbonation this time, around 15 psi for 7 days. IT TASTE LIKE THE SAME ****!

I've invested so much money and time into this recipe and am completely baffled as to why I cannot brew this. I've made many many batches in between, one placed silver, but this one I throw in the towl. I read all the review's of this recipe many times but it just didn't work for me. My honest conclusion, this is a very delicate recipe (it's a blonde) and everything needs to be spot on. Water should be good, mash temps, fermentation temps, good yeast, and carb it up slowly. But you know what, I did all that and it still tasted like shiza.

I welcome any suggestion, question, or explanation as to why this does not work for me, I've got the blonde blues
Click to expand...
 
I've given this conclusion much thought. I bought an excellent water purifier that pumps right into my mash tun. However I have not tested my PH (no meter) and I do live in Florida...However I have used water from three different sources using 2 different purifiers and still the same result. I may have to go buy RO water + acidulated malt+ a ph meter but then again that all adds up which takes away from why I brewed this in the first place, to save money and have a quality beer. Between a beer and a hard place but nevertheless I am certain I will never brew this again, ever.
 
A small bottle of lactic acid for $4.99 is all you need, and you will never run out of it. With RO water you can just add .8 ml in 10 gal to get in the range. There are some great water calculators out there that can help you with the acidification step, and also make sure your mash pH is on too.

It wouldn't hurt to acidify your sparge water anyway. Just because you can taste it more in a light beer doesn't mean it isn't present in your other beers. That's why I'd continue to pursue this if I were you. It might not be your water, but I've had a tang issue with whole grain brewing, and getting the water right fixed it for me. Purifiers only take out particulates and with enough carbon maybe chlorine. They don't change mineral content or alkalinity.

Dane said:
I've given this conclusion much thought. I bought an excellent water purifier that pumps right into my mash tun. However I have not tested my PH (no meter) and I do live in Florida...However I have used water from three different sources using 2 different purifiers and still the same result. I may have to go buy RO water + acidulated malt+ a ph meter but then again that all adds up which takes away from why I brewed this in the first place, to save money and have a quality beer. Between a beer and a hard place but nevertheless I am certain I will never brew this again, ever.
Click to expand...
 
I made this recipe this weekend as my first AG batch (BIAB). Everything went well until I started thinking.

I confused myself and thought that the OG 1.038 was the pre boil gravity and that I missed my number by 10 points. I added the pound of dme that I had on hand (in case the mash didn't go well) to make up the difference. I ended up post boil at 1.049.

Will the 10 points of gravity combined with the low ibu of this recipe make the beer seem overly sweet?
 
Ok, I tried this as my first brew ever today. I followed the extract recipe as follows:

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 3.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 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 %
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (45 min) Hops 7.8 IBU
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (20 min) Hops 5.1 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (10 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale


I used the quantities as listed, but here's a couple of places I think I made a mistake. (or need clarificiation)

A) I steeped the cara-pils starting at about 160 degrees down to 154 degrees for 30 mins. Was this remotely correct.

B) I started with a little over 6.5 gals, brought it to 160ish and steeped, then brought to boil and added the liquid light malt extract (pils extract I think). This I believe brought me up to close to 7 gals boil. Should I have taken the half a gal of LME into my pre-boil volume?

C) Thinking I was heavy on the water volume I kept upping the gas on the turkey frier hoping to boil off more. Was that the right idea?

D) I had marked the BK with dents at the 5 gal mark and got no where close to that on the boil, but when transferring to the fermenter I was right at 5 gal.

E) Using an "uncalibrated" hydrometer I was at 1.030 OG at ~83 degrees. I chilled the sample down to about 58 degrees and it looked like it was right at 1.040. I'm assuming that was correct.

F) I took the 83 degree wort to the basement and hoped it would drop in temp a bit but it didn't so I went ahead and pitched the Nottingham at 83-85 degrees.

Ok, tell me where I screwed up. :)
 
Pitching at 85F is way too hot. Ideally you should pitch this yeast around 62F and let it self rise to 67-68F.

Pitching that hot is a sure fire way to get off flavors, which are tough to hide in a delicate low gravity brew like this.
 
I'm debating between trying the partial mash or extract for this beer. Obviously, I want it to turn out great, and this would be my first partial mash. I already have an ounce each of the Cascade and Centennial hops, so I just need to go pick up the rest of the ingredients. My boil size is limited to 3 gallons (stupid stove). Any suggestions? I'm assuming the extract version is very easy, as most if not all extracts are, but I want to ensure this beer turns out good, or at least close to as good as everyone on here claims it is. Any help? Thanks
 
kyle6286 said:
I'm debating between trying the partial mash or extract for this beer. Obviously, I want it to turn out great, and this would be my first partial mash. I already have an ounce each of the Cascade and Centennial hops, so I just need to go pick up the rest of the ingredients. My boil size is limited to 3 gallons (stupid stove). Any suggestions? I'm assuming the extract version is very easy, as most if not all extracts are, but I want to ensure this beer turns out good, or at least close to as good as everyone on here claims it is. Any help? Thanks
Click to expand...

I would do it as an extract just for convenience sake. Results should be close to the same.
 
Heya BierMuncher. After searching around under "Simple all-grain" I've landed on your recipe for my first attempt at an all-grain batch (I've done about a half-dozen extract brews; time to take the next step).

Thanks so much for sharing!

