Blonde Ale Simple Blonde Ale (Extract)

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Hopleaf

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
491
Reaction score
6
Location
Plano, TX
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Salafe S-05
Yeast Starter
No
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.043
Final Gravity
1.011
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
22
Color
7
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
7 @ 68 F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 @ 68 F
Ingredients
======================================
0.50 lb CaraPils (steeped)
0.50 lb Crystal 10L (steeped)
6.00 lb Extra Light Dry Malt Extract

Hops
======================================
0.75 oz Willamette at 60
0.75 oz Willamette at 20
0.50 oz Willamette at 1

Other
======================================
1 unit, Whirfloc at 20

Notes
======================================
Place 3 gallons of cool water in brewpot and bring to 150 F. Put steeping grains in bag and steep for 1 hour.

Lift bag out, let drain and discard.

Bring water to boil, remove from heat and stir in 3 lbs of DME. Return to heat.
Bring to boil and watch for messy boil over. Once risk has subsided, add 60 min hops and start timer.

At 20 minutes, add whirfloc (or irish moss) and 20 minute hops.

At 5 minutes, add remaining DME (using same procedure as above).

At 1 minute, add last 0.50 oz of hops.

Add 1 gallon of cool water to primary.

Chill, transfer to primary, add cool water to bring to 5.5 gallons, pitch re-hydrated yeast.
 
I've adjusted the hop schedule (shown above) for next time, as it was too bitter for what I was trying to create (it is now IBU 17).

I am also going to push the second DME addition to 5 minutes as the color was still too dark (golden when i wanted something more towards straw)

On a side note, I also tried using olive oil instead of aeration. I dipped the very, very tip of my sanitized metal thermometer in some olive oil and added it the wort when I pitched my yeast. I pitched 1 pack of rehydrated Safale-05. I had to attach a blow off tube because of the vigorous fermentation at 68 deg. The beer ended up with excellent head and with zero trace of the oil.

My next batch (an amber) I used 2 packets of rehydrated yeast and shook aerate. The fermentation was about 1/4 as strong as the previous batch.

Just food for thought.
 
Do I read this correctly as:

the modified hop schedule is

0.75 oz Willamette at 60
0.75 oz Willamette at 20
0.25 oz Willamette at 1 (not 0.50)

The second 1/2 of the DME is added at 5 min to go, not 30 min to go?
 
Do I read this correctly as:

the modified hop schedule is

0.75 oz Willamette at 60
0.75 oz Willamette at 20
0.25 oz Willamette at 1 (not 0.50)

The second 1/2 of the DME is added at 5 min to go, not 30 min to go?

Sorry for the mistakes Bender.

I've fixed it, the schedule is indeed:

0.75 at 60
0.75 at 20
0.50 at 1

The second half of the DME is added at 5 minutes to sanitize it but not make it any darker than it already is.
 
"Place 3 gallons of cool water in brewpot and bring to 150 F. Put steeping grains in bag and steep for 1 hour." That seems like a lot of water for the amount of grain and a long steep time. That being said, I'm still a "beginner" brewer and made it this today. I overshot my temp and it got up to 165. I'm still perfecting on my temp control. I turned the heat off and only steeped for 45min. I wouldn't think it would make much difference in the end.
 
I made this beer and I'm currently drinking what's left over from my bottling bucket and what spilled from the bottling wand.

It's delicious!
 
Couple of questions about this recipe. Relatively new, this is my 3rd batch. I brewed it a couple weeks ago and couldn't get my OG reading anywhere close to the 1.043. It was a partial boil and I added water until I finally managed to get the OG to 1.052. Any idea why I was so high? And what should I expect my FG to be with such a high OG? My 6 gallon carboy was almost completely full, had to use the blow off tube for the first time. So I also won't be able to use a secondary since my secondary is a 5 gallon carboy. How long do you think I should leave it in the primary if I bottle it after primary?

As a side note, when I use beercalculus and put in this recipe, it gives me an OG over 1.052 also.
Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Just brewed this tonight. My OG was also VERY high. I did 5.5 gal and it came out to 1.078. The color is also pretty dark. I think that late DME addition didn't dissolve all the way. Anyways, it smells amazing and will probably be a high alcohol beer. I am just going to leave in primary for the full 21 days.
 
1.078 is way off for that amount of extract.

What temp was your wort when you took your reading?
 
If i did my batch identical to the one listed, what might be some factors why my OG was sooo high?
 
Can anyone offer some tasting notes on this brew? I've been reading some good things about combining Willamette with Cascade, and I'm curious what the baseline on all Willamette looks like.

(I'm quite new at brewing, with 2 batches under my belt).
 
Just finished my starter for this beer. I'm brewing tomorrow after noon and I'm doing 6 lbs LME and .5 lb DME with white labs American ale. I'll post results when it's ready.
 
I brewed this sunday afternoon and pitched my starter around 830 that night. My og was 1.051. A bit higher than anticipated but thats fine. Today i took a gravity reading of 1.014! Ive kept the temperature between 67-72. It only got up to 72 for about 3 hours before i got it down. I'm thinking about racking a gallon on to some strawberry puree for a week. Anyone tried this before?
 
