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

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You "can" do that, but also remember you will have left over hops/yeast/troub from the previous beer. I went ahead and harvested the yeast, into 2 pint jars for the future beers.

Yes, but I figure if the next beer is an IIPA or strong stout (not sure about a stout with US-05) it should overpower any left over hops/trub. Plus it's so much less work than harvesting the yeast ;)
 
Yes, but I figure if the next beer is an IIPA or strong stout (not sure about a stout with US-05) it should overpower any left over hops/trub. Plus it's so much less work than harvesting the yeast ;)

Go ahead and go for it if you want. I don't mind harvesting yeast, it doesn't take too long, and then gives you another 2 - 4 batches of yeast for your next brews.
 
While mine is fermenting away I can't help but think this is the perfect beer to afterwards rack another, stronger beer right onto the yeast cake. Any suggestions on what to do this with?

Nothing wrong with this. Ive done it a few times for stronger brews, but also similar normal strength brews. Anything will work since this beer is so lightly hopped and light in color. :mug:

Don't get me wrong, I harvest most of the time. But when I have two similar brews or a strong on deck, its a hell of a lot easier to pitch onto trub.
 
Brewed the 11 gallon recipe. Transferred this to secondary after 4 days in an attempt to get it ready for a party. OG was 1.042 (I always seem to get 75% efficiency thus the higher number.)and the FG when I transferred was 1.012. Tasted my sample for testing and man was it awful.:( Not quite undrinkable but definitely not good. I wasn't expecting much but since I have never had anything come out of the fermenter this quickly I wanted to see if anyone else had the same result. After sitting in secondary for a couple of days I lifted the airlock and it smells a bit better but haven't tasted it yet.

Anyone else have the same result?
I'm assuming this is just due to the fact that it was only 4 days old when I tasted it and it will clear up, but I am contemplating buying some commercial brew just in case!
 
I tried search for this and had no luck, so I apologize if it has been answered elsewhere. Do you think it is possible to brew this with a 13 day turnaround? I'll be using WLP007 with a starter. I was thinking 10 days in the primary and 3 in the keg for carbonating. Do you think it would be possible to dry hop with .50 Cascade and .50 Centennial for 3 days without getting grassy flavors? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I did it grain to glass in 10 days and it was excellent (I used Notty yeast). I didn't dry hop. I think that would be overkill for this beer. It was bit cloudy at first but it cleared after a few days.
 
Awesome recipe.

Curious to know about something. I made edworts pale ale and planned on making 15 gallons based on what I bought. Really happy with it, but I'm thinking something lighter might be better for my caloric intake. Also, I priced this out and if I re-use the s-05 it'll run me about $5 per 2-4 equivalent.

Right now I'm ordering up a bit more 2 row and some centennial. I plan on brewing this weekend, fermenting as usual, and then when I rack to the bottling bucket, I'd like to scoop out all the hop junk on the bottom of the fermenter, and leave a cup or two of yeast cake - then dump on some freshly cooled wort. I want to do this a couple times as I will have the ingredients to make 15 gallons total, stretch the yeast a little bit :)

My thinking was to siphon off, throw a bit of filtered water onto the yeast cake to carry off some junk, and then scoop out with a sanitized cup.

Would that work?
 
Just got finished brewing my first batch of Centennial Blonde! I did a 10 gallon BIAB batch following the exact recipe. I ended up with slightly higher than planned efficiency so ended up at 1.043 OG. Cooled to 68 and went ahead and pitched 1 package of rehydrated Nottingham into each carboy. Can't wait to see how this turns out!
 
Just a note - I brought this beer to a homebrew club meeting and served to about 30 people. Everyone really liked it. Said it was complex, light, dry and tasty, exactly what a blonde should be.

After getting feedback I told everyone it was done via BIAB - lots of questions ensued as I was the only BIAB'er in attendance :)
 
Groner said:
Brewed the 11 gallon recipe. Transferred this to secondary after 4 days in an attempt to get it ready for a party. OG was 1.042 (I always seem to get 75% efficiency thus the higher number.)and the FG when I transferred was 1.012. Tasted my sample for testing and man was it awful.:( Not quite undrinkable but definitely not good. I wasn't expecting much but since I have never had anything come out of the fermenter this quickly I wanted to see if anyone else had the same result. After sitting in secondary for a couple of days I lifted the airlock and it smells a bit better but haven't tasted it yet.

Anyone else have the same result?
I'm assuming this is just due to the fact that it was only 4 days old when I tasted it and it will clear up, but I am contemplating buying some commercial brew just in case!

Can you describe the taste?
 
Mine personally took about 10 days to finish, ended at 1.008. At 4 days it was still going.
 
I made my first batch of Centennial Blonde a few weeks ago, and it is awesome! Such an easy brew. I let it sit in primary for three weeks and then it went straight into a serving keg. I will definitely be brewing this one over and over. Thanks Beirmuncher!
 
Plan on doing a double batch of this for a wedding... The only downside.. LHBS had limited Hops. I was able to pick up Mt hood and EKG. Hope it will work out with 20 gallons.
 
OBayBrewer said:
I brewed this 3-FEB-13 exactly to spec. Gravity came out to 1.040; spot on!
Lost quite a bit in the boil, somewhere around 1.5 gal so not quite a 5 gal brew, but it is beautiful.
Tested the SG 6-FEB-13 and it is at 1.000. I'd call that done. It tasted great! Nice and light, with just a slight bitterness and citrus flavour from the hops.
I'm going to cold crash for clarity and then bottle sometime this weekend.
Can't wait to try the finished product in about a week!

