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

Williams 728
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I think I'm going to try dry-hopping the batch I made the other day as well. I dry-hopped a wheat beer a few months ago and it was one of the best beers I've made.
 
I am getting ready to do this as my first AG. I've ordered the grains and build a mash tun, as well as purchased a copy of Beersmith 2. I plugged the recipe into Beersmith and got the numbers below. I am new to Beersmith, but the numbers don't match the OP with the recipe details, so I'm concerned this won't come come out right. My biggest concerns are the calculation of mash water, 2 step batch sparge (instead of 1), and the IBUs and OG appear to be off.

Any comments on what I'm doing wrong in Beersmith would be GREATLY appreciated in preparation for brew day (and in helping me to learn the software):

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.89 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.76 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.040 SG
Estimated Color: 3.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.7 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
12.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.6 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.7 %
8.0 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 4 5.7 %
0.25 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 55.0 min Hop 5 8.3 IBUs
0.25 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 35.0 min Hop 6 7.0 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 7 2.8 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 0.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 9 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 12.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 14.14 qt of water at 158.8 F 150.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.86gal, 4.35gal) of 168.0 F water
 
Bredle, this is ours after we put it onto beersmith2

Here's our recipe for this. All grain 8.25 gallons

boil size 10.50 gal : brewhouse efficiency 78%: total water needed 12.85 gallons

10 lbs 2-row pale malt
1 lb Caramel 10L
1 lb Vienna malt
1 lb carapils
12 oz honey malt

1.80 g gypsum (mash water)
1.20 g epsom salt (mash water)

mash in 4.1 gallons (Ph 5.4) 152 degrees F 60 minutes steep

fly sparge 8 gallons at 168 degrees F

add sparge water to achieve boil volume of 10.50 gallons

estimated pre-boil gravity of 1.038 SG

Boil Ingreients

0.35 oz Centennial (9.7%) boil for 45 minutes
0.35 oz Centennial (9.7%) boil 35 minutes
1.00 oz Cascade (6.2%) boil 20 minutes
1.00 oz Cascade (6.2%) boil 5 minutes

est post boil volume 9.35 gallons Est post boil gravity 1.044 SG

cool wort to ferm. temp

add yeast (.50 qrt starter) 1 pkg Danstar 05 ale yeast (no starter, you may want 2 packages to have enough)

measure actual gravity target 1.044 (our last batch was 1.049)

measure actual batch volume of 8.25 gallons

final gravity est of 1.010 SG

est ABV 5.3%
 
Not having any luck today. By the time I got my mash temp right the 10 gallon cooler is full to the top. Way more water then I should have used . Anyone know if this is going to be a problem. It's a ten gallon batch
 
bredle said:
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.89 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.76 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.040 SG
Estimated Color: 3.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.7 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Click to expand...

There's why your OG and IBUs are off. Your volumes are very high. The first thing to do in beersmith is set your equipment profile.

Start here: http://beersmith.com/video/

There are several very good videos there that explain the entire process of setting beersmith up for you.
 
Jeepinctbrewer said:
Not having any luck today. By the time I got my mash temp right the 10 gallon cooler is full to the top. Way more water then I should have used . Anyone know if this is going to be a problem. It's a ten gallon batch
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean here, if you are doing a 1:25 : 1 grist : water ration, a 10 gallon cooler is MORE than enough, should take less than 7 gallons total for this recipe. Did you add in a couple more gallons of boiling water to raise your temp?

Now to answer your question will it hurt anything probably not, just take readings on your runnings to see where your gravity is at, and more than likely you will use less on your 2nd runnings to do volume, or get a bigger volume and boil longer.
 
I used 5.5 gallons for 17 pounds of grain. But by the time I got the temp right I used another 3 gallons . To get the mash to 150 deg

Making a 11 gallon batch
 
Your efficiency will suffer but that's about it. Unless you want to boil off a LOT of water.

Your mash temp must have been way off to need 3 gallons to fix it.
 
It's a long story but normally I hit it spot on. It was to high, put to much cold water in . Then it was to low . First time doing a 10 gallon batch.
Thanks for your help
 
Loves - thanks for the response. I watched the video and setup my profile, and am getting the same numbers. I have a 10 gallon brew kettle and 10 gallon mash tun. Here's my profile below, do I have any of the 'calibration' settings off (just from a cursory review?

