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

Drinking my centennial/Citra version and after just five days bottled this is the beer I've been looking for. I upped the abv into pale ale territory, 54 Ibus and 5.6% using 05, this is a great summer crusher.

I experimented with some mango and jalapeno extracts (from silvercloudestates TTB compliant extracts) in this. A rate of 8 to 12 drops of each, per 12oz serving, seemed about right (that might be 0.8 to 1.2 mL of each, but I realize that I really should test the dropper I used to verify the drop size. I don't suppose "random stuff off amazon" is necessarily calibrated to .1mL or .05mL drops like highschool chemistry droppers were.)

Anyway, it was good!

I'm finally brewing this after 3+ mos. of brew days being cancelled. I'm brewing up a 5 gallon batch and splitting into 2 fermentors. One will get about 4lbs of frozen peaches. One I'm thinking of dry hopping either 1/2 oz of Sorachi Ace or Cascade for 5 days. What's the consensus?

First ever brew day and I chose this, 2 gallons fermenting away now.

Wasn't bad in terms of hitting number, Mash was 67-65C (Target was 65.5C) Gravity after mash was 1.033.

Got 10.5 litres after boil at a gravity of 1.041.

Took about 30-40 minutes to get from mash temp to a boil and about 40 - 50 minutes to cool to pitching temp (20C).

For my first brew I feel it went well.

Can't wait to get this bottled and drunk.

Brewed this yesterday as my first all grain (BIAB). I followed the recipe exactly and my numbers were spot on! Thanks BM, I will for sure post a followup with photos during my first taste in a few weeks.

I brewed this one up on 8/14. OG was 1.045, now at 1.015 (8/16). I have about 4lbs of fresh frozen peaches for half of it. The other half I want to dry hop. Should I dry hop with .5 oz of centennial, or .5 oz of Sorachi Ace?

Tried one after 10 days in bottle. Very drinkable, darn good in all respects (love the Centennial) although a little thin. That was my fault for mash temp too high. Finished at 1.014. I'll get 'er next time.

Brewed this up on 8/14. OG was spot on for PM batch @1.044. Fermented @54-60°F. SG is now 1.080 for 3 days. I've still got .5 oz of CASCADE I'm thinking of dry hopping in 2.5 gal in secondary and the other 2.5 gal on 4lbs of fresh peaches for 4 or so days until I can bottle. Or should I just do all 5 gallons on peaches and dry hop? What does the rest of the forum think?

Here's my final product....

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Just put my first batch of this on tap. Excellent!!

got my first 10 gallon batch planned this weekend. Just so happens to be this batch.
I'm pretty excited.

Racked to secondary last night on top of peaches. I'm trying a new fermonster carboy from morebeer out this round. I like it except the airlock is touchy and has fallen out a couple of times. Here she is ...

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Just have to congratulate BierMuncher on this one! Almost 9 years later and nearly 1.3 million views, and still going strong! This is a GREAT beer! I'll be doing it again --- cheers, man!

Bottled this batch up on day 13, and well, it wasn't quite as smooth as the brew day.

Had to keep re-priming the syphon between different vessels given that I let it run empty each time (demijohn-bottling 'bucket'-bottles).

To add to this I thought I had more wort/beer in my first demijohn since I measured 4 litres into it, out of that I managed to get 8 330ml bottles (2.5 ish litres) which I added 25g of dextrose at a CO2 volume of 3-3.3vols (since I also cocked up and measured the FG for the first demijohn after adding priming sugar).

I then compensated for the second demijohn; measured FG before priming, added 15g of dextrose to the 'bucket' and then bottled 9 bottles from this one meaning the CO2 volume is going to be somewhere between 1.9 and 2.2 (some of the sugar stayed in the jug that I had pre sanitised...

On the plus side though the gravity samples tasted like beer and even though I did ferment a little high (20-22C beer temp) I couldn't notice any fruity off flavours. And at least I'll be able to see what the difference between 2 and 3 CO2 vols is (providing I get no bottle bombs).

How is the flavour likely to change when it is carbed and chilled? Will the hops come through more? Are off flavours more evident when carbed or chilled?

Thanks,
Matt

Brewed this yesterday, very excited about the short turnover. I'm hoping it's ready by labor day.

Just tasted my second attempt at this beer. Nice!

My first try I overcorrected with the sourmalz and it came out a bit tart - drinkable but not great.

Second try I used pale ale malt and Wyeast 1450 and it finished at 1.012 - had a bit of body there for a 3.5% beer. Nice balance of flavours though. To be honest I'd rather drink something dark or hoppy but this is a beer that anyone can enjoy, which is the whole point. Can't complain about the price either!

I used harvested yeast from a previous batch... White Labs cream ale yeast.
I kegged this about a 2 weeks ago. Still needs some time to get right.
Super cloudy and tastes really young. Started to wonder if the yeast was any good...
But I found some notes on the batch I harvested the yeast from and remembered that it took a while for that yeast to clear and taste clean.

I should have stuck with the original recipe. Cause I want to DRINK IT!

After many batches, I'll also have to echo your sentiment -- stick to nottingham yeast, or S-04 if you can't get it. They both seem to condition and clear faster than US-05.

Nope pretty sure my harvested yeast was bad. Tasted it tonight and it is getting a bit sour I think. Still cloudy... this wad my first 10g batch, and I'm sad to have to dump it. I'll probably let our sit another week....

I've brewed this recipe numerous times now. It is a great beer that everyone loves.

I was looking over profiles of different hops that I don't usually use and came across Belma hops. The article was saying it is very high in strawberry and melon type flavors. My question to whoever feels like responding is... Do you think it could make the blonde a more strawberry-ish blonde if you use Belma in there for some of the additions?

