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

as I posted earlier my brew day for this was really weird with uncharacteristically low efficiency (65% or something like that). Since I had adjusted the recipe for ~80 - 85% efficiency I really undershot my OG.

I bumped up the OG using .4 lbs corn sugar to get it up near 1.040.

Then i let it go for two weeks and took a gravity sample. it tasted like feet. tons of nottingham in suspension. the sample was unpleasant. I figured since I had already adjusted the grain bill and undershot OG / dumped in corn sugar i might as well keep going and I tossed .5oz cascade in the primary and let it sit for 5 more days.

After 5 days I drew another sample. Feet. I figured whatever at this point its a totally different beer and likely ruined so **** it. I tossed in .5oz sorachi ace that i had in my freezer and cold crashed for 4 days.

i bottled at 3.0 vols.

Ten days later I cracked one to test and somehow this one turned out AMAZING. I'm not sure how far off flavour-wise I have drifted with the dry hopping and OG/sugar mess up but its a really really good beer so i thought I'd post the recipe i ended up making in case anyone is interested.

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs 6.4 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 76.4 %
10.9 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.1 %
7.2 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.4 %
7.2 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 4 5.4 %
6.4 oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 5 4.8 %
0.25 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 55.0 min Hop 6 9.2 IBUs
0.25 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 35.0 min Hop 7 7.8 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 8 3.1 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 1.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 10 -
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 8.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Sorachi Ace [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs

Like i said maybe not too far off from the original recipe, but turned out to be a happy accident. I'll probably just keep brewing this recipe as opposed to the one in the OP since its a really nice balance of all the things I like in an easy drinking session beer.

cheers!

Just finishing up my keezer. Ordered the ingredients for this one last night. Hoping for a day after Xmas brew with a friend I'm getting into brewing. Wish me luck. I'll have to update when I have it running in my new keezer.

Any tips on rehydration the yeast would be appreciated. Never worked with dry yeast before but I wanna follow the recipe exactly.

nastee_brew said:

Just finishing up my keezer. Ordered the ingredients for this one last night. Hoping for a day after Xmas brew with a friend I'm getting into brewing. Wish me luck. I'll have to update when I have it running in my new keezer.

Any tips on rehydration the yeast would be appreciated. Never worked with dry yeast before but I wanna follow the recipe exactly.

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Dry yeast is gravy. IMHO there's no need to rehydrate. Especially with this light brew.

If you want to hydrate your yeast, heat 1/2C water to boiling, and let cool to 85 degrees F or so. Pour the yeast into the cooled water, stir a little, then wait 15-30 minutes.

I just bought some US-05 and it says to sprinkle in wort.

No need to rehydrate. Make life easy and take away extra steps

I use bottled water to rehydrate dry yeast. I spray some Starsan in a glass cup, pour some bottled water in, and then add the yeast.

Pretty simple

CGVT said:

I use bottled water to rehydrate dry yeast. I spray some Starsan in a glass cup, pour some bottled water in, and then add the yeast.

Pretty simple

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Why?

I almost always just sprinkle dry yeast on top of wort in primary. The only time I rehydrate dry is when making more complex and high gravity beers.

brewprint said:

Why?

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Why not?

It's the way I started doing it and it only takes a couple of minutes.

CGVT said:

Why not?

It's the way I started doing it and it only takes a couple of minutes.

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Several dry yeast manufacturers specify to rehydrate in water that has NOT had the minerals removed. It's related to osmotic pressure killing some of the yeast due to electrolyte imbalance while rehydrating.

RO bottled water is pretty close to no minerals. I use 'spring' or filtered tap. They sell a product called GoFerm if you want to use no-mineral water.

I don't over think it. I just get the yeast wet...

Bottled water= what ever I have in the house. Mostly this:

andrewmaixner said:

Several dry yeast manufacturers specify to rehydrate in water that has NOT had the minerals removed. It's related to osmotic pressure killing some of the yeast due to electrolyte imbalance while rehydrating.

RO bottled water is pretty close to no minerals. I use 'spring' or filtered tap. They sell a product called GoFerm if you want to use no-mineral water.

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Bottled natural spring water works just fine. Just need to stay away from distilled or 100% RO. My city tap (surface water) in Minneapolis has less minerals than some bottled waters.

Clearing up nicely before bottling

View attachment 1451096040120.jpg

My batch is almost done, been in primary for 16 days (went out of town) and just dropped it for a cold crash.

I used Wyeast 1056 and I am looking at 1.008 which seems very low for this strain?

arnobg said:

My batch is almost done, been in primary for 16 days (went out of town) and just dropped it for a cold crash.

I used Wyeast 1056 and I am looking at 1.008 which seems very low for this strain?

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Mine always ends up at 1.007 with that strain.

brewprint said:

Mine always ends up at 1.007 with that strain.