UPDATE: This batch was bottled 9-FEB-13. I tried a bottle 13-FEB-13 (10 days from grain to mouth!!!) and it was carbed & very drinkable! It has a wonderful malty/bready/biscuity flavour with just a touch of bitterness and some citrus flavour from the hops. I drink this at room temp but will try some in the fridge just for comparison. This will most likely become my go-to recipe when it comes to a light quaffer beer with quick turn around. I would not change anything about this brew.

Thanks again BierMuncher!
 
dgrums said:
Can you describe the taste?

Not exactly, but I know it didn't fit any of the usual suspects for infection/brewing errors. Like I said, I'm probably just over thinking it because it was only 4 days since pitching and the yeast probably haven't finished cleaning up yet. Possibly like a wet dog/skunky taste. Not undrinkable but not good either. A few days later it smelled way better, which lifted my spirits! I really do think it is just a result of the early sampling.
 
Brewed this using us-05. I was quite disappointed when I first tried it. I think all the really positive reviews for some reason made me think it was going to be a very hoppy beer. Stupid thought I know, because the recipe doesn't call for a lot of hop additions. Once I got over this stupid expectation I began to really enjoy it. Nice flavor and a perfect subtleness to the hops. Definitely going to brew this one regularly!!
 
Just wrapped up my third batch tonight (1-5gal and 2-10 gal). My first batch was with Nottingham, my second was with US-05 and this batch was pitched with a pint of 1272 (from cream of 3 crops i kegged today) in each 5gal. I have made this for birthday parties and weddings, it is a definite crowd pleaser.
 
Did a double batch of this yesterday. From start to finish it took 9.5 hours. Took this photo towards the end of the day.

ForumRunner_20130217_085552.png
 
Had the party that I brewed this for last night... People were trying to find containers to bring it home in after they took all four of my growlers! Delicious and fast! A definite crowd pleaser!!
 
I have the opportunity to pick up a bag of Maris otter. What would that change if substituting for the 2 row? I love this as is but this deal is too good to pass up.
 
Maris Otter will give it a richer, somewhat toastier / maltier flavor than just plain 2-Row - but is certainly an OK substitution to make!
 
This should get you a very similar beer:

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
Is the reason the extract version doesn't use caramel and vienna just because they are only there for colour in the AG version and that the extract provides enough colour?

Thanks
Ayup!
 
First Wort Hopping your Beer

Brewing beer with first wort hops (FWH) is a method I have used extensively for beer brewing over the last few years to improve the character of many recipes. First wort hopping produces complex bitterness and aroma that is both smooth and pleasing to the pallet. The method has become quite popular with homebrewers and microbreweries over the last 10 years due to the pleasant and complex flavor produced.

FWH involves adding a portion of the hops to the boiler at the very beginning of the sparging process, allowing these hops to steep as the sparging completes and remaining in the kettle throughout the boil. Add the hops to the boiler as soon as you have finished recirculating the first runnings


I received Brad's email & thought about doing this recipe with adding Citra hops to the First Hop schedule. Would there be another more beneficial hop addition? I've heard that Magnum goes well with Centennial & Cascade.

What do you guys think? :drunk: :p :rockin:
 
I would brew the recipe as written, but move the bittering addition to first wort hop.
 
I would brew the recipe as written, but move the bittering addition to first wort hop.

Agree. It is pretty tasty as written. I FWH most everything I brew. I don't really know if it makes a difference or not, it's just what I do...
 
Groner said:
Had the party that I brewed this for last night... People were trying to find containers to bring it home in after they took all four of my growlers! Delicious and fast! A definite crowd pleaser!!

Glad to hear it worked out for you ...I'm.brewing up another 10 gallons tomorrow.
 
I agree the recipe is excellent. I've brewed it like 8 or 9 times already..................... but I like to change things up a little. Experiment. Brew magazine says Magnum is a great compliment to Cascade & Centennial. I've never had Citra.

The Wyeast 1056 is a nice change, raspberries were fantastic, the additional dry hop of Cascade from Sloose is up tomorrow. :ban:

I like to keep 1 blond on tap while I try some others. BM's Black Pearl Porter w/ Vanilla Coffee is fermenting right now! :cross:
 
Just kegged this one yesterday after a 2 week primary. Racked it onto some gelatin so hopefully it'll clear up while its carbing up. Taste was great right out of the primary!

image-2763017827.jpg
 
I realize that this is an old thread, but I brewed the extract version this afternoon. OG was 1.043. Excited to get this in a bottle.
Thanks for the recipe, sounds excellent.
 
Brewed a 5 gallon batch of this yesterday, excited to see how it comes out. If it's as good as everyone says it is, I may brew another 10 gallon batch to have around for when summer comes...
 
Wow, just pulled my first sample from the keg after carbing at 30psi for 2 days.. love it! great light citrus flavor.. This is absolutely a great quick turnaround brew. This was also my first partial mash so very happy with how it turned out. Can't wait to brew this again and give it more time to age!

Thanks biermuncher!
 
Well sure,

I brewed a few extracts, a few all grains, goofed a few times, experimented, but this recipe REALLY turned me on to brewing my own!

I've taken the next step with this as a base and realized ANYTHING is possible! :D I feel most complete when at least THIS is on tap in my kegerator.

P.S. I've got 3 other taps to expand my taste buds.
 
Mine has been in the keg for a week. It tastes pretty good but does anyone get a slight sourness with this beer? I'm wondering where it's coming from.
 
Mine doesn't have a sourness, but a slight slight salty taste, maybe that's from my well water not sure. But it's still pretty good. I may brew this again with filtered water to see if it's different.
 
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