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

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This beer never fails. It's quick and easy and cheap and I've never had any bad remarks from people. It's a lighter beer, which means there are plenty of chances to do blind taste tests at get togethers with other lighter beers people bring. I did just this yesterday against Ballast Point Longfin Lager and won every time!
 
Shared this brew for the first time with someone other than my swmbo: my home brewing neighbor. 4 weeks from grain to glass.

I think it convinced him to go AG!

Pics to come!
 
Finally bit the bullet and am getting a two-tap kegerator together. The first victims are a SWMBO-mandated Session IPA and the extract version of this beer from back on page 1. I have two fermentors and bins for swamp coolers, so I can get 'em both going at the same time.
 
Have 11 gallons of this bubbling away in the new conical, will dry hop it with 1.5 oz cascade
 
Planted my first batch of hop rhizomes back in April, and have several hundread centennial cones about ready to harvest. Can't wait to make this brew. This is going to be my first all grain brew, with my first crop of Centennial hops. My family hasn't caught on to the home craft beer yet so I'm hoping this will be a gateway for them.lol
 
Planted my first batch of hop rhizomes back in April, and have several hundread centennial cones about ready to harvest.

Lucky dog. I didn't get mine planted until late June. I'm betting I won't see any output this year, it's mostly just a head-start on next year.

. This is going to be my first all grain brew, with my first crop of Centennial hops.

I this as my first BIAB a week ago, and the OG sample tasted pretty astringent. Taking the "what the hell, just give it a try" approach, I didn't do anything for pH control. Between the thin mash causing high pH and a possible issue with the double-crush recommended by the BIAB folks, I'm afraid I'll have to ditch the batch due to the astringency.

Read through this thread a bit about the mash thickness and how it affects pH. I had a meter, calibrated it, and then absolutely forgot about it as I got into the mash. :mad: Nobody to blame but myself on that one. That said, it would have been "observation only" as I had no lactic acid nor saurmalz to add if it had been high.

:mug:
 
I this as my first BIAB a week ago, and the OG sample tasted pretty astringent. Taking the "what the hell, just give it a try" approach, I didn't do anything for pH control. Between the thin mash causing high pH and a possible issue with the double-crush recommended by the BIAB folks, I'm afraid I'll have to ditch the batch due to the astringency.

I had the same deal with the Cream of 3 Crops recipe. Now that I've got batch sparging equipment, a better knowledge of mash chemistry, and fermentation temp control I'm giving this beer a shot! Hope it turns out well, the ingredients are on their way from AHS.
 
Bottled this one today. Didn't taste it and didn't test the ph. Other brews have come out fine.
Will be investing in a ph meter later. In the meantime I'm hoping for the best.
Until I get a meter I may include 2% acid malt. Did it for one batch and there was no issue.
 
Fantastic beer. I pushed it to about 5%abv and dryhopped it with 1.5oz mix of centennial/cascade. Compliments the ridiculously hot summer so nicely!
 
I pretty much changed this recipe entirely but it's just an awesome balance more than anything else.

I used Golden Promise as base, Galaxy hops for bittering, and Jarrylo hops for aroma.

I also used 1 lb of honey at end of boil.

Pretty awesome beer. Very balanced.
 
I'm all for experiments, but when it turns out this good, why change any thing at all?

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Makes me wanna' change religions!
 
I followed the original recipe except for using Maris otter as the base malt. I also forgot to addthe 5 min cascade on brew day so had to make a hop tea a few days later:mad:
In the bottle since Friday night. Hopefully it will be ready to serve on Saturday. Have them conditioning at around 75 to speed it up a bit;)
 
Although it's not "my type of beer", and the samples smelled a bit too much like BMC beers to give me much hope, I understand now how this is such a loved and brewed recipe. So, first, thanks BierMuncher!

Second all grain, brewed exactly as spelled out on Page 1 (5 Gallon version). Stuck with Notty yeast even though I had a prior beer that had that "Notty tang". Grain to glass in 13 days, and while it is still a bit under-ready (needs a touch more carb, and to settle out / lose chill haze), it is delicious and oh so drinkable.

