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

Just 1 extra gram? lol doesn't seem like much.

im going to up the hops in my next batch that im doing this weekend. Still thinking about how much and which hops.

I added about 20% more than what the recipe called for, it turned or really well.

I doubled the hops. I entered it in a comp and scored a 36. The comments were mostly that the hops were too strong.

So I've got this one in the fermenter. Hit the numbers dead-on. Lets's see how quick Notty eats through this one!

Last time I made it I upped the hops a lot, 25% early, 50% late. That was too much, especially on the late hops. One extra gram on each addition is 14%. I overshot the first time, if I undershoot it will still be great beer. And I know I'll make more.

I just finished a 5.5 gallon extract version of this. I started with a boil size of 6.57 and ended with just a shade over a 5.0 gallon batch. How will this half gallon difference affect my end result?

I've upped the late additions to 0.5 on a 5 gal batch and it was perfectly fine. I've done that and even dry hopped with 0.5. Still to style for a blonde ale. I can see how upping the centennial additions could be too much though.


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bryan535 said:

I just finished a 5.5 gallon extract version of this. I started with a boil size of 6.57 and ended with just a shade over a 5.0 gallon batch. How will this half gallon difference affect my end result?

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Just less beer, if your gravities were close. I like getting more beer, but I focus on gravity. Efficiencies vary. And if your gravity was a little high, no big deal either.

bryan535 said:

I just finished a 5.5 gallon extract version of this. I started with a boil size of 6.57 and ended with just a shade over a 5.0 gallon batch. How will this half gallon difference affect my end result?

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Your gravity and IBUs should be a few points higher than planned, but probably not by enough to make much of a difference. Since this is an extract batch, you should be looking at an OG of 1.044-1.045 and IBUs of 23-24. Check your gravity, and if so, I would add back in the evaporated half gallon. Aside from obviously giving you more beer, it also should bring your number back to target levels.

Got a split batch of this fermenting, one per recipe, one subbing in a saison yeast (WLP565) - look forward to tasting and comparing...

Has anyone experimented with adding apricot to this recipe? I was considering doing that as a nice summer beer by adding some halved apricots for 1 week after primary finishes.

What's the suggested ratio of water (Qts) per lb of grain?

And to clarify, a good mash out temp is 168? Or is 170 better?

I haven't dialed in on my equipment yet an have been getting very low efficiency and I think it's because I didn't hit proper mash out and my sparge water was 166 instead of 168.
Thanks in advance for answering my Beer Brewing Basics 101 questions.


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I use 1.33 qts per lb of grain, but I know a lot of others use 1.25. The mash out kills the enzymes at 168, but I go up to 170 without any issues. Don't go any higher than 170 or you'll start getting a lot of tannins out of the grains.

I can't imagine hitting 168 or 170 vs 166 would make much of a difference with your efficiency. Poor efficiency most often can be traced to a poor crush or a mash pH that's out of range. Just my $0.02.

jwalker1140 said:

I can't imagine hitting 168 or 170 vs 166 would make much of a difference with your efficiency. Poor efficiency most often can be traced to a poor crush or a mash pH that's out of range. Just my $0.02.

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I'll have to keep these points in mind. I used the crush setting Midwest suggested. My water's pH is 8.4 before starting the mash, and I don't know what it is during. A pH meter is a piece of equipment I plan to buy soon. I just picked up a refractometer because I was tired of having to cool a large sample to put into the hydrometer over and over when trying to dial in on the correct preboil gravity.

<edit> removed my last comment now tht I see two posts ago my questions were answered.

Zippox said:

I'll have to keep these points in mind. I used the crush setting Midwest suggested. My water's pH is 8.4 before starting the mash, and I don't know what it is during. A pH meter is a piece of equipment I plan to buy soon. I just picked up a refractometer because I was tired of having to cool a large sample to put into the hydrometer over and over when trying to dial in on the correct preboil gravity.

<edit> removed my last comment now tht I see two posts ago my questions were answered.

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I use ph strips when I do my iodine test right after vorlaufing but before lautering/sparging. That way I know if I need to continue the mash or I can move on. Look for ph strips that have a scale on the container with 0.2 increments, somewhere around 4.6 to 5.4. Cheap, quick and simple. And as always, if u add iodine to the test sample, dont return it to the mash.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

Conman13 said:

Has anyone experimented with adding apricot to this recipe? I was considering doing that as a nice summer beer by adding some halved apricots for 1 week after primary finishes.

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Not to this one. But Great South Bay Blonde Ambition has apricot. I have made a clone, it is good.

Best beer I have ever made (2nd AG batch) and quite possibly the best beer I have ever drank. I am a hop head but love the balance and subtleness if this recipe. Simple and man it's good.


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TrustyOlJohnson said:

I use ph strips when I do my iodine test right after vorlaufing but before lautering/sparging. That way I know if I need to continue the mash or I can move on. Look for ph strips that have a scale on the container with 0.2 increments, somewhere around 4.6 to 5.4. Cheap, quick and simple. And as always, if u add iodine to the test sample, dont return it to the mash.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

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I would suggest a PH meter over strips. The temp throws off the accuracy of the strips. ATC PH meter is the way to go. I never check for conversion. I just check temp and PH of the mash and i know its going to convert if those two are on point.

j1n said:

I would suggest a PH meter over strips. The temp throws off the accuracy of the strips. ATC PH meter is the way to go. I never check for conversion. I just check temp and PH of the mash and i know its going to convert if those two are on point.

