Blonde Ale Tropical Blonde Ale

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mdwmonster

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
134
Reaction score
7
Location
Kirkwood
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Safale US-05
Yeast Starter
No
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.046
Final Gravity
1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes)
45
IBU
23
Color
5
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 @ 68 degrees
Tasting Notes
Light and crisp with grapefruit and pineapple note with slight honey flavor
This is a crisp summer ale that highlight the flavor of Citra hops. Finishes crisp without as much sweetness from the honey malt as expected. Perfect for stirring on the deck with the grill going and kids playing.

Boil Size: 2 1/2 gal

Grain:
1 lb Crystal 10L
1/4 lb Honey Malt
Steep grains for 20 minutes at 155 degrees

Extract:
1 1/2 lbs Light DME @ 45 minutes
4 oz corn sugar @ 30 minutes
3 lbs Light DME @ flameout

Hops:
1/4 oz Mosaic (12.7 %) @ 45 minutes
1/4 oz Citra (14.1%) @ 10 minutes
1/2 oz Citra (14.1 %) @ 5 minutes
1 oz Citra (14.1 %) @ flameout

Additives:
1 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 minutes

Printing:
4 oz corn sugar

ABV: 4.7%

 
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Do you have any substitution recommendations if I can't find Mosaic?

Truthfully, there is such a small amount of Mosaic in there, especially when compared with the later additions of Citra, that I'm not sure how much of the Mosaic character comes through. I would say that you could easily use all Citra, or a neutral flavored bittering hop without much discernible difference.

FWIW: I saw some Mosaic in stock on Rebel Brewer's website if you want to stay true to the recipe. Galaxy and Citra are both considered substitutes.
 
My tropical blonde has turned out pretty well. Much more hop forward than I thought it would be.

My partial mash adaption is below:

uebActZ.png


And a picture of the brew :)

EEOeLJw.jpg
 
Going to make a batch of this this weekend. Just going to change a few things, as i am upping the batch size to 6 gallon. And I have a nice slurry from a Ginger Ale I made with S-05. We'll see how it turns out.

Fermentables:
6 lbs DME
1.25 lbs Crystal 10L
10 oz Corn sugar
5 oz Honey Malt

.5 oz Mosaic (45 min)
.5 oz Citra (10 Min)
.75 oz Citra (5 Min)
1.25 oz Citra (Dry Hop)

Pretty Excited. Looks good! Thanks. :)
 
Looking forward to making this beer again tomorrow. My wife had the idea to add some lemon and lime zest to the brew, so I'm going to do two of each and hope for the best.

Cheers! :mug:
 
Making another batch of this! Wow. Amazing flavor and man oh man did it go fast. Wanna have this on tap all the time. My new fave for the coming sunny weather.
Thank you again :)
 
Just tried brewing this as an extract yesterday. I think everything seems good but was wondering if anyone has any target numbers on OG and FG?? I got 1.048 on my OG and am using Safale S-04 yeast (recommended by LHBS).
 
Update, I just played with one of the abv calculators and if the target abv is 4.7 the FG should be somewhere around 1.012. Since I am very inexperienced can someone confirm that this sounds right? Or should I be looking at this differently?? I just don't want to face an exploding bottle problem in a few weeks.
 
1.012 sounds about right. Don't fret about the exact number or ABV that it gets to. The yeast will ferment what it wants, and then go dormant. If it ends at 1.014? it's fine. If it ends at 1.008, it's fine too, just a little dryer that the other one.

The main risk of exploding bottles is from bottling when it is still fermenting and is too high (like 1.020), or if you can get an infection and you bottle it at 1.012, yet the brett or lacto will ferment it almost zero (1.000) or beyond!

If you are still new at this, and some of what I wrote is confusing, just leave it be for 3 weeks and then bottle it. Micromanaging your beer by its FG value just adds risk of infection by opening your carboy/bucket repeatedly.

Happy Brewing! :mug:
 
I brewed this last year and got an OG of 1.049, and it finished at 1.013. I second Zebulon - leave your beer alone for at least 2 weeks, and 3 weeks if you want. Then to double check, measure the gravity two days apart - if it hasn't changed, it is done.

The yeast knows what its doing - sit back, relax, enjoy a homebrew and don't worry.

Also - this recipe was delicious! I brewed it for a family 4th of July party, and it was a huge hit with everyone - people who like craft brew and those who don't alike.
 
Also - how did the lemon/lime zest work out? I'm gonna brew this recipe again soon.
 
