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

I was looking for a nice, light session brew with a quick turn around to keg and this is it! Brewing this up tomorrow. I have brewed many of BM's recipes with great success. Thanks for the recipe BM! Cheers.

Chriso said:

That's correct dickproenneke - by increasing the malt and by that, the ABV, you have wound up with less total IBU in the beer and less proportional Bitterness:Gravity Ratio. You have taken a slightly hoppy, mostly-balanced recipe and, in fact, made it maltier. That's fine, what is important is that it reaches the balance that you want to taste.

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Thanks for the link Chriso. Very helpful. I'm certainly keeping several gallons of this beer on hand at all times. It's real good stuff. I guess I should have been more specific in my other comment...I did a PM version of this brew. I didn't change the hop amounts but added 3lbs of DME at 10mins. The late extract addition helped to keep the IBUs close to BM's original recipe. Beer Calculus gave me 24IBU.

So here is my plan for a strawberry version for this

Same grain bill:
Ingredients,
7,Pale Malt - 2 row
0.75,Cara-Pils
0.5,Crystal - 10L
0.5,Vienna Malt

Mash at 154 (instead of 150) for 60 min - strawberries in the secondary will dry it out, so trying to add more malty goodness...

I'll up the last cascade hop addition to .5 oz instead of .25 to try to keep the hop aroma
0.25,Centennial -55min
0.25,Centennial -35min
0.25,Cascade -20min
0.5, Cascade -5min ( changed from .25)
1,Nottingham Yeast


Ferment until FG is stable.

Add 6lbs strawberries to a secondary ( Costco bags are 6 lbs, so that is set) for 8-14 days until a 'new' FG is stable.

Rack to final bucket for 2 to 3 weeks, cold crash, keg and enjoy.

Any really dumb ideas in this plan....
Thanks,
Mike

mhurst111 said:

So here is my plan for a strawberry version for this

Same grain bill:
Ingredients,
7,Pale Malt - 2 row
0.75,Cara-Pils
0.5,Crystal - 10L
0.5,Vienna Malt

Mash at 154 (instead of 150) for 60 min - strawberries in the secondary will dry it out, so trying to add more malty goodness...

I'll up the last cascade hop addition to .5 oz instead of .25 to try to keep the hop aroma
0.25,Centennial -55min
0.25,Centennial -35min
0.25,Cascade -20min
0.5, Cascade -5min ( changed from .25)
1,Nottingham Yeast

Ferment until FG is stable.

Add 6lbs strawberries to a secondary ( Costco bags are 6 lbs, so that is set) for 8-14 days until a 'new' FG is stable.

Rack to final bucket for 2 to 3 weeks, cold crash, keg and enjoy.

Any really dumb ideas in this plan....
Thanks,
Mike

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I think the concencus for strawberries is 1-2 # per gal, so the ratio looks good. You could always add some strawberry extract right before kegging if the taste isn't where you want it.
Your process looks the same as what I was thinking of doing (except the last hop addition which I think is a good idea). Maybe do a .25 oz dry hop too? Who wants to save .25 oz in the fridge?

Assuming your primary takes 7-10 days it looks like 6 weeks until kegging.
I want this to go quicker!! I wonder if the third (tertiary?) fermentation will require that long.
i was going to keg half original recipe and bottle half (2.5 gal) strawberry.

Got this tee'd up to brew this weekend. Looking forward to it!

Heading to the LHBS this weekend to pickup supplies to brew this on Saturday.. Hmm.. should I get enough for one 5 gal batch or two batches?...

Brewed this up today. Hit an OG of 1.041. My LHBS was out of US-05 and Nottingham so I went with Wyeast 1056. I didn't make a starter even though BS recommended I did. I figure I should be ok as this is a low gravity beer. Hopefully it all works out.

Tarks said:

Brewed this up today. Hit an OG of 1.041. My LHBS was out of US-05 and Nottingham so I went with Wyeast 1056. I didn't make a starter even though BS recommended I did. I figure I should be ok as this is a low gravity beer. Hopefully it all works out.

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I always use 1056 .. Fantastic every time.

I'm looking at brewing this but I can't get 10L or Vienna locally, but have everything else on hand so shipping isn't worth it. I have some crystal 80L I'd like to use up (it's already milled), any comments if I can use a small quantity of it (about 4oz), to 'replace' the 10L and Vienna, I know it won't be the same flavour but I'm trying to work with what I have.
What do you think?

DHdriver said:

I'm looking at brewing this but I can't get 10L or Vienna locally, but have everything else on hand so shipping isn't worth it. I have some crystal 80L I'd like to use up (it's already milled), any comments if I can use a small quantity of it (about 4oz), to 'replace' the 10L and Vienna, I know it won't be the same flavour but I'm trying to work with what I have.
What do you think?

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May be a little darker, but id think it would still be good. I'd go for it. Let us know how it turns out.

Throwing a few more of these back right now. This is a really good beer. Brewing it again Monday afternoon. This one will always be in stock.

