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

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Glad I could help. And there is a lot of flexibility in the later hop additions, too, so you can easily bump up, say, the 5 minute addition by multiple ounces without drastically altering the IBU. You will get a clear increase in hop flavor and aroma, but it's much more difficult to measure through data points - it's more of a subjective increase.

But I frequently do exactly as you say - Base my recipe and even change components on the fly, based off of what I have in my inventory. "Using that bag of Cascade means I will have to put 0.5 oz away back into the freezer? Not any more. 0.5 oz at flameout. Done! Used it up." :p

Of course remember that the science of brewing is only half of the equation, it's possible to make a beer balanced on that graph that tastes like garbage IRL. It's just an aid - but it's one I like using to kind of re-think my recipe from as many angles as I can before I start the brew day. If I know the recipe "looks" good and "sounds" good, and if I know that the vital specs all "look" good on paper and graph, I'm at least feeling better that the beer should start off on a solid footing.

Brew on, brethren!
 
Brewed 10 gallons of this just kegged one and its really good. I ended up splitting the batches and pitching notty in one and us05 in the other...I just kegged the us05 and its amazing. I ended up with 1.046 OG and 1.012 FG for 4.5% and the hops still come through just fine. One of my buddies even asked if I did a dry hop (Which I didnt) but I added gypsum to the mash so that might be why my hops are shinning through. I reused this yeast cake for a 20 gallon Kern River Citra DIPA that we brewed yesterday, I figured it would be a perfect yeast to re-use.
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Made 10 gallons of this and it's ready to be kegged / secondary'd. I'm gonna to keep one keg as is and wanted to put some fruit in the other. Has anyone ever added pomegranate juice that you can just buy on the store shelves?
 
Went out this past weekend and bought all the stuff to make this beer, this is my first all grain. Just did a partial about 5 or 6 weeks ago. Mashed about 20 minutes ago and oh my God it already smells great! I cant believe how many posts are on this thread alone!
 
Ok this is my first all grain and I'm still learning a lot. Once I pulled my wort outta the mashtun yesterday I checked the OG and it was reading 1030 so I panicked a little really wondering if the boil would change it that much so I added a pound of rice solids I had laying around. When all was said and done I carboyed it at 1050? U think it will still taste Blondel?
 
Ok this is my first all grain and I'm still learning a lot. Once I pulled my wort outta the mashtun yesterday I checked the OG and it was reading 1030 so I panicked a little really wondering if the boil would change it that much so I added a pound of rice solids I had laying around. When all was said and done I carboyed it at 1050? U think it will still taste Blondel?


Sounds like you need to have more faith in yourself. Only way to find out is to try it. It'll probably be a bit strong for a blonde, but it will make beer! The rice may be a bit out of style for this, but whatevs. Try again soon!
 
Ok this is my first all grain and I'm still learning a lot. Once I pulled my wort outta the mashtun yesterday I checked the OG and it was reading 1030 so I panicked a little really wondering if the boil would change it that much so I added a pound of rice solids I had laying around. When all was said and done I carboyed it at 1050? U think it will still taste Blondel?

Sometimes too much info can be a bad thing. I have been brewing 6 months now, and by no means an expert. I admit I don't always take a reading until after the Wort has boiled and cooled. Anytime I try to "adjust" for my mistakes I regret it. Until you get more comfortable, my advice is to let it ride, try it, and take notes at every step. Surprised no one has told you, that when in doubt, to relax, wait a while and have a home brew! :)

As for your "rice blonde", don't sweat it too much. It'll still be beer! Maybe just not the one you intended. One of my favorite beers was born from a bad brew day, one of my least favorite was a hefeweizen that I tried to "fix"....

Hope it helps, keep reading and take notes on brew day and tasting day!
 
You SHOULD wait until the wort is cooled to take a reading. If you took your reading when it was still hot, you're going to have a much lower reading than what is actually there. Wait until it cools, throw it in the fridge until it reaches calibration temp (mine's 59*) and then take a reading.
 
I am going to be trying this as my first all grain in the next couple of weeks. My question is when I mash how much water should I use? The whole boil amount?
 
It was my first and I only have a 5 gallon cooler so I mashed about 4 1/2 gallons and sparged 2 gallons. Just done this because that's what I was able to and that's about all my pot would handle once I emptied the mash. I think I got about 6 gallons to cook. Turned out great, it smells up my whole utility room in the basement. It has a real sweet-fruity smell so far but its starting to slow down now. Cant wait to keg it!
 
