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

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Just wanted to give a quick report. This beer has been in the keg for a few weeks now and is really coming into its prime. I will admit though that S-04 is not the best yeast for this beer. I fermented in the mid 60s and still get some bready flavors/aroma from the yeast because there isn't enough malt to hide it. Not bad at all though. I had some friends over yesterday that drink bud light exclusively and they kept asking for more. I consider that a success! So my only change would be to use a cleaner yeast for the next batch. I'll probably brew this one again and use US 05.
 
Brewed 5 gallons all grain yesterday and I struggled with mash temp (likely mashed a bit low), but hit my SG on the nose after the 75 minute boil. This is my first batch with Notty and it seems to be a slow start. I have a small krausen and a little airlock activity. I'm looking forward to a crystal clear and bright beer in a few weeks.
 
I brewed this yesterday too. It was my second all grain attempt. I struggled with my mash temp too. I stayed around 147-149. Everything else was pretty close.
 
brew2enjoy said:
Just wanted to give a quick report. This beer has been in the keg for a few weeks now and is really coming into its prime. I will admit though that S-04 is not the best yeast for this beer. I fermented in the mid 60s and still get some bready flavors/aroma from the yeast because there isn't enough malt to hide it. Not bad at all though. I had some friends over yesterday that drink bud light exclusively and they kept asking for more. I consider that a success! So my only change would be to use a cleaner yeast for the next batch. I'll probably brew this one again and use US 05.
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I used 05. Tasted hydro sample today. Pretty clean, a little bready, some clean hops, very light.
 
Tasted a bit bitter and cidery after a week in the keg. Slight sweetness to it though. Used Nottingham and followed the AG recipe exactly. Will the bitterness and cider flavor mellow out? Hoping I didn't get an infection.
 
BeachBeerBoobs said:
Tasted a bit bitter and cidery after a week in the keg. Slight sweetness to it though. Used Nottingham and followed the AG recipe exactly. Will the bitterness and cider flavor mellow out? Hoping I didn't get an infection.
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Mine had a little bitterness to it also, it has gotten better with age. It has been in the keg for 3 weeks now. It is also the first time I have used notty, I will try it again with s-05 and see if there is any difference.
 
I have a sour smell, slightly, but I'm still at some krausen and only a week in the fermenter. I've two cases of another brew that will be ready soon enough, so I'm going to try my best to leave this one in the fermenter for 2+weeks.
 
I try to leave most of my beers in primary for 3 or 4 weeks. Just because beer is attenuated down doesnt mean there isnt still work to be done in that fermenter.
 
I know, I know...my pipeline isn't too strong right now, though, which makes me damn impatient. I hate buying store beer, too.
 
OK, from what I've heard, Centennial is in short supply this year. Several sites are already out, and a few that have some on hand have prices at almost twice what the normal price is. I was thinking that since this beer makes for a great "house session" beer for the warmer months (in LA, that means March thru November) I'd like to buy some hops in larger amounts to have on hand. I was looking at a possible substitute for the Centennial, and I am kinda eyeing Amarillo. Any experiences with this one? Any opinions on it?
 
Amarillo is known for it's grapefruit/citrus notes. A lot of people like it for APA/IPA's. Might be too sour/fruity for this beer.

I actually ended up using Challenger for bittering and Cascade for aroma/flavor. I think it's a touch hoppy for me. I'd go with something neutral and refreshing.
 
Amarillo seems like a poor sub more because it's way harder to get in quantity these days than centennial. Centennial is becoming scarcer, but amarillo has been all but gone for months, and what little is out there is insanely expensive.
 
I did an Amarillo Blonde using BM's recipe and it came out well. Used Notty for the yeast. Also, blending 70% Cascades and 30% Columbus is a time-honored method of subbing for Centennial hops.
 
jmf143 said:
I did an Amarillo Blonde using BM's recipe and it came out well. Used Notty for the yeast. Also, blending 70% Cascades and 30% Columbus is a time-honored method of subbing for Centennial hops.
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Good to know
 
jmf143 said:
I did an Amarillo Blonde using BM's recipe and it came out well. Used Notty for the yeast. Also, blending 70% Cascades and 30% Columbus is a time-honored method of subbing for Centennial hops.
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I've never heard of that. Now I know what I'll do with all that Cascade. For some reason I'm not a huge fan of Cascade but I LOVE Centennial.
 
