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

wps-hbt
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Has anyone else brewed this using all Centennial? I did and it was awesome! I want to re-brew sometime, and don't know if I should brew the recipe as-is, or stick with the way I brewed it before.
 
andrewmaixner said:
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) ?
Click to expand...

I went into my boil at about 10.5 gallons and 9.5 went into my fermenter. Sure there's a slight loss considering trub in my boil kettle, but my boiloff was close to 1 gallon. I think next time, the smart thing to do would be to just add water and top up my preboil volume right? That probably would have been closer to my estimated preboil gravity too and thus hitting my numbers a bit closer.
 
HiImBrian said:
I went into my boil at about 10.5 gallons and 9.5 went into my fermenter. Sure there's a slight loss considering trub in my boil kettle, but my boiloff was close to 1 gallon. I think next time, the smart thing to do would be to just add water and top up my preboil volume right? That probably would have been closer to my estimated preboil gravity too and thus hitting my numbers a bit closer.
Click to expand...

You can dilute pre- or post- boil.

Post-boil is what a lot of extract brewers do, and allows you to get the exact volume you want in your fermenter without having to consider boil-off.

Pre-boil will improve hop / alpha acid isomerization (which is reduced/slowed by higher gravity) to match what your recipe is planning for -- you can play with the numbers in Beersmith, or see this: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html


In any case, congratulations on your excellent efficiency. Are you using pH measurements/adjustment and water/grain/etc profiles?
 
Like many of you, after seeing this as the #1 recipe on HBT, I decided I had to brew it to see what all the fuss was about. I've been brewing for about 5 years, and I'd never made a blonde-I tend to gravitate to bolder styles when I'm at the bottle shop or making my own, usually IPAs, Stouts etc. I resisted the temptation to tweak the recipe in any way, and scaled for my system(3g BIAB). At that size, hop additions are well under 1oz total! Brew day was smooth and easy, slightly overshot gravity at 1.047 but a negligible difference.

After a 15 day fermentation, it tasted great and was at 1.003-nottingham always seems to attenuate for me beyond what BS predicts. All my kegs were tied up, so I bottled and let them carb up for 3 weeks before finally cracking one a couple days ago. On first whiff, I'll agree with what someone else mentioned: the grainy malt aroma from the 2-row is so reminiscent of mass produced lagers, I was worried that I'd ended up with a BMC clone-ale. But it tastes fantastic. The bright, subdued hop character zips right through the sip and lingers just long enough to push ahead of the light grainy malts. It's so smooth and drinkable, yet still interesting flavor-wise that the glass is empty before you know it. Mine didn't turn out as bright as some pictures I've seen in this thread-a bit of chill haze I'm hoping will dissipate, but I'm not one to obsess over clarity. Overall, a really, really nice beer. Won me over. Congratulations to BierMuncher on his #1 recipe, will definitely brew this again.
 
Need some quick help on this one...I had to rush this recipe (not really lack of planning but a little overzealous with brewing too many batches for a party). I kegged last night and it was a lot cloudier than normal. I typically cold crash with gelatin and it's crystal clear. No time for that this time. Well, given it's cloudy I was going to go with the gelatin in the keg. The problem is that I'll be serving it at a party on Saturday and have to move the kegs around a little bit (just upstairs from the basement and then outside). Will it settle down after a few hours if I go this route? I don't have any empty kegs to do a transfer first.
 
summerofgeorge said:
Need some quick help on this one...I had to rush this recipe (not really lack of planning but a little overzealous with brewing too many batches for a party). I kegged last night and it was a lot cloudier than normal. I typically cold crash with gelatin and it's crystal clear. No time for that this time. Well, given it's cloudy I was going to go with the gelatin in the keg. The problem is that I'll be serving it at a party on Saturday and have to move the kegs around a little bit (just upstairs from the basement and then outside). Will it settle down after a few hours if I go this route? I don't have any empty kegs to do a transfer first.
Click to expand...