Once I pulled my wort outta the mashtun yesterday I checked the OG and it was reading 1030 so I panicked a little really wondering if the boil would change it that much

According to my notes, the pre-boil OG should have been 1.035. That's not far off from 1.030 if you were taking a reading hot. Even if you let it cool to about 95-100F, you'd still be looking at a correction of about .005 which puts you spot on. If you took that reading right out of the mash, you may have been even higher, although if that was the first runnings reading, you were probably close to what is expected.

I'm certainly no expert brewer, but if I can offer one bit of "criticism" it would be that your mistake was when you panicked. Remember, this is homebrewing! No need to panic unless you see someone dumping your carboy in the drain. :mug:
 
We aren't building airplanes, relax dont worry. Even a little off on the numbers and it'll still be tasty.
 
Making a 2.5 gal a.g. batch tonight. Hit the lbhs just right and landed Centennial, Citra, and Galaxy. Original intent was to use Centennial and galaxy. Should I wait squeeze some Citra in late or at flameout?
 
I just bottled this today. It smelled a bit skunky like that Corona stuff. Didn't taste bad though. Time will tell in the next few days but this seems like a beer that will be better enjoyed ice cold instead of room temperature. (SWMBO won't drink ice cold beers. It's a Belgian/European thing)
 
Well, IMO *NOBODY* should drink ice cold beers! But I get your drift. I enjoy beers a lot more when they're around 55*F, excluding light american lagers of course.


Making a 2.5 gal a.g. batch tonight. Hit the lbhs just right and landed Centennial, Citra, and Galaxy. Original intent was to use Centennial and galaxy. Should I wait squeeze some Citra in late or at flameout?

I'd stick to Centennial & Galaxy if you have enough of both to do it - Citra can sometimes be a little overly powerful and can take over when you didn't mean it to. I think it's best in an IPA where it can really shine as much as it wants to.
 
We aren't building airplanes, relax dont worry. Even a little off on the numbers and it'll still be tasty.

Actually Japan tried correcting American mistakes on the F-16 and F-14. They built a perfectly balanced and torqued airframe and power plant. The result? They didn't fly. So it's ok to be a little off on those numbers too. :0)
 
Brewed this yesterday. Everything went great. Hit the OG right on 1.040, but for some reason every time I brew this one I end up with very low volume in the carboy.

Went with Danstar BRY-97 this time. Pitched at noon yesterday and not one bubble yet. Kinda wondering....
 
@Guidry Mine was kinda slow starting too. It took about a full day and a half to finally start kickin the airlock.
 
@Guidry Mine was kinda slow starting too. It took about a full day and a half to finally start kickin the airlock.


Did you use the BRY-97 also? This is my first time with this yeast. I have always gone with -05 in the past. I have no experience with this yeast at all. Usually with the -05, the bugs are doing their thing in about 12 hours, or there is at least a layer of foam forming in spots on the surface. There is NOTHING in there. I know! Just relax!
 
I haven't tried that one but I like Danstar because it's solid. My experience has been about 12-15 hours minimum providing temperatures were just right for them if not hydrated before hand. I had some iffy yeast in a carboy once that wouldn't start because it got too cold on the floor 68F was just too low to get it started. I put a heating pad under it and covered it with a blanket to jump start the process. That took almost two days to get started. It finally started cranking between 74-76 degrees and maintained that temp without the heating pad.

If the yeast is suspect I would take it up with whoever sold it to you. They might not have stored it properly and it was f'ed before you got it.
 
I called my wife at 3pm yesterday and asked her to check my beer. "Tell me if the airlock is bubbling or if there are any bubbles at least on the top of the wort"....She told me there was a thin layer of small fine bubbles on the wort. Got home at 7:45 and the head space in the 6.5g carboy was almost completely full of krausen. Nice!
 
I'm drinking this now while watching my Tripel X blow the bung. It's not a bad beer but I don't really care for it. Tastes like Corona to me.
 
I've brewed this twice now from AG and I love it. The first batch went so fast it was ridiculous. I use s05 with a starter, and follow the recipe exactly except for adding gypsum. This last batch I dry hopped with 1oz cascade and it really kicked this beer up a notch. I love centennial and cascade so much that i am brewing a centennial blonde "big brother" as an APA.

It's a big hit among my friends they guzzle it, and I like one after getting home from work. Thanks biermuncher.
 
I tried using google to search the entire thread for any reference to Maris Otter. I thought I saw a reference to someone brewing this beer subbing it for the 2-row. Anyone try that? How was it?

I think the reference I saw was even someone who submitted this for a competition.
 
I tried using google to search the entire thread for any reference to Maris Otter. I thought I saw a reference to someone brewing this beer subbing it for the 2-row. Anyone try that? How was it?

