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

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I pulled a sample over the weekend for giggles. It definitely needs more cold conditioning. It is clearing nicely though but needs more carbonation. Going to let the brew sit again until this weekend then pull another sample or 3 since Sunday will be exactly 2 weeks in the keg. Will make sure to post some pics when this is "ready"!
 
Tapped a pinch early. This is the best rendition yet! The caramel malt bring just enough body and the wlp810 is nice and clean. This is way more palatable to me at least than the nottingham version. This is way too enjoyable! If you have means of temp control and are able to source anchor Cali common yeast do it!
 

Attachments

  • 20230629_161433.jpg
    20230629_161433.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 0
So I'm making this my "House Beer" but I'm going to switch it up for each 5 gallon batch. Variety is the spice of life! Eh!? I've got 3 other taps to experiment.

So wlp810 is now on my list. Imperial's Flagship A07 and Omega's "Chico" OYL-004 are next. Now how about a search on this thread for "yeast"!!!!

Give me your suggestions: What are the best combinations you have found?
 
So I'm making this my "House Beer" but I'm going to switch it up for each 5 gallon batch. Variety is the spice of life! Eh!? I've got 3 other taps to experiment.

So wlp810 is now on my list. Imperial's Flagship A07 and Omega's "Chico" OYL-004 are next. Now how about a search on this thread for "yeast"!!!!

Give me your suggestions: What are the best combinations you have found?
See the above recipe. That's it hands down no changes needed
 
Now I've brewed this 10+ times switching it up again & again. Hops, Dry Hops, Fruit, etc. But yeast only - this is what I've done.

1) Wyeast's American Ale 1056
2) White Lab's California Ale wlp001
3) Lallemand's Nottingham

Here's my go to resource: Homebrew Yeast Strains Chart - Brew Your Own

There are hundreds of posts about yeast on this thread. This is gonna take me awhile.................................
 
Last edited:
This recipe has been on my bucket list for some time and I just put it into the primary an hour ago. Followed the original recipe the best I could but I didn't have access to the exact grains so I went with canada malting 2 row, bestmalz carapils/dextrin, great western crystal 15, and bestmalz vienna. I'd been getting crap efficiency(mid 60's) with pre-crushed grains so I picked up my own mill and gapped it using a credit card - around 0.03. I then double milled it for safe measure.... Well, that did the trick! I have 5.5 gallons at 1.050 SG for an efficiency of 85%. Recirculation in the brewzilla and sparge was a little slow but I had a lb. of rice hulls mixed in so it was manageable. A taste test of the gravity sample seemed to be a little over hopped for a blonde - hoping that it mellows out during the fermentation. Will post updates as it progresses.

Edit next morning: Wow, I pitched the yeast in this at midnight and by the next morning my airlock was foaming over from all the bubbling. Added 1/2 tsp nutrient at the end of the boil and rehydrated the yeast but no yeast starter. My rapt pill is showing a gravity drop of more than 3 points and it's been less than 12 hours since pitching yeast. It's summer time so it's fermenting slightly warmer at roughly 21-22C

Edit 3 days in: an efficiency of 85% and attenuation nearing 88% at 1.006 SG means I have 5.8% ABV....oops. hoping it isn't too strong to be an easy drinking summer beer. Racked to secondary on day 3 and took a sample - the harsh hoppiness of the wort sample has mellowed out beautifully and seems to be balancing out very well. A week in secondary and then I will keg, cold crash, and fine with gelatin.

Edit July 26:
Kegged and force carbed today. Drew a quick sample and it is still a bit green. Still a little doughy smelling(reminds me of smell of mashing) but overall is very light and easy drinking, true to the blonde style. The hop bitterness is low and aroma is minimal. It is fairly hazy so I may fine with gelatin if it doesn't settle in a day or two.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20230716_223940.jpg
    Screenshot_20230716_223940.jpg
    325 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
For three summers now, I’ve brewed this with some modifications. The grain bill is the same with a pound of corn sugar to up the ABV. Hops, I use the same strain as in the original recipe but quadruple the amount. .5 oz cent at 55 and 35 minutes. 1 oz cascade at 20 and 5 minutes. Then an oz of Cent at flame out. Finally instead of regular ale yeast, I use the Lallemand Kveik yeast and leave it in my garage where it’s usually 80-90 F. Done fermenting in 2-3 days. It’s pretty much my house summer beer. Usually hazy but very fruity and light, perfect for sitting outside while my kids play. Big hit with my former neighbor too.
 