DHdriver said:

I have some crystal 80L I'd like to use up (it's already milled), any comments if I can use a small quantity of it (about 4oz), to 'replace' the 10L and Vienna, I know it won't be the same flavour but I'm trying to work with what I have.
What do you think?

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I would use only an ounce or two myself.

Best Beer I have ever brewed! Thanks Bier Muncher! If you on the fence on brewing this.. DONT BE.. it is an Extremely Great Beer! Did this as my first All Grain batch and brewed this again yesterday along with EdWorts Haus Ale! Two New Staples in my Kegerator!

I made this once before, subbing Columbus for the Centennial as that's what I had on hand and it turned out really good. I recently got a good price on a pound of Centennial and figured it was time to brew this one as written. My efficiency must have been pretty good... 1.046

Still a bit new to the hobby so not sure if it makes a huge difference but should I use pellets, leaf, or whole hops?

vogtenstein222 said:

Still a bit new to the hobby so not sure if it makes a huge difference but should I use pellets, leaf, or whole hops?

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Does not matter. Make sure weigh in the different AA factor. I find pellets are the easiest to manage BTW.

Just took my first sip after a week in bottles. I kinda effed up this recipe (had to use Fleischmann's bread yeast instead of Notty; left it in primary for two weeks with no secondary) and still produced highly drinkable results. Based on this and what others in this thread have said, this recipe seems pretty bulletproof and an amazing value to boot. Will definitely be keeping it in my back pocket.

This one is on my horizon.

I have this ordered except for the hops, I have 16oz of Simcoe and 4oz Citra, should I go all Simcoe, all Citra, or some combination? I can figure out the IBUs, but how much is too much flavor/aroma hops for this?

Any problem using Pilsen malt instead of 2 row?

idrinkstuffnthings said:

Any problem using Pilsen malt instead of 2 row?

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Shouldn't be. Will be lighter and will need to be boiled for 90 min to drive off the Dms.

If i would use larger amoun of centennial to reach desired IBU level and use rest of centennial and cascade only for aroma addition at 5 min or even flame out, would it be different beer? Or even use magnum for bittering? Just wondering about these different addition times lately

I borrowed this recipe and made some minor changes, to apply it to BIAB.

I've brewed 5 consecutive batches (5.5 gal finals) .. and I'm tasting the second one now.

The first one, I didn't modify the steep time. 60 mins.

Pretty much came out like all the comments I've read in the early stages of the thread.

Second batch, I steeped for 90 mins. and changed to Wyeast 1056.

BINGO.


higher OG (1.049)

let it sit on the yeast in the primary for 14 days (FG 1.009 on day 14, day 13, and day 12.)

simple simple simple rack to bottling bucket on 3/4 cup table sugar boiled in 2 cups of water.

bottled about 46~ or so 12 0z. bottles.

let them sit for 14 days, then chilled.

Now, I compared one side-by-side to a local Pale Ale. (Boulevard.)


mine is more complex, full, and better flavor.

I've got 3 more batches in various stages of primary, secondary, and bottle conditioning. This recipe is a home-run.

final numbers overlap Pale Ales.

Thanks, guys.

Nice work BillyMojo. I actually brewed this tonite myself, just pitched WL001 that I built up a starter for two days ago. OG was right on the money. Can't wait to keg it. The best part is I still have enough hops and specialty grains to brew another 5 gal batch. Thanks Biermuncher!

I made this a week ago and hit 1.040 as starting gravity, but after a week and a half at perfect conditions in a temp controlled freezer, ive only gotten down to 1.020. That's only 2.5 abv but I dont care if itll taste ok. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Hydrometer sample is pretty weak.

cridden said:

I made this a week ago and hit 1.040 as starting gravity, but after a week and a half at perfect conditions in a temp controlled freezer, ive only gotten down to 1.020. That's only 2.5 abv but I dont care if itll taste ok. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Hydrometer sample is pretty weak.

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Did you pitch enough healthy yeast and did you oxygenate? Also high mash temps.

mashed at 154 for 60 mins, shook the sh%$ out of fermenter for 10 mins, and pitched a rehydrated Notty for 5 gallons.
gonna try it again this weekend and see if i can spot what went wrong.

I brewed this an fermentation was done after 9 days so I kegged it and force carbed it. Tried it last night after being in the keg for a few days to carb up. My first sip was kind of bland but then I got a very odd taste... sort of like old skunky beer. My wife says it tastes like Budweiser and I have to agree. I used the exact grain bill and hop schedule but used a fresh smackpack of 1056. I mashed at 152 for 60 if I remember correctly. I am wondering if mashing for 90 would make any difference. Any insight? I have a 3 keg set up and I fly sparge, if that helps

Komocabo said:

I brewed this an fermentation was done after 9 days so I kegged it and force carbed it. Tried it last night after being in the keg for a few days to carb up. My first sip was kind of bland but then I got a very odd taste... sort of like old skunky beer. My wife says it tastes like Budweiser and I have to agree. I used the exact grain bill and hop schedule but used a fresh smackpack of 1056. I mashed at 152 for 60 if I remember correctly. I am wondering if mashing for 90 would make any difference. Any insight? I have a 3 keg set up and I fly sparge, if that helps

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Budweiser has the flavor of acetaldehyde, which can be perceived as sour apple (kind of like Jolly Roger candy). That off flavor is caused by fermentation issues such as low pitching rate, low oxygenation of wort, or not letting the yeast complete its process (clean up). Perhaps you pulled it off too early??? Anyway maybe it will dissipate a bit if you give it time.