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Awesome can't wait to bottle and try it. Gravity sample looked and tasted fantastic.

Newbie back here looking for help. This is my first batch ever - I started with AG and skipped the extract learning curve.

I'm 8 days into fermentation and I just took a gravity reading. Looks like somewhere between 1.006 and 1.008. Unfortunately I forgot to take a post-boil reading but I did take a pre-boil reading and it was 1.034ish.

I need help trying to figure out when I should bottle it. I modified the recipe in 2 spots to make up for forgetting to order the carapils and having 1056 instead of the Notty. Also - I'm still learning how to use Beersmith and would like someone opinion on what the alcohol content will be. More english and less abbreviations the better Thanks all!

7.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
0.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (55 min)
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (35 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (20 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min)
1 Wyeast 1056

Well crap.... long story short, I forgot to order my 1 lb of caramel malt, drove to the LHBS and bought it, then still forgot to add it to my mash. So... what will that do to my beer? My OG was 1.038. So I wasn't far off of my numbers despite the missing grain. Can anyone tell me what to expect from the missing grain? Kinda glad it's the first time I've brewed this, so I at least won't know what I'm missing. Biggest worry is head retention.

Brew day went very well all things considered. Hoping it's still a good beer.

nastee_brew said:

Well crap.... long story short, I forgot to order my 1 lb of caramel malt, drove to the LHBS and bought it, then still forgot to add it to my mash. So... what will that do to my beer? My OG was 1.038. So I wasn't far off of my numbers despite the missing grain. Can anyone tell me what to expect from the missing grain? Kinda glad it's the first time I've brewed this, so I at least won't know what I'm missing. Biggest worry is head retention.

Brew day went very well all things considered. Hoping it's still a good beer.

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I wouldn't worry too much about it. You will still have a good beer. It may be a bit more dry (i.e., may finish with a lower FG). Plus, just think of it as an experiment - make the beer again using the crystal malts and compare!

I posted my process in a whole 'nother thread, but I'm gonna tl;dr this post for you all:

I made a 2.5G PG/mini-mash of this recipe, using 1.5# of DME but instead of two-row for the base malt, I used 2.5# of Vienna, with the C-10 & Carapils staying where they should be. Yes, higher OG than I wanted (should have used 2# of base malt) and Notty took this down to 1.008, 5 points lower than Brewer's Friend predicted, but so it isn't exactly to style. Whatever.

What I really want to know is, does anybody have any comments/thoughts on using so much Vienna in this recipe?

Nothing? Nobody?

Vienna isn't overpowering it will be fine.

woosha said:

Anyway, is there any reason I shouldn't boil the DME for 20 minutes and add it in? I can do so without removing the lid, and I'd rather not stir it up to take gravity readings (after adding) anyway.

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I'd just toss it in. No boil, probably not even stir unless it was sticking to the sides of fermenter. It'll dissolve eventually, yeast will eat it, life will be good. There are resources out there that will help solve. I think DME is around 45 gravity points per pound / gallon. If you added the whole thing to 11 gallons, I'd expect the gravity to go up by a pretty linear 4 (ish) points by the time it's blended.

FWIW I do plenty of no stir fermenter additions and have yet to have any issues with it remaining a clump or puddle at the bottom.

I brewed my 1st attempt at this recipe on 12/5/15 while hosting a party. Received quite a few compliments for brewing a batch of beer while hosting a party too ( ;

but I figured it was such a simple one it should be no problem! And I was right!

It fermented out, I bottled it and it is carbing up VERY nicely already today 12/30/15. It really reminds me of a Coors beer only better! It has a very similar flavor but just a little less ABV.

I must be really fortunate! I brew with well water and no mater what style of beer recipe I try from this forum they ALL turn out great!
@BierMuncher Centennial Blonde
@Yooper 's Oatmeal Stout
@Scooby_Brew Darth Vader-Black IPA

Now... if I can just dial in my own Hefe and Amber Ale recipes I will be set!

So...I am going to brew this tomorrow...1.1.2016 I am going to brew just like the recipe except I was unable to get crystal 10l.....all they had was 15l....is that going to change much other then color?
Thanks
Jack

Action said:

So...I am going to brew this tomorrow...1.1.2016 I am going to brew just like the recipe except I was unable to get crystal 10l.....all they had was 15l....is that going to change much other then color?
Thanks
Jack

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not really.

Bottled this tonight and it already looks like the clearest beer I've ever brewed. 5 Days cold crashed with gelatin, FG came out at 1.008 putting my brew at 4.6 ABV. Will post pics when in the glass. Sample tasted delicious!

@ myself

JLeuck64 said:

Now... if I can just dial in my own Hefe and Amber Ale recipes I will be set!