I think you're knackered for clarity, mate. But I'm not one to fuss over clear beer. Fining, chilling, transferring, worrying, etc. its not worth it for a party beer. If you're self conscious about it, serve it out of solo cups and no one will know.
 
summerofgeorge said:
Need some quick help on this one...I had to rush this recipe (not really lack of planning but a little overzealous with brewing too many batches for a party). I kegged last night and it was a lot cloudier than normal. I typically cold crash with gelatin and it's crystal clear. No time for that this time. Well, given it's cloudy I was going to go with the gelatin in the keg. The problem is that I'll be serving it at a party on Saturday and have to move the kegs around a little bit (just upstairs from the basement and then outside). Will it settle down after a few hours if I go this route? I don't have any empty kegs to do a transfer first.
Click to expand...

It's only Wednesday. That's plenty of time for gelatin, right in the keg. Just get it super-cold, throw in the gelatin, and wait 2 days.
If you want, you can transfer from the crashing keg to a "super clean" keg after that. run off a glass or two till it's clear first. Don't disturb the current keg at all and kick up the sediment.
 
Really enjoying my 2nd batch of this stuff. This time, I did about 7.5 gal and filled up my Mr. Beer LBK with whatever wouldn't fit in the bucket fermenter. I bottled the stuff in the bucket as usual, but after primary fermentation wrapped up I tossed the leftover hops I had from brew day (quarter to half oz each Centennial and Cascade) into the Mr. Beer and dry hopped for about 4 days before bottling that stuff. Both "versions" of the beer turned out great; the dry-hopped portion is a completely different beer. Very nice hop aroma and crisp flavor.

mosq.jpg
 
Hitting about 2.5 weeks since brew day today, sat longer than id hoped, going to bottle asap - hydrometer sample hit 1.002, my only concern is the hop flavor seems to be mostly missing! At least in the warm sample I wasnt picking up too much, I did use fresh hops from my yard but figured I had included more than the typical pellet conversion...will the hops come out a bit more when carbed/bottled?
 
chucknorris101 said:
Hitting about 2.5 weeks since brew day today, sat longer than id hoped, going to bottle asap - hydrometer sample hit 1.002, my only concern is the hop flavor seems to be mostly missing! At least in the warm sample I wasnt picking up too much, I did use fresh hops from my yard but figured I had included more than the typical pellet conversion...will the hops come out a bit more when carbed/bottled?
Click to expand...

Mine didn't, so I dry-hopped it for a day in the keg, with 1 oz. of pellet in a mesh bag. a week of lagering later, it was quite good and balanced hop aroma for the gravity.
 
I brewed this one a couple months ago. Only did a 1 gallon batch just to try. It was only my 3rd batch and used US-05 but I thought it tasted more along the line of a BMC. Didn't have much flavor at all. Could have been contributed to me being a newbie but I plan on brewing again soon with some changes.
Possibly use Maris Otter and will increase the IBU's a bit to 35 and dry hop with a little citra and undecided if I will try some Notty or 04.
 
I've brewed this a couple times using Notti and loved it. I went to US-05 this time because other people seemed to like it better and my fermentation looks to have finished at 1.016 which is a bit higher than I'd like...
 
AleHailKrausen said:
Try it and tell us!
Click to expand...

I got too excited and added about 1oz of Citra around 5 mins with the Cascade addition, it tasted pretty bitter in the hydro sample. I'm gonna take a sample tonight (6 days later) and I should get a good idea if it's ruined or not
 
I'm making a 10g batch and my local store only sells 1# packs of Cara-Pils. The recipe calls for 1.25#, will I ever miss the extra 1/4# of Cara-Pils?
 
dg2001 said:
I'm making a 10g batch and my local store only sells 1# packs of Cara-Pils. The recipe calls for 1.25#, will I ever miss the extra 1/4# of Cara-Pils?
Click to expand...

Is this normal in some places? All the LHB stores I've ever bought from will measure out their grains in any quantity I want.
 
One of my LHBS only carries ndividually sealed 1 lb. bags. And if you ask for it to be milled they will only do the full bags.
 