I brewed my last batch today with rtstriders modifications. 9 lbs of Pale Malt 2 row, 8.0 oz Crystal Malt 10-L, and 8.0 oz Vienna Malt together with a switch of yeast. Omega's Chico OLY004 with this batch, White Labs WLP810 next time. Hit my OG close with 1.055 while it calls for 1.047, the greater efficiency is due to my new grain mill ( I think ) . 1st time using this Ferroday 2 roller!!! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CMKN4B2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 It works like a charm, add this to my BIAB and it makes for a very easy brew day.

I'm using MoreBeer.com as an alternative since I didn't want to drive 40 minutes to my LHBS in 97* heat . 1 day shipping!!!!! What's been your experience with MoreBeer? Fresh? Consistent?
 
Last edited:
I brewed my last batch today with rtstriders modifications. 9 lbs of Pale Malt 2 row, 8.0 oz Crystal Malt 10-L, and 8.0 oz Vienna Malt together with a switch of yeast. Omega's Chico OLY004 with this batch, White Labs WLP810 next time. Hit my OG close with 1.055 while it calls for 1.047, the greater efficiency is due to my new grain mill ( I think ) . 1st time using this Ferroday 2 roller!!! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CMKN4B2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 It works like a charm, add this to my BIAB and it makes for a very easy brew day.

I'm using MoreBeer.com as an alternative since I didn't want to drive 40 minutes to my LHBS in 97* heat . 1 day shipping!!!!! What's been your experience with MoreBeer? Fresh? Consistent?
I've always had great experiences with morebeer! As far as liquid strains those get ordered in Feb/March when it's cool/cold everywhere lol Where I'm at it's been a consistent reelfeel of 110f-120f this whole summer. Heat of that nature and liquid yeast...Not a good mix. Let me know how the batch turns out!
 
So last month I ordered a Liquid Yeast on MoreBeer with the ice pack. They advertise 1 day shipping to Sacramento & have a 60 day guarantee, so I think I'm good. It arrived the next day Omega's already busting the package, White Labs is now in the fridge. No biggie since I made a starter with my DIY stir plate & everything was fine. Wednesday night I order a new Czech lager with another liquid yeast & an ice pack. Everything arrives fine (no fermentation) on Friday & the ice pack is still cold. I was really stressing, but it all worked out.

Your Centennial Blonde mod with Omega's Chico just bubbled up fine. It looked & smelled great in the boil. My whole room smelled of Rino Farts for 3 days.

The grain looks good in the package but I have yet to taste it. When I mill this next one, I'll take a bite.

I'm getting spoiled, this no driving 40 minutes to my LHBS in this 91* heat is pretty sweet. I really want to support my local Mom & Pop, but I am one lazy SOB. ;) It can't compete.
 
Last edited:
It's good. But not great.

The OP's recipe is better. The Wyeast 1056 is better.

My next brew day will be fermenting's of White Lab's 810 & another 2 gallon bucket of some other yeast. Any suggestions?

Now look what I found on YouTube:
MeanBrew's American Blonde submission of 23 BJCP award winning recipes.

It's surprising similar to the OP's recipe.

Seems like the German or Bohemian Lager is the ticket.

I got a lot of beer to drink. :bigmug:

Since I've been spoiled into kegging, I don't have the patience for bottling. I have a 4 tap kegerator & love to experiment. Drinking a 5 gallon keg between batches by myself takes time. When my son was living at home, he'd simply invite a few of his college buddies over & have a party. Having too much beer on hand is quite the problem to endure. :rolleyes: I've got to be much more discerning & only brew 5 gallons of a favorite beer. 👍

My sister-in-law just had a glass & said it was excellent! 😆
 
Last edited:
Back
Top