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50% light wheat malt
50% pale ale malt
(I use Weyermann for both)
Wyeast 3068 (Somewhere between 16 and 20c, depending on desired outcome)
Hallertauer to 10-15 IBU (to taste)

One of my first AG brews, also comically simple.

Rookie alert! So it's bottling time and I was all set but read a lot about cold crashing so being a newb I threw my fermenter in a giant cooler with ice. It will chill over night and morning and then I'll bottle it tomorrow afternoon. Did moving the bucket frig anything up? I'm not planning on moving it again. Will I get any results from the chill for 12-18 hours?

IMO, if thats what you have to work with, I would skip the cold crash and bottle/keg. I usually dont cold crash mine. Great Beer

BierMuncher -
Thanks for the recipe. While this is not my favorite style it is an excellent intro to craft beers. I made this as AG and hit my #s each step.

Force carbing it now and had to have a sample. Light easy quaffer and will be a flagship in CRB. Thanks man for the great lead!

Now if I can only get ppl in my area to like Strong Belgians!!

Hello Lads...........

FNG question please. I am completely new to brewing and this forum ( made intro).

This looks like a great first recipe to try, so iam gonna have a go at my first brew.

I understand the recipe apart from this:


1. Additional Fermentation: Kegged, chilled and Carb'd for one week


WRT to #1- I intend using bottles initially. Would this be OK? If so what temp do I chill at and do I have to add any priming sugar?

Cheers.

Nathan

Once you have reached your FG (final gravity) and are ready to bottle just follow the usual procedure.

Get you priming sugar solution ready and add to bottling bucket.

Siphon from fermenter into bottling bucket have the hose at the bottom of bottling bucket so the beer going in swirls as it fills mixing the sugar into it.

Bottle and let them sit at room temperature a couple weeks to carbonate ...longer is always better but I normally have a test bottle after a week.

After the carbing is complete Refrigerate however many you feel the need to and let the rest sit.

chuckcomm said:

Once you have reached your FG (final gravity) and are ready to bottle just follow the usual procedure.

Get you priming sugar solution ready and add to bottling bucket.

Siphon from fermenter into bottling bucket have the hose at the bottom of bottling bucket so the beer going in swirls as it fills mixing the sugar into it.

Bottle and let them sit at room temperature a couple weeks to carbonate ...longer is always better but I normally have a test bottle after a week.

After the carbing is complete Refrigerate however many you feel the need to and let the rest sit.

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Thanks for your reply. It answers my question perfectly. I think the whole bottling thing is gonna wear thin very quickly and I am already looking into bulk storage and distribution.

Could this type of beer be stored in a polypin and pulled by a pump?

Lanky94 said:

Could this type of beer be stored in a polypin and pulled by a pump?

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Any beer can, though some taste much better with higher carbonation. Taste yours when fermentation completes and see how you like it at low carb - it's a matter of personal taste. I am guessing that it would be OK...

Has anybody had a "weird" fermentation with this beer? I have probably made 25 gallons of it and almost every time I get bubbles left on top. First time I thought it might be infected so I kegged it quick and drank it. Tasted great and when it happened the next time I just rolled with it and didn't let it bother me. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1451952954.610036.jpg. Almost looks like it's still fermenting.... Used us05 and it's been 8 days.

This was a 10 gallon batch that I made. 5 in a glass carboy and 5 in a bucket. The picture was from the bucket which I kegged tonight after 9 days.(usually wait 2 weeks for this one but had empty kegs) took a gravity reading and it went from about 1.04ish to 1.01 or underish. It tastes good so I am not bothered by it but was just wondering if anyone had any ideas about why this beer does it.

fvirzi said:

This was a 10 gallon batch that I made. 5 in a glass carboy and 5 in a bucket. The picture was from the bucket which I kegged tonight after 9 days.(usually wait 2 weeks for this one but had empty kegs) took a gravity reading and it went from about 1.04ish to 1.01 or underish. It tastes good so I am not bothered by it but was just wondering if anyone had any ideas about why this beer does it.

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You use US-05/WLP001 I had something similar with US-05 the one time I brewed it. Took ages for the yeast to drop.

Had a nightmare with this, kegged it and had it ready to go for NYE. Took a sample two days before and it was sour! Don't know how this happened, devastated that it did

fvirzi said:

This was a 10 gallon batch that I made. 5 in a glass carboy and 5 in a bucket. The picture was from the bucket which I kegged tonight after 9 days.(usually wait 2 weeks for this one but had empty kegs) took a gravity reading and it went from about 1.04ish to 1.01 or underish. It tastes good so I am not bothered by it but was just wondering if anyone had any ideas about why this beer does it.

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I have a US05 batch going right now that's taking forever to drop out. Are you reusing yeast, or is this a fresh pitch?