Yeah, I'm hoping that it will clear up a bit. If it does then I will be happy because its a cheap beer to brew... I've been trying to make a good session brew... I'll let it sit in the keg for another week and pour off another pint

Update... well, something magical happened in the keg over the last few days... I couldnt help it so I poured a little... just to try... and it cleaned up really nicely! Yep, gonna brew this one again

cridden said:

mashed at 154 for 60 mins, shook the sh%$ out of fermenter for 10 mins, and pitched a rehydrated Notty for 5 gallons.
gonna try it again this weekend and see if i can spot what went wrong.

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My guess is that you didn't get good starch conversions. Maybe mashing too high. Or possibly not enough viable yeast.

cridden said:

I made this a week ago and hit 1.040 as starting gravity, but after a week and a half at perfect conditions in a temp controlled freezer, ive only gotten down to 1.020. That's only 2.5 abv but I dont care if itll taste ok. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Hydrometer sample is pretty weak.

Click to expand...

cridden said:

mashed at 154 for 60 mins, shook the sh%$ out of fermenter for 10 mins, and pitched a rehydrated Notty for 5 gallons.
gonna try it again this weekend and see if i can spot what went wrong.

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If your thermometer is accurate then 154 is definitely not too high. Its probably high for this beer but it wouldn't leave you with 1.02. I suggest you test it to make sure its accurate.

Next, like america said you probably didn't have a good viable cell count. You could have re-hydrated too high, pitched into hot wort, bad packet of yeast, etc. If it were me I would toss in some more yeast to chew that down a little. No doubt its going to be very thick and sweet.

Goodluck.

cridden said:

I made this a week ago and hit 1.040 as starting gravity, but after a week and a half at perfect conditions in a temp controlled freezer, ive only gotten down to 1.020. That's only 2.5 abv but I dont care if itll taste ok. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Hydrometer sample is pretty weak.

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What temp is it fermenting at. Might be worth getting the ambient temp up to 70 degrees to thaw out some otherwise chilly yeast.

I'm trying this out tomorrow. 10 gallons all grain. Had to adjust the grain bill a little since the LHBS ran out of Crystal 10L. So it is going to be with 14.2 oz of 10L and the rest of the pound with 20L. Shouldn't make much difference. Sounds like a good brew. Gonna use WLP002 yeast as well. I usually let brews sit way longer that a week so I'll let you know how it comes out. Ever play with adding more hops to this? Thinking of adding some Saaz at the end of the boil. Any thoughts?

So, I made this once, and I didn't care much for the flavor (tasted like soap--but I won't deny this could have likely been an off-flavor).

And it seemed a little sweet to me, so I upped the hop content. This original recipe came in at about 22IBUs, but I instead cranked up the hop content, and did ALL late hopping. 0.75oz Centennial @ 25mins, 1oz @ 15min, and dry-hopped Ahtanum for three days in secondary.

I gave this about a month to age, and it's pretty good. not hoppy, but full of character. because it's a little more complex and aged, I call it Centennial Cougar. LOL

Jakeintoledo said:

So, I made this once, and I didn't care much for the flavor (tasted like soap--but I won't deny this could have likely been an off-flavor).

And it seemed a little sweet to me, so I upped the hop content. This original recipe came in at about 22IBUs, but I instead cranked up the hop content, and did ALL late hopping. 0.75oz Centennial @ 25mins, 1oz @ 15min, and dry-hopped Ahtanum for three days in secondary.

I gave this about a month to age, and it's pretty good. not hoppy, but full of character. because it's a little more complex and aged, I call it Centennial Cougar. LOL

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You should make your label look like skintight jeans

I just racked my latest version of this onto 6 lbs of strawberries. The glass on the left is the original recipe that has been in a slightly over carbonated keg for 2 weeks.The one on the right is what came out of the primary and went on the berries.

For the strawberry blonde, I was trying to mash at 154. I wound up at 156 for 30 min and then dropped it down to 154. Definitely maltier than the original recipe.
Only other change was to omit the first cascade addition and just do the entire .5 oz at the 5 min mark.

OG was 1.041 and I was surprised it still finished (so far) at 1.010.

SWMBO is really looking forward to the strawberry version. Plan is to keep it on the berries for 7-9 days then transfer again to let it settle and clear. Probably a month away.

bikenbrew75 said:

Thinking of adding some Saaz at the end of the boil. Any thoughts?

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I think it would go great; I finish my house amber with Saaz and love it.

Ended up brewing this today instead of yesterday. Hit all my numbers and it looks good. Didn't add the Saaz though. Maybe I'll add that in the secondary. By far the lightest beer I've brewed.