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

I just brewed a batch of this yesterday. It won't be the same beer, though for several reasons:

1) got a new mill and got better efficiency than predicted; ended up with an OG of 1.047.
2) because of the high OG, we added a bit more hops for balance.
3) my centennials smelled funky, a hint of vinegar and gross old cheese (I hate that HBS). So, we subbed Cascades.

It will be a totally different beer, but should be good nonetheless.

Update:
Brewed 8/3/08, posted here and here.
Some pics from a keg that has set untapped until now (~2 months in keg).
Click for larger pics.


Enjoy. I know I did!

mmm mmm, that sure looks good, i've been drinking mine almost every day now except for a bit of chill haze mine looks exactly the same.

Ok OK OK....I'm jumping on the bandwagon here.
Should have the grains this weekend.
And since kegs keep going dry...I'm actually going to have to get a move on and get it brewed!

You haven't made this yet? of all people....


sheesh

Finally got my batch of this bottled. Sample tasted excellent, and hopefully I won't get much chill-haze.

I Loved the bottle that BierMuncher sent me, so I think I'll be brewing this pretty soon! I'll probably wind up using Centennial and Amarillo instead of the Cascade, as I only have 2 oz of Cascade laying around, and I'm saving it for SNPA clone. (Got about 1# each of Cent and Amarillo still in my stash, so I'm good there!)

I might do a 2nd batch with some Magnum and some Centennial, too. Just 'cause I've got the Magnum around.

I'll probably wind up using the specialty grain portion of the recipe to build my standard house ale.... Up until now, my "house" has been SMaSH. (Not that there's anything wrong with SMaSH! )

Cross-posted from 10der & Mild Swap:


BM's Centennial Blonde:
- Aroma is heavenly! Floral and somewhat herbal, but a little sweet and honey-y too. Very inviting, even when cold.
- Color is pale straw, and crystal freakin' clear. BEAUTIFUL beer.
- Flavor is hoppier(*) than I expected! I love it! For the "gateway" beer that everyone recommends to new brewers, I was not expecting so much hop presence! I really love the flavor of this though, it's got little notes of honey and malt overtone, but does not dominate. It tastes cleaner than most commercial blondes, and there's something about the water profile that makes this positively sparkle.
Very very nice. I could drink this all day long.

(*) - BierMuncher noted, after I posted this, that the particular batch I tried was dry-hopped in the keg with 1oz Centennial and 0.5oz Amarillo. Please note.

BM, i just ordered the grains for this i already had cascades, and i have some nugget, perle, and williamette in fridge so i thought i could use the nugget for the centinniual you think that would be ok?

kjones said:

BM, i just ordered the grains for this i already had cascades, and i have some nugget, perle, and williamette in fridge so i thought i could use the nugget for the centinniual you think that would be ok?

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Nugget is a great hop and a decent sub...but it is going to require some more time to mellow. Nugget can be a bit more harsh. I use nugget a lot for bittering and if you make sure to dial down the amounts...it should be just fine.

Brewed a 5gal. batch this Friday using extract / specialty grains. First time using grains!! and it wasn’t too bad. My steeping temp was high 165-160 for 40 min. This will give me more body, and maltier? Right?
Also did a full boil! That DME foams lika MoFo when you first add!!!! WOW very close to boil over but alas did not.
Boiled 5 gallon of water, steeped in a gallon. Ended up with 5 gallons post boil… Not to bad :O)

The only thing is that I didn’t realize that I should have toned down the hop schedule when doing a full boil. I did what the original hop sched. called for….

But anyhow, I’m planning to brew Cheese’s Carmel Cream Ale tomorrow so until then

-PEACE-
Joe

I brewed this up a few weeks ago but at a slightly higher gravity (an accident) and a few more hops to balance. At bottling it was amazing. Smelled very much like fresh oranges and was even slightly orange in color!

Here's what I did:

OG: 1.047 FG: 1.010 IBU: 27

7 lb. British pale
.5 lb. American Vienna
.5 lb. American crystal 15L
.75 lb. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils)

.5 oz. Centennial (8.6% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Cascade (7.2% AA, 20 min.)
.25 oz. Cascade (7.2% AA, 5 min.)
.25 oz. Cascade (dry hop)

Very very good stuff. If I were to do it again, I'd dry hop with 0.5 oz Cascade and use 0.75 oz Cascade at 20 mins. But next time I think I'll try to get it closer to Biermuncher's recipe.

mew said:

I brewed this up a few weeks ago but at a slightly higher gravity (an accident) and a few more hops to balance. At bottling it was amazing. Smelled very much like fresh oranges and was even slightly orange in color!

