Brewed this today...

Centennial Blonde Ale
Created by Robert on 03/30/2008
Brew Target Statistics
Style Blonde Ale
Efficiency 75.00 %
Pre-boil Volume 6.80 gallons US
OG 1.043
IBU 21.6
Mash Ratio 1.25 qt/l
Post-boil Volume 5.50 gallons US
FG 1.011
SRM 4.3
Mash Time 75 min
Boil Time 60 min
Yeast Danstar Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast
ABV 4.2 %
Liquor Temp. Loss 0.0 F
Evaporation 1.3 gallons
Attenuation 75.00 %
Mash Schedule
beta 150 F Mash in with 2.7 gallons US of water at 162.6 F
mashout 165.5 F Add 1.4 gallons US of water at 200.0 F
sparge 170 F 170 F fly Sparge with 3.9 gallons US at 170.0F
To collect 6.8 gallons US
Fermentables
American Crystal 10L 0.5 lb
American Two-Row 7 lb
Belgian Carapils 0.75 lb
Vienna 0.5 lb 5.7 %
Totals: 8.75 pounds
Hops
Columbus 0.12 oz Pellet 13.0 Boil 55
Columbus 0.25 oz Pellet 13.0 Boil 35
Cascade 0.25 oz Pellet 8.0 Boil 20
Cascade 0.25 oz Pellet 8.0 Boil 5
21.6 IBU

First time using StarSan and I love it... is it REALLY okay to just soak, not rinse, and use? It amazes me, really... but it saves alot of time.

First time using Buffer 5.2. I did not realize that it would make the water so cloudy! It was very cloudy and left a white residue inside the keggle after heating my strike and sparge water.

First time using my new rig... first time brewing with my March pump, have to say it was a labor saver, time saver... the priming can be an issue, but that got squared away as the brew progressed.

I am just finishing off my versioin of a very similar brew. It is lighter than I am used to so I think I might go to 40L on the next batch. It certainly kegs up well so you will be pleased. It has to be the lightest color beer I have made and I would think mainstream beer drinkers would like it very much.

Is the name from the missing Centenial hops or something else?

This brew originally was posted on here, with Centennial instead of Columbus... but I was unable to procure Centennial...

I had a friend over that also brews and we had a great time testing the new rig and brewing this up... I used StrangeBrews software to calculate everything and it worked perfectly for the infusions and the water quantities... hit my boil volume just as my gran bed ran dry!

The Nottingham took off in about 6 hours, churning like mad here at 14 hours... I am impressed with this dry yeast every time I use it. I am also impressed with Star San, the best invention in cleaning ever!

Happy Brewing!

I am a little upset that my test jar for my hydrometer is broken, so I did not get an OG... not that it matters much, but I am curious about my EFF.

It is sitting at 68F in a closet and the yeasties could not be happier... it has been almost a year since I last brewed, due to time constraints... I still have 3 more kegs to fill after this!

About 27 hours in... and there is about 6" of krausen. I will always swear by Nottingham.

Nottingham rocks! I always keep some on hand.

Nottingham rocks my socks. The Pol, if I have an IND overnight you are getting a visitor.

DRIZZZLE,

Hey man... you are welcome to stop in if you are in the IND area! We have a couple spare bedrooms, (1) soon to be (2) kegs on tap and I will have my other (2) filled in May! Any requests? Had a buddy from S5 help me brew this brew... while sampling some of our wares.

Well we are at hour 41 and the 6" krausen has sunk back to about 1"... the churning has subsided, but there is alot of CO2 still bubbling through the beer. This has ot be one of the lightest beers I have brewed, I cannot wait for it to finish and clear! The airlock smells awesome

I know I am talking to myself, but hey... yesterday it was at about 70F and churning like crazy... 48 hours after pitching it has slowed drastically... 68F and bubbling slowly, but steadily. The sooner it is done, the sooner I can get it cleared and kegged!

I'll talk to you, it sounds awesome.

I have never brewed a beer this small before... OG was planned at 1.043... so I am really not sure how long it will take for it to ferment. Most of my latest beers have been wheats that are 1.055 and up. Only two days of vigorous fermenting seems short.

ALSO, anyone used the Five Star 5.2 buffer before? I used it, at a rate of 1tbsp per 5 gallons of water in my mash and my sparge water. Does it turn your water really cloudy? Does it leave a residue in your kettle when you heat your water? I am sure that it is supposed to, it just surprised me. Wish my sample tube had not MELTED, Id have loved to have checked my eff. #'s. I will be brewing twice in May, so I will check it out then.

The Pol said:

........
ALSO, anyone used the Five Star 5.2 buffer before? I used it, at a rate of 1tbsp per 5 gallons of water in my mash and my sparge water. Does it turn your water really cloudy? Does it leave a residue in your kettle when you heat your water? I am sure that it is supposed to, it just surprised me. Wish my sample tube had not MELTED, Id have loved to have checked my eff. #'s. I will be brewing twice in May, so I will check it out then.

Click to expand...

The 5.2 buffer is great. My water here is about 8 Ph so I have been using it regularly. It's good insurance. The water does haze some and leave the residue you mentioned.

My air lock did not bubble for about the past three days... so I checked the Hydro... it fermented out in 2.5 days and tastes great! OG was approximately 1.043 (no hydro reading) and it finished at 1.011. It will go into a corny tomorrow and sit at 70F for another week, then carb...

Brewing this again in a couple days! Just brewed a Cream Ale last week, will be racking this brew right on to that yeast cake! I will be illegal to fly in a couple days, so I will get plenty of time to brew again! (2) kegs full, two more to go!