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How much difference do you get between strips or the meter?


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

TrustyOlJohnson said:

How much difference do you get between strips or the meter?

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Strips are low by 0.3 if I remember correctly. Perhaps I can find the forum that discusses this later on if I remember.

Zippox said:

Strips are low by 0.3 if I remember correctly. Perhaps I can find the forum that discusses this later on if I remember.

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I appreciate the feedback. For me, if I know my strip reading is likely .2-.4 low, thats good enough. I can see where having a refractometer could be of value. I'll put it on my wish list. For the previous poster then, if he were to use either ph strips or a refractometer, as well as an iodine test (if he wanted to), after vorlaufing, there is some valuable data and assurance that they can move forward to lautering.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

I just had my first glass of this after brewing two weekends ago and it's awesome, this will definitely be brewed again, probably soon.

TrustyOlJohnson said:

I appreciate the feedback. For me, if I know my strip reading is likely .2-.4 low, thats good enough. I can see where having a refractometer could be of value. I'll put it on my wish list. For the previous poster then, if he were to use either ph strips or a refractometer, as well as an iodine test (if he wanted to), after vorlaufing, there is some valuable data and assurance that they can move forward to lautering.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

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That's about right.

Just did 2 versions of the cent. Blonde tonight. Love he smell from the brew.

Hoping my Centennial and Cascade plants (1st year, from rhizomes) net me enough hops to do a batch of this with fresh hops.

If not this year, next!

Me too bishop, mine are both first year also. This recipe don't need a lot so I'm hoping to get enough for this at least.

I just brewed this again yesterday - BIAB with US05 in the fermenter. I brewed it twice last summer and dry hopped one with ahtanum (Tanned Blonde) and it was a hit. I think I'll dry hop with something else this year. Maybe more centennial. Suggestions?

Had another taste last night as I kegged it. I was worried when I racked to secondary, but now it's actually really very good! I know it's not the true recipe, but I can say the based recipe is solid. My modification of Amarillo for bittering and Citra for late hopping seems to have worked out. Even my wife thought it was pretty good!

I did not add Whirlfloc to the boil. I planned to add gelatin to the carboy (Plastic Big Mouth Bubbler) a couple of days before kegging, but the PBMB was looking pretty clear with just about 2 weeks of cold crashing, so I decided to keg now and then add finings and jumper it if it didn't turn out as clear as expected.

And it was crystal clear!

jmf143 said:

Kegging an all amarillo this afternoon.

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I know this is a super old post but just wondering how the all Amarillo went. I'm thinking of brewing the same thing this weekend.

I've got an Amarillo and Cascade version in my ferementer currently, smells great won''t be able to comment on comparison for a few weeks though. My LHBS was out of Centennial, I say go for it, most things I read say Cascade, Cenntenial and Amarillo are interchangeable.

I split a 10 gallon batch into 5 gallons as is and 5 gallons dry hopped for 5 days with 1oz each Cascade/Centennial. All I can say is WOW is the dry hopped version tasty!! :rocking:

"That is damn fine beer" my wife exclaims!!!! Thank you for the recipe.

I have half a keg left that I brewed with bitter orange peel and all cascade hops and I just bought the stuff to make a ten gallon batch with the normal hops in recipe and the same amount of bitter orange peel. I'm planning to brew this weekend and take a keg to 4th of July weekend. If I brew Saturday night I will have 14 days to brew and force keg which is about what the first batch took plus I'm using my yeast from the first batch in this one rather than a packet of dry yeast so it should take off pretty quick.

Went to bottle a batch of this, half I did per recipe, half I used a saison yeast.

The half i did per recipe I (stupidly) didn't fully seal - and had a fruit fly infestation. Smell was way off too, so I dumped (good learning experience).

But the saison half smelled and tasted awesome - I cannot wait to see what this tastes like in a few weeks...

justineaton said:

I have half a keg left that I brewed with bitter orange peel and all cascade hops and I just bought the stuff to make a ten gallon batch with the normal hops in recipe and the same amount of bitter orange peel. I'm planning to brew this weekend and take a keg to 4th of July weekend. If I brew Saturday night I will have 14 days to brew and force keg which is about what the first batch took plus I'm using my yeast from the first batch in this one rather than a packet of dry yeast so it should take off pretty quick.

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How is it with the orange peel? I have a load of the stuff that my MIL dropped off as a gift (she wanted a blue moon clone). How much did you use? How is the flavor? Is that the only thing you added to the recipe?

I used a half oz with my 5 minute hop edition and all cascade hops but other than that I didn't sway from the recipe. The beer is awesome, easily the best I have made and a crowd pleaser for sure, I don't taste orange to much really, it had a slight citrus but probably from the hops, it's not bitter at all. This is only the 4th batch of beer I have brewed and I really need a little more experience with different hops and editions before I can say how they effect the flavor and be able to pick out what exactly I am tasting and where it's coming from. My ten gallon batch is going to have 1.5oz of the bitter orange peel so I'm bumping it up by a quarter oz per 5 gallons just because I have it and it wasn't overly strong in the first batch so I think it will be good.

I personally don't like blue moon but I have liked other Belgian witbiers and couldn't decide between that and a blonde so I ended up doing this and was very happy with it.

So here's mine. Most of the cloudiness is not cloudiness, but the beer is so cold that the glass has condensation. However, it is a little cloudy. The whole leaf dry hop did nearly nothing. Going back to pellets.