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This is pretty much what I did today. I aimed for 1.048 OG and hit it and 24 IBU to adjust. Evaporated 2.5 gallons during the boil. That was a surprise. Must have been super dry in the house today.

I see that the recipe says this needs to be fermented at 68 degrees. Well i can't use my son of fermentation chiller anymore bc it is getting cold outside. My house is like 70 degrees and i know the fermentation will make temp rise. Would this be ok for this beer or will it make some off flavors?

kjones said:

I see that the recipe says this needs to be fermented at 68 degrees. Well i can't use my son of fermentation chiller anymore bc it is getting cold outside. My house is like 70 degrees and i know the fermentation will make temp rise. Would this be ok for this beer or will it make some off flavors?

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You'll be fine at 70* Just try to keep it as cool as you can. If you want, you could submerge the carboy in a tub and fill with ice bottles during the first few days

I'm fermenting my 2nd batch (extract version) of this currently. However, my basement temp, while fairly constant, has dropped since the 1st batch from 67F to 62F.

I'm about 10 days into the primary, and and since then, the ambient temp in my basement has dropped from about 64-65F to 62F. I'm using WLP001 with a 1L starter, which took off like a madman. Hopefully there will be no issues with this.

1st batch will be bottled for 3 weeks this coming weekend. Can't wait for a taste.

Boodlemania said:

I'm fermenting my 2nd batch (extract version) of this currently. However, my basement temp, while fairly constant, has dropped since the 1st batch from 67F to 62F.

I'm about 10 days into the primary, and and since then, the ambient temp in my basement has dropped from about 64-65F to 62F. I'm using WLP001 with a 1L starter, which took off like a madman. Hopefully there will be no issues with this.

1st batch will be bottled for 3 weeks this coming weekend. Can't wait for a taste.

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I'm in close to the same boat. Might take a day or two longer to ferment but I seriously doubt anything bad will come from that. We should be far enough away from the low side of the yeast's viability for it to stall.

Brewed this up on 10/4 exactly as 5.5 Gall recipe, except for and extra lb of 2row because I was a little nervous about my efficiency. Ended up with OG 1.047. Bottled on 10/24 and tried my first one on 10/31. What a great beer, needs to carb up a bit more, but great flavor. Perfect session beer. This will probably be the first to beer in my keg when I finish my keezer.

LHBS didn't have Centennial today but I've got some NB that is 9.5% that should be OK for the first add. I don't think that I'll get any flavor at 55 or 60 minutes but I'm still considering a NB and Willamette combo vs. a NB and Cascade combo.

gwood said:

LHBS didn't have Centennial today but I've got some NB that is 9.5% that should be OK for the first add. I don't think that I'll get any flavor at 55 or 60 minutes but I'm still considering a NB and Willamette combo vs. a NB and Cascade combo.

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Just do it as planned. I can never get centennials so I switched it to Chinook. I've brewed about 8 batches of this now but I've kind of been tailoring it for my own palate.

dp69_2001 said:

Just do it as planned. I can never get centennials so I switched it to Chinook. I've brewed about 8 batches of this now but I've kind of been tailoring it for my own palate.

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Eight batches?

I'm honored.

I just bottled my second batch of this over the weekend (extract version). I use 0.75 lb of carapils for head retention and WLP001.

1st batch has been in the bottle for 3 weeks. Tried a bottle over the weekend and it has more of a bitter aftertaste than I expected. I'm sure once this ages for a few more weeks, it'll be wonderful. On a side note, the sample brew I tasted this weekend tasted better as it warmed up a little.

Boodlemania said:

On a side note, the sample brew I tasted this weekend tasted better as it warmed up a little.

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I noticed the same thing about this beer. As it warmed up, I could taste surprisingly bold maltiness and some nice orangey/cistrusy hops. Yummy. The warming seemed to help this beer more than most, maybe because it is more subtle in flavor.

Just brewed a Northern Brewer/Willamette combo on Saturday. This is the first time using notty...man that stuff takes off fast.

just finished up with this one decided to go with perle/cascade. I hope it turns out good i will have to ferment it at about 68 to 70 room temp.

dang i've already run dry, gonna have to brew another batch soon!

BierMuncher said:

Eight batches?