Based on my memory of the original, I can't tell a whole lot of difference. You can try to convince yourself that you can pick out some lemon or lime, but it's probably just the hops or your brain playing tricks on you. If it made a difference, it's subtle.

Started getting into this a a week or three ago, and it is still very good. Mine came out a little heavier bodied than I like (issue with my setup and mash!, not the recipe!), but it's still refreshing, and the ladies love it.
 
I am looking for a good blonde recipe and this looks great. What would be the best way to convert the malt bill to all grain? Thank you!
 
There are 4.5 lbs of DME. That's roughly 6 lbs of 2-row Pale malt.

You really don't need the conversion though, just take the hops and crystal/honey malt and use 2-row to hit the OG you like. Easy-peasy.
 
I really like how this turned out...perfect for summer. 3rd beer I've made on my current system and its probably my favorite so far. Used WLP001 for yeast...just poured it right on in and fermented at about 68 for 2 weeks, cold crashed for 3 days, and into the keg.

IMG_2842.jpg
 
So I had a chance to try this side-by-side with Kona Big Wave, which is damn similar to this recipe, if not a clone. The comparison pic is below:

yeVm2VO.jpg


Color: Using malt extract will always result in a darker color most lighter beers, so I'm happy with the color comparison.

Aroma: The homebrew has more of it, and slightly more complex (though I do use some mosaic at the end unlike OP's recipe, and my latest adaption has orange and lime peel). The Big Wave has a nice pleasant blonde/pale ale aroma, but it's more one-dimensional

Taste: Most of the taste of the Big Wave is in its crispness. There's just a nice crisp citrus flavor to it, and a light-medium body. The homebrew has much more flavor (mid-boil addition citra can be thanked for that) and is not anywhere as crisp, and because my mash temperature is atrocious, my body is medium-heavy, which is a bit much for an easy drinker such as this.

Wife's notes: If she had to pick, she'd pick the homebrew (tested her blind), but she really likes the crispness of the Big Wave and the lighter body. Mine turned out way too heavy (as I keep saying). I told her I could use pilsner malt or a kolsch yeast to add crispness to the flavor/finish, and of course mash control will be able to control body.

Cheers to everyone, and happy brewing!

:mug:
 
Did another all grain of this... And truly, still one of the tastiest beers I've had. Everyone seems to enjoy it. I used all citra this time, so we'll see what it is like.
 
Did another all grain of this... And truly, still one of the tastiest beers I've had. Everyone seems to enjoy it. I used all citra this time, so we'll see what it is like.


punkrawkgeek:

I just brewed this as an AG. Mine came out waayyyy darker than has been pictured here. What was your grain bill?? This is what I used for a 5 gallon batch:

2.5 lb crystal 10L
2.5 lb Honey Malt
6.5 lb 2 row
 
punkrawkgeek:

I just brewed this as an AG. Mine came out waayyyy darker than has been pictured here. What was your grain bill?? This is what I used for a 5 gallon batch:

2.5 lb crystal 10L
2.5 lb Honey Malt
6.5 lb 2 row


Thats way too much crystal. the recipe above used 1.5 pounds total (1 lb C10 and .5 honey) you have 5 pounds thats why its so much darker.
 
looking at the recipe, i see where i screwed up. Opinions on how it will turn out? im going to another batch, and fix the proportions. ferment them both, see what happens.


i redid the recipe, and come out with 10.5 lb 2 row, 1 lb 15oz crystal, 3 lb 3 oz honey malt
 
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this is actually what beersmith gave me, i used te recipe at the top, which said 2.5 gallon batch. mine is for a 5 gallon batch, unless i read something wrong. should i start over or see what happens? i guess i could do them side by side in the fermenter.


the batch size is 5.5 gallons but the boil size is 2.5. he did a partial boil then he topped it off with water until he hit is ferm volume of 5.5.

typically less than 15% total grist is good for crystal except with stouts and stuff. this recipe and the kona clone on another thread are closer to 25% but this seems to work.

as far as what to do, you could let it ride and just have a very sweet beer, or maybe try to make a blend. Like if you made another 5 gallon beer that had zero crystal malt and the same or more hops then try to blend them. ive never tried that, but its an option i suppose
 
Just made another all grain batch of this... First batch in two years! The sample tastes ever so good! Tastes a little more hoppy than I remember. But tastes damned good! We'll see how it is once it's fermented. Thank you again!
 
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