Equipment Profile: Brett's Setup
Batch Size: 5.00 gal

Mash Tun Volume: 10.00 gal
Mash Tun Weight: 10 lbs
Mash Tun Specific Heat: 0.30
Lauter Tun Deadspace: 0.25 gal

Boil Size: 6.72 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Evaporation Rate: 14.9 %
Calculate Boil Size: TRUE
Kettle Top Up Water: 0.00 gal
Hop Utilization Adjustment: 100.00 %

Trub/Chiller Loss: 0.50 gal
Cooling Loss: 4.00
Top Up Water into Fermenter: 0.00 gal

LovesIPA said:
There's why your OG and IBUs are off. Your volumes are very high. The first thing to do in beersmith is set your equipment profile.

Start here: http://beersmith.com/video/

There are several very good videos there that explain the entire process of setting beersmith up for you.
Click to expand...
 
bredle said:
Loves - thanks for the response. I watched the video and setup my profile, and am getting the same numbers.
Click to expand...

This is where Beersmith irritates me. Try selecting a different equipment profile, save the recipe, then select your profile. For some reason, the authors have decided that once you create a recipe you will never, ever buy another piece of brewing equipment.
 
Brewed my second batch (loosely) of this today. I'm bored with Cascade, so I subbed out the Cascade additions for Simcoe, and I only had 6lbs of 2-row so I added some extra Vienna for 1.5lb total, and added 8oz of Munich 20L in place of the Caramel 10L. I also threw in a pound of light DME as it's been sitting in the cupboard forever and it needed putting to use.

The last batch of this stuff disappeared incredibly quickly with just me and my wife drinking it. I think it's probably an ideal recipe to try out different aroma hops, so here's hoping that Simcoe turns out nicely.
 
Jeepinctbrewer said:
It's a long story but normally I hit it spot on. It was to high, put to much cold water in . Then it was to low . First time doing a 10 gallon batch.
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

Personally I would never put cold water in, just keep stirring it, until you are spot on or 1 or 2 degrees higher, and then close the lid.
 
jflongo said:
Personally I would never put cold water in, just keep stirring it, until you are spot on or 1 or 2 degrees higher, and then close the lid.
Click to expand...



Ya I won't do that again, lessons learned
 
I used a base of this recipe again.

Used the same base amounts, took all the crystal out, and used .3# of honey malt instead. Split the vienna with some victory, and hopped it with all Mosaic leaf hops in the boil.

Used US05 I think... or maybe 1272.. can't remember. I got busy ( had twin boys ), and it ended up fermenting and then chillin out in a fermentation freezer at 34* for like 2.5 weeks, before I got around to kegging it last week..

1.052-1.010 and around mid 30's IBU I think it was. It's crystal clear, and man.. I might actually like Mosaic by itself with this recipe. It's a powerful hop, and I'm not fond of the overly sweet taste it has. This really dries it up and works!
 
LovesIPA said:
I LOVE all Mosaic beers. A brewpub/LHBS around here has one on tap sometimes. It's amazing.
Click to expand...

I have a mini boat load of mosaic, and love it with some danky hops like simcoe and chinook, but it is just too fruity sweet to be the majority. My first time using it single hop, and I like it so far in the blonde. Gives me a good baseline to build on and maybe layer it in my IPA's.
 
I just tasted my latest batch. I upped bittering hops 25% and flavoring 50%, partly because that finished the bags of hops I used. My wife and I both like it very much.
 
LovesIPA said:
Brewing this great recipe today, but since I was a good boy and brewed the first two batches to the letter, I decided to experiment a bit and do some substitutions.

For the first time I'll be fermenting with Nottingham. The others were WLP 001. Subbed 1.5 lbs of 2-row with 1.5 lbs of Vienna malt. I have some milled laying around and want to use it up. Subbed the last two cascade additions with East Kent Goldings. I've been looking for a reason to break that bag open.

Mashing at 149.8 right now.
Click to expand...

Just kegged it today. The fermenter smelled like poop. The beer was fine but the sample I tasted had a lager-like finish to it. I decided against dry hopping for now. I can always throw them in later if I change my mind.