= DM =
 
Hey guys,

Looking for some advice before I make this tomorrow. I was going to do the PM version, but I decided to go with the extract version.

Here's what I have in Beersmith. I took an extract recipe I found on here and modified it for the hop %.

Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 3.50
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 3.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 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 %
0.36 oz Centennial [9.60%] (55 min) Hops 8.7 IBU
0.36 oz Centennial [9.60%] (30 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40%] (10 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40%] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

Does this recipe look ok? I've never used Beersmith so I tried to do the best I could with the hop adjustments. If anyone could look at this to make sure I don't have anything completely wrong, I would appreciate it. Thank you
 
Just finished off my first home-brewed keg...Broke my maiden on this Centennial Ale. Contemplating using it to take the leap to AG next.
 
kyle6286 said:
Hey guys,

Looking for some advice before I make this tomorrow. I was going to do the PM version, but I decided to go with the extract version.

Here's what I have in Beersmith. I took an extract recipe I found on here and modified it for the hop %.

Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 3.50
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 3.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 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 %
0.36 oz Centennial [9.60%] (55 min) Hops 8.7 IBU
0.36 oz Centennial [9.60%] (30 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40%] (10 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40%] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

Does this recipe look ok? I've never used Beersmith so I tried to do the best I could with the hop adjustments. If anyone could look at this to make sure I don't have anything completely wrong, I would appreciate it. Thank you
Click to expand...

I put it into beersmith and came up with the same thing except on the cascade. I used .36 oz on the cascade as well. Its Been in the primary for a week. I tried some last night and it's pretty tasty.
 
Thanks, that's reassuring. Did your cascade have higher aa's? I modified it since the recipe used something like 7% aa and my cascade is 5.4%. As far as the hop times, those all agree to what you did?
 
kyle6286 said:
Thanks, that's reassuring. Did your cascade have higher aa's? I modified it since the recipe used something like 7% aa and my cascade is 5.4%. As far as the hop times, those all agree to what you did?
Click to expand...

Just pulled up the recipe to see what I did. Looks like my cascades were 5.5%. I added them at 10min and 5min. My centennial were 9.9%. I added them at 45min and 20min. The final IBUs was 16.8. Hope this helps.
 
hawgwild81 said:
Just pulled up the recipe to see what I did. Looks like my cascades were 5.5%. I added them at 10min and 5min. My centennial were 9.9%. I added them at 45min and 20min. The final IBUs was 16.8. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Great, thank you. My IBUs are about 19. Hopefully it's ok.
 
Keep in mind that the IBU number will vary pretty significantly depending on which formula you use. Fwiw, when using someone else's recipe, I usually input the hops exactly as listed, note the total IBUs and IBUs from each contribution, adjust the AA to match what I have on hand, then adjust the hop amount to keep the IBU numbers close.
 
threeeight said:
Keep in mind that the IBU number will vary pretty significantly depending on which formula you use. Fwiw, when using someone else's recipe, I usually input the hops exactly as listed, note the total IBUs and IBUs from each contribution, adjust the AA to match what I have on hand, then adjust the hop amount to keep the IBU numbers close.
Click to expand...

That's what I did. I made sure that my IBUs matched the other recipe after I adjusted the AA %.
 
Thanks Biermuncher. I just put this on tap. It is getting rave reviews, and is an awesome beer for this heat wave!!!
 
I just kegged this brew maybe 2 and a half weeks ago and its great.

It's best to let this carb up properly and sit for atleast 2 weeks to get the best taste possible.

If under carbed just like any beer the hops come out a lot more bitter. By letting the beer properly carb up and age for 2 weeks the beer really mellows out and is fantastic.
 
brewjunky said:
I just kegged this brew maybe 2 and a half weeks ago and its great.

It's best to let this carb up properly and sit for atleast 2 weeks to get the best taste possible.

If under carbed just like any beer the hops come out a lot more bitter. By letting the beer properly carb up and age for 2 weeks the beer really mellows out and is fantastic.
Click to expand...


What did you carb at? I just made this for the first time a couple days ago. I'll be kegging it in 3, maybe 4 weeks.
 
Mine has been on CO2 at 40* and 11 psi for about a week and I've noticed a slight harshness that I attributed to water. Could be it's under carbed.
 
Clifton said:
Mine has been on CO2 at 40* and 11 psi for about a week and I've noticed a slight harshness that I attributed to water. Could be it's under carbed.
Click to expand...

I always notice a harshness or astringent bitterness with this brew until it's been in the keg for a few weeks. I have guessed it was carb bite because I've never noticed this when bottling, only when force carbing in the keg. Could be that the beer is green also.
 
It was brewed 6/23 so it is 7 weeks old today. I'll let it sit another week and see if it has mellowed out by then.
 
Clifton said:
It was brewed 6/23 so it is 7 weeks old today. I'll let it sit another week and see if it has mellowed out by then.
Click to expand...

I would say it's the carbonation not having had enough time. Update us when you try it next.
 
Hi all....I made this last year...great beer. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has used S-05 in this beer and if so do you think it would taste much different than if Notty was used? Thanks
 
I used the 05, however it was my first time to brew it, so I can't compare it to anything else. It was damn good though. Unfortunately the keg is out now and no chance to brew for a couple of weeks.
 
Hanging out with a keg of this brew that I did with s-04 in the low 60's. Om nom nom
 

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