It reminds me of my one trip to Australia many years ago now -- I ordered the local brew, and when a bud-lookalike arrived I was less than thrilled. Then I tasted it, and my mind had trouble processing how something that looked exactly like bad beer from home could taste so good.

Might try a touch of dry hopped Cascade in the next version, and maybe try US-05 (since I tend to always hove some on hand) but this is darn tasty as is!

Thanks again, and cheers!
 
Hey, US-05 users: how long did yours take to peter out in primary?

In the past, using WLP002 or Notty, airlock activity was done in a week or so, and I left it sitting around for another week for cleanup. This time, using US-05 (5 gal batch in 6.5 carboy with 3 piece airlock and US-05, temp 64-67 degrees) I'm 12 days in and still seeing activity.

I know, I know, don't rush it... it'll finish when it finishes, and so on. Just curious.
 
Usually 5-7 days for me. The first time was longer as I pitched dry. The other times I rehydrated. Don't remember how long tho. Also, that was my first AG batch.

Bill
 
Enjoying the fruits of our labour. The neighbour/brew partner and I enjoying a split 10 gal batch. He fermented a 5 at his house and I did 5 at mine. They both came out exactly the same despite different primary/secondary temps.

Great recipe.
 
Brewed this up today. Got a party coming up and needed a easy drinker on tap. Followed the page one recipe and hit OG spot on. Didn't rehydrate the Notty, she was chugging away 3 hours later. First time using Notty.
 
I've been using S-05 for the last 6 - 8, 10 gal. batches, I've left it in
primary for 14 days then kegged, FG is always 1.004, I think this yeast
perks fairly hard the first few days then continually slows, I've never
really seen much activity with this yeast, many times I've wondered weather
it has even done much but always finished the same, I just pitch it dry,
never disappointed with the results.
 
I may try s-05 for my next batch. I'm noticing a lot of tangy aftertaste with Nottingham as well on the last 2 batches I've made.
 
You won't even think it's the same beer, the difference between Notty and S-05 is amazing, S-04 is more like the Notty but I like the 04 better than the Notty, S-05 is dry, crisp, bigger mouth feel..

Cheers
 
Drinking my first batch of this tonight and it turned out great! Thanks BierMuncher for the great recipe! Used 1056 yeast and ended up with an 80% att. The only change I might try is subbing out the crystal for more 2-row or wheat but I don't want to upset the amazing balance of this beer.
 
I jumped on this bandwagon after reading the HBT top 100 beers. It looks intriguing, and most of my friends won't drink my beloved hop bombs (see #8 on the list... zombie dust).

Brewed it up on Friday evening. I hit an OG of 1.042 and pitched it with WLP001 done with a small 1L starter. Very smooth brew day (well.. evening). I am holding it at 19.8 C (67.6ish F for those metrically challenged). It got started pretty quickly and started blowing up this morning breaching the blowoff. I'm looking forward to the outcome. Looks nice and healthy.

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Thanks BM!
 
Great beer. People try it and say it's just like a nice light beer except without that horrible mass-produced taste. Really happy with this recipe, it feels like it can't really go wrong. Thanks, BM!

I used Nottingham, and I fermented at 62F. Beer is very clean, I get no "bready" or sweet aroma or taste from this. While people are recommending US-05 for a very clean profile, a low-temp Notty fermentation appears to achieve the same result.


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How long is it taking this to clear for you guys?

I've had mine on gas for over a week now and it's still cloudy. I didn't use any finings and I dry hoped with 1.5 oz of cascade which might account for a bit of cloudiness.

Have a UFC party this Saturday and am hoping it'll clear by then which will be 13 days in the kegerator.
 
How long is it taking this to clear for you guys?

I've had mine on gas for over a week now and it's still cloudy. I didn't use any finings and I dry hoped with 1.5 oz of cascade which might account for a bit of cloudiness.