I'm honored.

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I changed it up a bit. Notty is hard to find so I've been using WLP001 (washed). I use 1#10-20L crystal and only 1/2# carapils. I switched to US 2 row just because of cost and I use 1 ounce chinook and one ounce cascades. I've also been letting it ferment out for around 5-6 days then racking on some gelatin. The results are marvelous. But yeah. I've been making this at least once a month for 6 months now. Probably even more than 8.

Wonderful beer. I was enjoying it while brewing some of Ed's Haus Pale Ale. The beer is actually a bit clearer, but I couldn't help but snap a shot of the Florida sun shining through. Thanks for sharing this recipe, it will be a regular around here.



by the way... I didn't leave it to sit in the sun all day :cross:

SilverKing said:

Wonderful beer. I was enjoying it while brewing some of Ed's Haus Pale Ale. The beer is actually a bit clearer, but I couldn't help but snap a shot of the Florida sun shining through. Thanks for sharing this recipe, it will be a regular around here.

by the way... I didn't leave it to sit in the sun all day :cross:

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That thar is a purty beer alright.

EHHH- Mine looks lika Hefe!!!

Hey,

Saw your recipe for blond ale and it' received rave reviews. I'm going to try and make this tomorrow but my LHBS doesn't have any centennial. So I was wondering if I threw out the hops I have currently, if you'd be willing to give me your recommendation.

I currently have:

1oz. Columbus 12%
1oz. Cluster 6.8%
.5 oz Crystal 5.1%
.5 oz cascade 6.3%
.05oz fresh leaf cascade

When and what combo would you recommend? Thanks!

mangine77 said:

Hey,

Saw your recipe for blond ale and it' received rave reviews. I'm going to try and make this tomorrow but my LHBS doesn't have any centennial. So I was wondering if I threw out the hops I have currently, if you'd be willing to give me your recommendation.

I currently have:

1oz. Columbus 12%
1oz. Cluster 6.8%
.5 oz Crystal 5.1%
.5 oz cascade 6.3%
.05oz fresh leaf cascade

When and what combo would you recommend? Thanks!

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I have used the Columbus in lieu of the Centennial... worked great!

Awesome!! Did you use the same amount and at the same times of the boil?

Thanks!

Yes, I did... and it was a superb substitute, should work well for ya.

Something I never thought would happen, did...

SWMBO asked me this morning if she could "help" brew a batch of beer this weekend! As she's not really a fan of dark beers (which happens to be what I predominately brew) we picked out this recipe. Anyways, we may have a problem. My selection of hops isn't that great and I dont have any Centennial. What i do have is:

1 oz of Liberty 4.0, Spalt 5.7, Herbrucker 3.0, Saaz 3.2, Cascade 5.9; and 3lbs of Cluster unknown AA, but likely around 5.

Of these, what would you recommend to go along with the Cascade and how much? This is for the 5 gallon all-grain batch.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

That's tough man... Do you have a LHBS nearby? Because really, the Cascades are the only ones that are close.

Spalt, Hersbrucker, Liberty: all fairly German noble-hop flavors, Cluster: very british, Saaz: very distinct (Pilsner Urquell is good example) and also noble hop.

*Good* hops for this include anything citrusy in nature, among others: Centennial, Cascade, Ahtanum, Columbus or Simcoe ... even Galena could be OK (but different from the original) in that it's citrusy and candy like.

Chinook will give you more of a pine/resin taste, much like Stone IPA .... whereas hops such as Mt. Hood, Glacier, Sterling, Willamette will all give you a earthy, floral, or spicy hop presence, in different ways between them. But none of those will quite make it citrusy like the Centennials do.

Bummer.

Well it looks like I'm going for a drive tomorrow - a wayyy out of the way drive. Oh well. The things one has to do for beer and the SWMBO.

Thanks!

Just make sure that you adjust your AA% for whatever hops you get. If it's within 1-2%AA you probably don't have to modify your hopping quantities..... His recipe calls for 9.5% Centennials and 7.8% Cascades... So if you use 12% Columbus or 13% Simcoes, you'll need to reduce your quantities a little... or if all you can find are some 5% Ahtanums, you may need to slightly increase quantities. Software should make that pretty easy though.

Not sure- but mine has a citrisy feel to it?

bmarley5780 said:

Not sure- but mine has a citrisy feel to it?

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Feel or taste? The taste would be the cascade and centennials, both have citrus flavors to them.