I think the reference I saw was even someone who submitted this for a competition.

Was my post, #2404
 
Thanks. Anything else you liked or disliked about the MO version? Have you brewed the recipe as is? If so, thoughts on the comparison?

Nothing I would change if I brewed it again. Also this is the only way I have brewed it so I don't have a comparison but can say the the MO gave it a good backbone that was well received by the judges. If anything I would maybe increase the hops a little, maybe 10%, but you see that much variation just in freshness levels.
 
I brewed this a week ago from yesterday. My first all grain and I think I will never go back to extract. Kegged it last night, force carbonated and I can say that it is truly amazing!! All my friends that came by tonight tried it and didn't believe I made it. I got about 1014 after fermenting which put mine about 4.2% if I calculated it correctly. I also used 7 gallons of spring water from Walmart that I think helped a lot!! Thanks for the recipe! Will be making this the beginning of next week again for Christmas Eve!!
 
he-brews said:
I brewed this a week ago from yesterday. My first all grain and I think I will never go back to extract. Kegged it last night, force carbonated and I can say that it is truly amazing!! All my friends that came by tonight tried it and didn't believe I made it. I got about 1014 after fermenting which put mine about 4.2% if I calculated it correctly. I also used 7 gallons of spring water from Walmart that I think helped a lot!! Thanks for the recipe! Will be making this the beginning of next week again for Christmas Eve!!

This was my first all grain and I felt the same way. My wife and brother in law schemed against me to trick me into brewing a 10 gallon batch of this to serve at my surprise 30th birthday party I didn't know I was having. It was very well received.

I have started to dabble with MO and thought the notes above were intriguing and worth a shot.
 
My variation of this turned out just a tad on the hoppy side. Fine for me, but probably just a touch too hoppy for the wife. Funny, I was shooting for the 21.6 IBU's but I bittered with CTZ, which has been giving a more harsh bittering for me lately...something often unnoticed in PA's and IPA's. Next time I'll use Nugget for bittering and reduce the IBU's just a scosche.
 
I'm drinking this now while watching my Tripel X blow the bung. It's not a bad beer but I don't really care for it. Tastes like Corona to me.

Ditto. I drank from the hydrometer a few times and it kind of tastes like any old bmc, corona, etc. Not bad just not my cup of tea. It did have a strong maltiness like fat tire though so my family will drink it up on christmas.
 
Ditto. I drank from the hydrometer a few times and it kind of tastes like any old bmc, corona, etc. Not bad just not my cup of tea. It did have a strong maltiness like fat tire though so my family will drink it up on christmas.

Funny you mention the Corona taste...I threw a lime wedge in this the last time I had it kegged and enjoyed it. Figured it would be great at the bar by the pool.

I think this is a step up in flavor and hops over the BMC/Corona brews, but still close enough that it's a crowd pleaser and you can enjoy several without passing out in a pool of your own vomit.

My ingredients for 10 gallons is on its way with MO as the base this time to see how I like that. I'm going to see if it's possible to go from grain on 12/23 to glasses on 12/31 with this.
 
Heck yeah, I bet you can have it done in time. What yeast are you using?

If dry, I'd pitch two packs per vessel, if liquid, make a properly sized starter. If I were doing it (and assuming that I use my usual practices & equipment), I'd hold steady at ~66*F so it ferments cool but doesn't stall out, for 5 days primary fermentation, on the 28th, cold crash and carb for 3 days in a 'secondary' corny keg on about 17-20psi gas at fridge temps of ~40*F, then transfer with a jumper hose into a clean sanitized serving keg on 12/31. Barely in time. :)
 
Heck yeah, I bet you can have it done in time. What yeast are you using?

If dry, I'd pitch two packs per vessel, if liquid, make a properly sized starter. If I were doing it (and assuming that I use my usual practices & equipment), I'd hold steady at ~66*F so it ferments cool but doesn't stall out, for 5 days primary fermentation, on the 28th, cold crash and carb for 3 days in a 'secondary' corny keg on about 17-20psi gas at fridge temps of ~40*F, then transfer with a jumper hose into a clean sanitized serving keg on 12/31. Barely in time. :)

I'm planning on using 1056 and making a big starter to ensure fermentation kicks off within hours rather than days and I was going to ferment at 68* for 5 days or so, rack to a keg, then drop the temp to 38 or while force carbing. I don't mind if the first pull has some crud it in. I want to make sure it's finished fermenting and carbed, but who doesn't want those to happen in an expeditious manner?

I've never transfered carbed beer, but I do have some extra liquid ball lock connectors that I could make the jumper.
 
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