Have a UFC party this Saturday and am hoping it'll clear by then which will be 13 days in the kegerator.

as you already have it cold, hit it with gelatin , give it a good roll/shake when re-sealed, and it will probably be clear in a day.
 
Nice .... Will do! Never used it before but I'm gonna start from the sounds of it
 
Nice .... Will do! Never used it before but I'm gonna start from the sounds of it

Yes, gelatin is probably the best bang for your buck on clearing beer if you already have the infrastructure to get it cold. In terms of clarity, cold+gelatin probably does in 2 days what cellaring does in 2 months.

I've heard it doesn't work well when warm (or it could just be slow, unsure).
 
Brewing this today to celebrate my lack of labor. Following the page 1 recipe to the letter.
A friend keeps this one on tap all the time and I got to try it. Now I'm trying my hand at it. If all goes well I'll serving it at my father's birthday party.
 
Hey I brewed this again yesterday. 3rd time brewing this one and once again I ended up a bit high on my OG.

Riddle me this though: I made an 11 gallon batch AG. I took readings while fly sparging and I was about a gallon short before my gravity slipped below 1.010 and I had to stop my sparge. My overall OG was 1.063. Would this just be an efficiency error?
 
So I made this base recipe, and my friends all love it, but I personally found it to be lacking in flavor and uninspiring.
Added 1oz of centennial pellets for a day, chilled it back down for two, and now I've got an APA.

Apparently the belief that dry hopping does not increase bitterness is incorrect. While it may not increase iso-alpha acids, there are other compounds in there which are bitter.

In any case, it seems to be mellowing with time, will see how it proceeds.
edit: Day 4 at 40F after dry hop removed, starting to re-approach blond levels.
 
Hey I brewed this again yesterday. 3rd time brewing this one and once again I ended up a bit high on my OG.

Riddle me this though: I made an 11 gallon batch AG. I took readings while fly sparging and I was about a gallon short before my gravity slipped below 1.010 and I had to stop my sparge. My overall OG was 1.063. Would this just be an efficiency error?

was 1.063 pre or post boil? what was the actual volume when the reading was taken? did you forget to account for later dilutions to bring the volume back up to 11 gallons?
if no mistakes were made, then either enjoy a stronger blond, or dilute and use your extra fermenter to make even more beer.
 
Hey I brewed this again yesterday. 3rd time brewing this one and once again I ended up a bit high on my OG.

Riddle me this though: I made an 11 gallon batch AG. I took readings while fly sparging and I was about a gallon short before my gravity slipped below 1.010 and I had to stop my sparge. My overall OG was 1.063. Would this just be an efficiency error?

Not sure what might have happened in your case, but a few months ago I made a batch that was called "three wrongs make a right." Two of the three wrongs added up to a higher than normal SG. It still tasted as awesome as it always does, so I don't expect any issues!
 
was 1.063 pre or post boil? what was the actual volume when the reading was taken? did you forget to account for later dilutions to bring the volume back up to 11 gallons?
if no mistakes were made, then either enjoy a stronger blond, or dilute and use your extra fermenter to make even more beer.

1.063 was post boil after I got everything into my conical. I think I was somewhere around 9.5 gallons or so, so not horrible. I never add any sort of top up water, so that wouldn't be the case here. I'll definitely enjoy it, but I like to review and better my practices with each brew. Thanks for your response.
 
1.063 was post boil after I got everything into my conical. I think I was somewhere around 9.5 gallons or so, so not horrible. I never add any sort of top up water, so that wouldn't be the case here. I'll definitely enjoy it, but I like to review and better my practices with each brew. Thanks for your response.
hm. so you are estimating 10 gallons collected (this is an 11 gallon targeted recipe, after boil-off, so up to 12 gallons of wort before),
resulting in 9.5 gal at 1.063 would mean 0.5 boiloff, which calculates to a mash result of 10 gal at 1.060

Presuming you followed the recipe exactly for grain, this gives you a mash efficiency of 95.35%, which is almost unheard of short of BIAB with powdered grain.

This implies that some measurement may be off (volume, gravity, grain weight, etc) ?
 
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