Brewed yesterday. Hit 1.040 -- I am getting better about hitting the efficiency I need. Smelled and tasted awesome. Used washed W1056. 12 hours later it just took off. Wondering if I should hook up the blew off tube. Can't wait to have that first glass of it in a few weeks. Thank you BierMuncher!
 
OK I have made this a couple times now, and I like to play with this brew ALOT, this time I made it with citra and honey. This should be good.
 
I'm going to make this as my first AG. Does this look right? Brewmasterswarehouse ingredients.

Briess 2-Row Brewer's Malt
Briess 2 Row Caramel 10
Briess 2 Row Carapils
Weyermann Vienna
Cascade Pellets - Aroma/Flavor Hop 6.0% AA
Centennial Pellets - Dual Purpose Hop 8.7% AA oz
 
Just transferred to the secondary after a week in the primary. It looked pretty cloudy at first so i added gelatin to help and it's already extremely clear. Smells good, taste is a bit sharp right now but looking forward to trying the finished product.
 
Brewed the 10 gallon AG today! I did my best to read about 70 pages of this thread.
My tweak in this was that I used wy 1056 and added a good pinch of Amarillo to each of the cascade additions. Super excited!!
 
Hey all, my LHBS doesnt have Centennial hops. They suggested Challenger as a replacement. Any thoughts?
 
^^if u take the time to read all 183 pages you will see that there have been all kinds of diff hops used .............



if you do read all 183 give me some cliff notes....haha i only made it through 6ish but it seems that people have enjoyed it with cascade norther brewer and others ;)
 
tre9er said:
Amarillo is known for it's grapefruit/citrus notes. A lot of people like it for APA/IPA's. Might be too sour/fruity for this beer.

I actually ended up using Challenger for bittering and Cascade for aroma/flavor. I think it's a touch hoppy for me. I'd go with something neutral and refreshing.
Click to expand...

here is some one that used challanger
 
Used this as a base recipe and tweaked a bit for my own brewing pleasure... we'll see how it is in a couple weeks... hoping for a quick turn on this!
 
I am going to have to brew another 10 of this. I used 05 and Nottingham with a Amarillo dry hop. The Nottingham was the house favorite.
 
I have two lbs of citra that will be making this beer at two oz at a time..
 
I think i may do this again. But fruit it.

I've done a few other blonde fruit beers, and the blonde base just doesn't seem quite right. I like this blonde better, so im going to give it a shot.

Any recommended hop change for a mulberry blonde? Im planning on OPs hop schedule, just a slightly reduced ibu. But if someone thinks bullion would be complimentary, I might wing that.
Also thinking of doing wyeast kolsch that I have in my bank.
 
This beer is damn good, just killed the keg :(
2012-03-05%2018.32.14.jpg
 
After bottle conditioning for three weeks, I was able to enjoy my first pint last night. Very good beer. I will definitely be brewing this one again.
 
MMachi said:
Brewed 5 gallons all grain yesterday and I struggled with mash temp (likely mashed a bit low), but hit my SG on the nose after the 75 minute boil. This is my first batch with Notty and it seems to be a slow start. I have a small krausen and a little airlock activity. I'm looking forward to a crystal clear and bright beer in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

Bottled this tonight after a quick 14 day primary and it's beautiful. My SG was a point high (1.040), but my I hit my FG on the nose which put's my ABV at 4.19%. Taste is clean and crisp, but a tad yeasty considering the short ferment, but I can tell this will be a very nice quencher for the warm weather after it carbs and goes in my fridge. I can only imagine how easy this will go down when ice cold after mowing the lawn... Thanks for the recipe.
 
Just served this to the neighbors and they love it. This beer is just as BierMuncher described. Thank you BM!
 
triangulum33 said:
Is there any commercial/craft beer to compare this to?
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Probably. It's a very easy drinking beer, something I'd grab at a time when a light beer would be good, but so much better tasting and satisfying.

It's great during hot weather or when you're eating something you don't want overpowered by the beer and just want a brew to wash down the food.

I really don't want to compare to the BMC beers because it really is a lot better, but it's a great substitute.

I just kicked a keg of this and I need to get going on filling it back up.
 
Ok I have read so many good things about this beer that I just had to try it. Brewing a batch right now with a slightly modified recipe. Really looking forward to trying this one out. Will update when I crack the first bottle.
 

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