I'm making this again soon. Hopefully this weekend. Really good blonde ale. my all grain batches never come out as good as this one did
 
So I bottled this beer today. Here are my final numbers:

OG 1.052
FG 1.011
ABV 5.5

I did a 1L starter of WLp060 American Ale. It was done fermenting in 7 days but I brought the temp down to 62 for two days until I bottled it. I was worried about the color but it's pretty spot on. Its has a simple and refreshing taste. I'll defiantly be brewing this again next May to have for a summer ale but maybe use a more pronounced hop like Amarillo.
 
nasty_rabbit said:
Any answers on the OG questions ie. ranging from 1.045 to 1.078?

Either the person measured their water volume wrong and/or the wort was not properly mixed with the top off water so the hydro sample is not accurate. X amount of extract will always give you X amount of sugars in X amount of water.
 
Going to brew this today. Using mt hood hops at 60 and 20 and citra at 1. Any thoughts on that?
 
Bender said:
Well, my LHBS doesn't seem to carry the Safale line of dry yeasts. They do have a generic Muntons ale yeast. I'd rather not spring for a liquid Wyeast. How would the Muntons work as a substitute?

This stuff: http://www.expertbrewers.com/images/muntons.jpg

Tell them to get the Fermentis line of dry yeast, they are some of the best around. Muntons website gives no details about their yeast. It is usually a throw in with some cheap kits.
 
Made this recipe but changed the hop bill to this:

.75 mt hood at 60
.75 mt hood at 20
.25 citra at 5

It tastes phenomenal. Very smooth and easy to drink with a nice citrus finish. We were thinking about making it again soon but using some ginger lemon grass and maybe blueberry.
 
Made this recipe but changed the hop bill to this:

.75 mt hood at 60
.75 mt hood at 20
.25 citra at 5

It tastes phenomenal. Very smooth and easy to drink with a nice citrus finish. We were thinking about making it again soon but using some ginger lemon grass and maybe blueberry.

Do you think adding oranges or clementines would be good with this recipe?
 
Potentially. We used clementine peels in another recipe (a wheat beer). They can be overpowering but still tasty. Im not sure how well they would go with the citra hops.
 
Hello! I made this on the 6th and am confused about my gravity numbers.

I brewed on the 6th with the following:

  • 500g Steeping Munich Malt
    8 lbs (4kg) Pale Malt LME, 4 lbs @ 60 and 4 lbs @ 15
    Centennial Hops 1oz @60, .5 @ 30 and .5 @ 10
    2 Chipotle Peppers @ 10

My starting Gravity was written down as 1.140, which I am thinking was 1.040, written wrong. I took a reading yesterday, at 13 days in and got a reading of 1.013.

Do those look right to you guys? I am either really high or really low ABV.... I was thinking it would be 6.5 or so, my sample last night had some mild carbonation, is this still fermenting then?

Thanks all, only my second non-brewhouse so a little lost!
 
Using Brewer's friend calculator, your OG would be 1.059 and your FG 1.017, with a medium attenuating yeast. Looks like your OG reading was bogus. Your ABV would be 5.6%. Cheers!:mug:
 
I brewed this one for the first time yesterday.

The only change I made was to add the second 3# of DME at 20 minutes with my hops. I wanted to see if maybe the second addition of DME wasn't getting dissolved and incorporated well enough, and that was causing the high OG numbers that everyone is seeing.

My OG came out at 1.063

The sample I used to take my OG was very sweet and citrusy. I can't wait to try this beer. I think it is going to be a hit, even with the elevated ABV.

Thanks for the recipe!

KH
 
Ingredients
======================================
0.50 lb CaraPils (steeped)
0.50 lb Crystal 10L (steeped)
6.00 lb Extra Light Dry Malt Extract

Hops
======================================
0.75 oz Willamette at 60
0.75 oz Willamette at 20
0.50 oz Willamette at 1

Other
======================================
1 unit, Whirfloc at 20

Notes
======================================
Place 3 gallons of cool water in brewpot and bring to 150 F. Put steeping grains in bag and steep for 1 hour.

Lift bag out, let drain and discard.

Bring water to boil, remove from heat and stir in 3 lbs of DME. Return to heat.
Bring to boil and watch for messy boil over. Once risk has subsided, add 60 min hops and start timer.

At 20 minutes, add whirfloc (or irish moss) and 20 minute hops.

At 5 minutes, add remaining DME (using same procedure as above).

At 1 minute, add last 0.50 oz of hops.

Add 1 gallon of cool water to primary.

Chill, transfer to primary, add cool water to bring to 5.5 gallons, pitch re-hydrated yeast.

This sounds great. I'm probably going to brew this for a summer ale, maybe with different hops. Thanks for sharing.
 
I'd like to report that I made this recipe exactly as originally posted and it's terrific. Malty sweetness up front with a nice refreshing bitter finish. Outstanding "gateway" beer for those who drink MBC. My buddy who thinks New Glarus Spotted Cow is the best beer he's ever had and has yet to say anything good about my homebrew porters, wheats, brown ales even likes it. Great job with the recipe and I would brew it again!
 

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