This Nottingham is weird stuff.
 
LovesIPA said:
Just kegged it today. The fermenter smelled like poop. The beer was fine but the sample I tasted had a lager-like finish to it. I decided against dry hopping for now. I can always throw them in later if I change my mind.

This Nottingham is weird stuff.
Click to expand...

The cascade and Centennial (along with grain bill) is what makes this an amazing session beer. I am not sure how the goldings mix with the centennial. I have added more Vienna before and it has always turned out great.
 
Did the recipe yesterday as my second BIAB attempt. Mashed at 150 for 60, mashout 168 for 10. I didn't put quite enough water in to begin with, so before the boil I topped off about .6 gallon.

Tasted when I took my OG, and the wort had a little bit of a sour/bitter taste to it (at least, more bitter than I was expecting). I'm not sure what I did wrong, or it this was the expected flavor. I'm still pretty new at brewing, so I'm sure I could have messed up something along the way.

I did add 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient in the last 5 minutes of the boil, but I'm not sure how much that would change the flavor.
 
Fett said:
Did the recipe yesterday as my second BIAB attempt. Mashed at 150 for 60, mashout 168 for 10. I didn't put quite enough water in to begin with, so before the boil I topped off about .6 gallon.

Tasted when I took my OG, and the wort had a little bit of a sour/bitter taste to it (at least, more bitter than I was expecting). I'm not sure what I did wrong, or it this was the expected flavor. I'm still pretty new at brewing, so I'm sure I could have messed up something along the way.

I did add 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient in the last 5 minutes of the boil, but I'm not sure how much that would change the flavor.
Click to expand...

1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient would not effect the flavor. Also sometimes when tasting the wort, you can get bits of hops in it, and that will taste bitter. I would not worry about it.
 
Here you go! Experiment Time!

I've brewed this goodie 8 or 9 times, and I like to mix things up alittle each time. I've changed the yeast, amount of hops, dry hopped, time, raspberry, etc. The 1056 is my favorite.

Next I wanna try adding alittle different hops. What would go nice with Centennial & Cascade? The additional "C" hops, Columbus, Chinnook, Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe, Williamette?

Honey? Orange? Lemon? Lime, Cherry Extract, Blueberries, Mango?

I agree with Kayak, I'll only change 1 thing at a time so I can tell the difference. Guess I got some more brewing to do.

This is my house beer for my Quad-Keezer, so I've always got some of this on tap. Sure it's winter, it doesn't matter. Oh, the possibilities are endless. I've got some more reading....................... and some more brewing to do.

BierMuncher, you da' bomb! I've tried a # of your recipes. I didn't realize I liked stout so much. Never have you disappointed. I love you.

Per: Vinnie Cilurzo is owner and brewmaster
at Russian River Brewing Co. in
Santa Rosa, Calif. Brewer of Pliny the Elder.

The Amarillo hops work
hand in hand with the Simcoe hops,
which is the signature hop in Pliny the
Elder. The choice of these hops is very
much by design, since these hops are
very fragrant and fruity. With the Simcoe
hops having a big pine-like aroma and
flavor and Amarillo having a big apricot
and peach character, these hops will help
mask some of the big alcohol flavors that
usually come through in a beer that is high in abv.

Another idea I’ve thought of exploring
is the use of non-traditional IPA hops.
Maybe instead of the usual suspects such
as Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, CTZ,
Amarillo or Simcoe, try something different
such as Sterling. Or dare I say, East
Kent Golding or Styrian Golding for an
English Double IPA.

With five to six days to go in the total
number of days of dry hopping, we add
a second dry hop addition through the
top of the fermenter. Once the second
dry hops are added we push the initial
dry hops (which are now in the cone of
the tank) back into suspension in the
fermenter.

BierMuncher said:
It's a light enough style that any spice or fruit would come through pretty well.

It would probably lend itself very well to adding some bitter orange peel. I’ve added orange peel to light blondes before and they’re been well received.

Funny you mention that. About my third batch of this I wanted to mix things up and did a Northern Brewer Blonde. It was every bit as popular. The NB lends a bit more minty tone to it and it's nice and crisp. I love Willamette and they'd be just fine.