I have used Silver Cloud Natural Strawberry Flavor (about 1/8 tsp per 12 oz.) with the original recipe and that always makes the beer even more favorable with my non-beer drinking friends. Just wondering what some of you might think about the Belma addition.

I'm planning to brew this up next weekend, really excited to taste the results, It's coming into summer so this will be a nice change up to the APA and IPA'S that have been on tap for a while.

Brewing this weekend! Looks great. Love quick turnaround beers as my motto is "Im in the beer drinking business, not the beer aging business".

If I buy the kit (milled) will I be able to split it into two batches??

Is there a preferred Target Water for this beer?

This is the water profile I'm using to brew this right now, the water in my area is fairly low on minerals so i added some Gypsum and Calcium Chloride to get;
Calcium 80ppm
Sodium 19ppm
Chloride 86ppm
Sulfate 108ppm
Im shooting for a fairly balanced profile to play it safe and see how it turns out.

This is what I'm going with for RO water. "Yellow Balanced" from Bru N Water
CA. 50
so4 75
Mg 7.0
Na 5.0
Cl 60
Hardness 154
8 gallons of RO water Salt additions calculated using BreWater 3.0 Ken Schwartz
Epsom salt: 2.152 g/ .466 teaspoon
Baking soda: 0.360 g/ .018 t
Salt: 0.136 g/ .057 t
Calcium Chloride: 3.520 g/ .984 t
Gypsum: 2.496 g/ 1.030 t

I have brewed this 3 times, plus my own similar (but 5.5%) blonde ale twice. The centennial blonde is just fine with s-05, can't say I had any clarity problems and it is a reliable cheap recipe that you can proudly offer to you non-craft drinker friends. I do prefer my blonde recipe which is stronger and uses noble hops.

Sadu said:

I have brewed this 3 times, plus my own similar (but 5.5%) blonde ale twice. The centennial blonde is just fine with s-05, can't say I had any clarity problems and it is a reliable cheap recipe that you can proudly offer to you non-craft drinker friends. I do prefer my blonde recipe which is stronger and uses noble hops.

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I understand what you mean about the strength/hops. I either bump up the whirlpool additions, or use the official recipe as a "neutral" base beer when I want to experiment with new hops

Just kegged it. Flat, I definitely see why this is a crowd pleaser. Clear, light, sweeter. Mine ended up about 3.5%abv. Gonna take a few to get me there.

We will see once carbed and cold. So far, I can see this for mass people but not so sure for craft beer fans. Not a whole lot of depth or body.

Atlmustang said:

Just kegged it. Flat, I definitely see why this is a crowd pleaser. Clear, light, sweeter. Mine ended up about 3.5%abv. Gonna take a few to get me there.

We will see once carbed and cold. So far, I can see this for mass people but not so sure for craft beer fans. Not a whole lot of depth or body.

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All of my beers got substantially better once carb'd up.

Atlmustang said:

Just kegged it. Flat, I definitely see why this is a crowd pleaser. Clear, light, sweeter. Mine ended up about 3.5%abv. Gonna take a few to get me there.

We will see once carbed and cold. So far, I can see this for mass people but not so sure for craft beer fans. Not a whole lot of depth or body.

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I have brewed this 3 times and my own similar blonde recipe twice.

I find that higher ABV = more flavour (with this style of beer). My 3.5% version of this was a bit light and spritzy, even with a higher FG from using a low attenuation yeast. The 4.8% version is definitely better, but I still prefer my 5.5% blonde recipe which uses munich instead of crystal plus noble hops.

I have brewed this more times then I can remember. This batch I added sweet orange peel (10 gallon batch) it ended up sitting probably a little over a month until I kegged it. Never made a sour before but this tastes just like one. I think I used s04 on this one. The other 5 gallons tasted normal. Saw no visual sign of an infection (and I have had some before). Any ideas what it could be??????

Has anyone used Mandarina Bavaria instead of Cascade hops?

Has anyone tried throwing in a lb of Flaked Corn or Rice to bump up the ABV a little?

Just ditch the Carapils & up the Vienna to two pounds. It won't hurt it a bit, IMHO. Or, if you are worried about head retention, half the Crystal & Carapils and again go with 2 lbs of Vienna.

I make an all-Vienna base and all-Centennial version of this beer and everyone loves it. No Carapils, only a little C-10, and it's wonderful.

All good to do this will all centennial? Don't have any cascade... I have hersbrucker, perle and chinook but don't think any of these are appropriate substitutes?

Anyone get this beer done from grain to glass in 3 weeks? I only have a 10% imperial stout and two 7% IPAs in the bottle at the moment and was thinking it might be better if I brewed something lighter form my NYE party. The plan would be to ferment it for a week and then bottle condition for 2 weeks. I will follow the original recipe so hopefully the Nottingham will get it done in a week.

I've gone grain to glass in 10 days

Edit: Just saw bottle. I keg

But, it will be done fermenting in well under a week. You should make it by NYE

Chrispy92 said:

All good to do this will all centennial? Don't have any cascade... I have hersbrucker, perle and chinook but don't think any of these are appropriate substitutes?

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Look at the post of mine right above this one of yours.

Shenanigans said:

Anyone get this beer done from grain to glass in 3 weeks? I only have a 10% imperial stout and two 7% IPAs in the bottle at the moment and was thinking it might be better if I brewed something lighter form my NYE party. The plan would be to ferment it for a week and then bottle condition for 2 weeks. I will follow the original recipe so hopefully the Nottingham will get it done in a week.

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The last batch I did, I had one out of the bottle at day 15, and that included a cold-crash. Well-carbonated, tasted fine, not green at all.

Thanks guys I'll give it a go on Saturday.