Blonde Ale Body - Yeast, Grains or Mash Temps?

[adeas]

Hi all,

I've recently brewed 2 blonde ales back to back and came out with slightly different results in terms of body & mouth-feel than I was expecting and wanted to solicit the HBT community for some insight.

My original recipe was based on the CloneBrews clone of Checker Cab Blonde from NYC.

The first batch I fermented with Wyeast 2112 (Cali Lager) at about 66-67 deg F. Body came out about as I'd expect - slightly malty, but towards the thinner side I think most of us expect of a blonde (Shouldn't be too malty or too hoppy - a good quaffable beer with a bit more body to it than a lightly hopped lager or cream ale but with the lighter hop profile).
Stats for 2.5G batch

• 4lbs US 2-Row
• 0.5lbs wheat malt
• 0.6oz carapils

OG ~1.048, FG ~1.013

I repeated an adapted version of the recipe where I swapped over to citra hops (SWMBO had tried Widmer Bros Citra Blonde and loved it) but I left the malt profile mostly unchanged with appropriate hop changes to keep the IBUs in check. I did this guy with Wyeast 1010 (American Wheat) which I'd read through some research was the same/similar to what Widmer uses for most of their beers, they just use temp control to get the various flavor profiles they want out of the yeast.
Stats for 3.25G batch (Trying to better fill my 3G Better Bottles once I let the trub settle out)

• 5.25lbs US 2-Row
• 10.5oz wheat malt
• 0.8oz Crystal 10

OG ~1.050, FG ~1.012

The second batch has turned out good, but seems to have a lot more body to it compared to the first, more like a cream ale or maybe even a light APA (But with the blonde style cloudiness to it).

Both batches were done BIAB in 2.5G batches (2nd batch targeted 3.25 Gal, so a slight increase) with a 60 minute BIAB single step infusion mash at ~154 (After adding grains), fermented at 66-67 deg F (I use my kegerator as a ferm chamber when there are no kegs in it), both about 2 weeks in primary before carbing up in the keg at 40 deg F (The joy of blondes, they finish up fast). Similar OGs and FGs.

I'm trying to decide whether the difference in the mouth-feel is coming more from:

• The yeasts
• The change from Carapils to Crystal 10
• Mash temps

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a higher mash temp leave more unfermentable sugars in the mash leading to a larger mouth-feel later on?

I'd love to go back and brew the 2nd recipe again with the yeast from the first (I liked the aroma profile a bit more given the same ferm temp), but wanted to see if my more experienced AG/BIAB fellow brewers could offer me any thoughts/wisdom/guidance!

 

[Hammy71]

Different yeast, more wheat, and crystal instead of carapils. Two different beers, with two different mouth feels. Sounds about right. That's the fun with home brewing. Like you said, now go back and do the second recipe with the Cali Lager yeast. I usually get less efficiency as I add more wheat to a brew but, there's a lot of factors to consider. But I get the impression you think the recipes were similar....I'd say they are way different. It's about prospective. For me the tiniest change in grain or hops makes a totally new brew. But, to get back to mouth feel. The addition of the crystal will give some mouth feel difference.

 

[adeas]

Thanks Hammy - the 2nd batch is going over well with SWMBO so I'm thinking I'm going to do exactly that - rebrew but swap the yeast back to the Cali Lager. It cleaned up a bit faster and is a bit less phenolic at 2.5 weeks.

It really is astounding the difference as the beer progresses - the malt/wheat proportions are the same b/t the two recipes (Scaled up in BeerSmith and just double-checked in Excel). Maybe that gives me an excuse to do a 4th batch after the 3rd where I go and change the Crystal 10 back to Carapils so that I come full circle on the recipe with just the hops being different!

I'll report back later on in case others stumble across this later with a similar question.