If you're doing a 5-gallon batch, do 1/4 oz of NB at 60 and 30, then 1/4 Oz of Willamette at 20 and 5.

If you have Beersmith or another program, plug those AAU's in and try to maintain a 17-20 IBU level.

It will taste good with those hops.

Light and crisp. The IBU’s are on the low side, but there is a nice sweet/spicy balance to the beer. The great fresh taste of a craft ale with an extremely clean finish. This reminds me of what a local craft brewery might come out of the gates with to win over a new market. Very drinkable with wide appeal. I’ve yet to have anyone, even BMC drinkers not say it’s one of the best beers they’ve tasted….period. The secret lies in the name. I moved through Northern Brewer, Nugget and Pearle hops, all in combination with Cascade. Even went with a strict Cascade hop bill, but was just a bit on the tart side for this lighter grain bill.

Once I matched up Centennial as the bittering hop and Cascade as a flavor/aroma hop…that’s when the magic happened.
Click to expand...




So that's the game plan. Dry hop .25 oz of each Amarillo & Simcoe. Then try some Northern Brewer in my next batch! Orange Peel?
 
Incredibly sad news, my last batch of this went into the keg on Saturday. Smelled a bit odd, but the first batch took a day or two on gas to come together. Sadly it tastes like crap and shows no sign of improving, it has a horrific medicinal flavor (well water so it's not chlorophenols) and is hazy as a wheat beer even after five days cold crashing now.

I think that my re-pitched yeast was past it's best, so I'll have to brew this one again. The other batch I brewed on the same day came out fine fermenting with fresh S-05, otherwise everything else was the same. Looks like this batch is destined for the drain though :(
 
Breweing this right now. Rare that I get a chance to brew on a weekday, kicking back and enjoying it with a India Black Ale I brewed a couple months ago. So far looking good, but trying a new batch sparge method today. Hopefully my efficiency works out!
 
PeteNMA said:
Incredibly sad news, my last batch of this went into the keg on Saturday. Smelled a bit odd, but the first batch took a day or two on gas to come together. Sadly it tastes like crap and shows no sign of improving, it has a horrific medicinal flavor (well water so it's not chlorophenols) and is hazy as a wheat beer even after five days cold crashing now.

I think that my re-pitched yeast was past it's best, so I'll have to brew this one again. The other batch I brewed on the same day came out fine fermenting with fresh S-05, otherwise everything else was the same. Looks like this batch is destined for the drain though :(
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. I'm just discovering that I had a subtle infection in several successive batches (not the Cent. Blonde). They were good at bottling, even a few weeks later, but got very foamy and sour over time. I think it was in my bottling gear, which I've thrown out. But I didn't discover it right away.
 
Did a batch of this last night, brewing went well. I ended up at 1.048 though, hopefully still works out ok. It looked just like egg drop soup when chilled :)
 
If I was to brew two small batches of this, what would be a good SINGLE ingredient to change in the second batch that would help me understand the different flavor contributions. Just trying to improve my palette.
 
ww_kayak said:
If I was to brew two small batches of this, what would be a good SINGLE ingredient to change in the second batch that would help me understand the different flavor contributions. Just trying to improve my palette.
Click to expand...
The malt bill is pretty delicate with this recipe, so I would change either the yeast or the hops. Brew one batch with Nottingham and another with US-05 (or your favorite clean American yeast). Or brew one batch single-hopped with Centennial and another single-hopped with Mosaic (or whatever). Or brew one batch to spec and another with some gentle dry-hopping—I've had a couple of fantastic dry-hopped blondes lately.

But Xtant is right, you're definitely going to want more than 2 gallons of this!
 
ww_kayak said:
If I was to brew two small batches of this, what would be a good SINGLE ingredient to change in the second batch that would help me understand the different flavor contributions. Just trying to improve my palette.
Click to expand...

Dry hop 1 in secondary, or rack 1 onto a lb of strawberries in secondary.
 
OK, just back from LHBS, everything was in stock, unlike 2007 when this thread was started ;) Decided to go with the US-05 vs. Nottingham. Tomorrow is suppose to be a rainy day, so it sounds like a brew day :)
 
Just bottled half the batch today.. Tasted awesome

image-2965086087.jpg
 

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