Last edited:
Munster51 said:
One of my LHBS only carries ndividually sealed 1 lb. bags. And if you ask for it to be milled they will only do the full bags.
Click to expand...

Ugh... that really sucks. What an enormous waste of time, energy and packing materials. So if I want 10 lbs of two row, it comes in 10 separate bags??? That must really run the prices up!
 
TxBigHops said:
Ugh... that really sucks. What an enormous waste of time, energy and packing materials. So if I want 10 lbs of two row, it comes in 10 separate bags??? That must really run the prices up!
Click to expand...

No, he's probably meaning specialty malts. My store has all the specialties in 1lb bags and base malt in huge bins. Hops in 1oz purged bags. If you call ahead they can often do custom packing though, and get an entire order ready to go.
 
Brewed AG version last night after work. Went pretty smoothly. Looking forward to this easy drinker and will likely be a mainstay throughout football season into summer!
 
Brewing this as I type this question.

I am looking at the original recipe, which states:

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 4 days at 68 Degrees
Additional Fermentation: Kegged, chilled and Carb'd for one week
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5 Days at 68 Degrees

I am a little confused as to the actual fermentation time that is listed here, I know I need to be testing and not rely on the posted times, but I am still curious. Is this 4 days of fermentation plus 5 in secondary and then a week in keg/bottle? or just four days and then keg/bottle? I would love a little clarification if anyone can provide.

Really looking forward to tasting this in 4/7/5? days? lol
 
4arrows said:
Brewing this as I type this question.

I am looking at the original recipe, which states:

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 4 days at 68 Degrees
Additional Fermentation: Kegged, chilled and Carb'd for one week
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5 Days at 68 Degrees

I am a little confused as to the actual fermentation time that is listed here, I know I need to be testing and not rely on the posted times, but I am still curious. Is this 4 days of fermentation plus 5 in secondary and then a week in keg/bottle? or just four days and then keg/bottle? I would love a little clarification if anyone can provide.

Really looking forward to tasting this in 4/7/5? days? lol
Click to expand...

I don't see that anywhere in the original post. Rather he states grain to glass in two weeks. He likely primaried for 2 weeks then kegged. The reality is you could technically go longer or shorter and go to secondary or not...either way you'll end up with a great beer. I've done a lot of 1 week primary, 1 week secondary, then bottle...has worked for me, though a lot also depends on the style. This being a low gravity beer the reality is 4/7/5 would likely work if you didn't cold crash before bottling.
 
Made this about two months ago. Would like to give it another try but with some variations. I initially used US-05 as my LHBS didn't have Notty. This time, will use Notty or maybe Denny's fav. Will changing the yeast make a lot of difference?
What about splitting the base 2Row with MO or Golden Promise?
Finally, what about dry hopping?
Thanks
 
brew703 said:
Made this about two months ago. Would like to give it another try but with some variations. I initially used US-05 as my LHBS didn't have Notty. This time, will use Notty or maybe Denny's fav. Will changing the yeast make a lot of difference?
What about splitting the base 2Row with MO or Golden Promise?
Finally, what about dry hopping?
Thanks
Click to expand...

In theory the english ale yeast (notty, s-04) may have slightly more character than Chico strain (us-05), but both are relatively neutral ale yeasts. Do a side-by-side and see how they compare for you: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=288751 https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewin..._wort_different_yeasts_left_is_us05_right_is/

Dry hopping is going to have the most effect of those three options if you are looking for hop flavor/aroma (which I do).

If you want more maltiness, the MO/GP malt will help some there, possibly also bump up the mash temp slightly.
 
I'm leaving the grain bill as is except adding 6% crystal 20 for a little darker color and will up the mash temp to 152 or 153. I'm also going to dry hop but not sure if I want to use Centennial or something else.
 
Just wanted to give some feedback about 6 weeks after brewing this.
At the time I only had Maris Otter so I used it as the base malt.
Only now is it starting to taste well balanced so be aware it takes longer to reach its peak with British pale ale malt. Also even thought it's a light beer tastes much better a few degrees warmer than normal. Which is what I have observed with most beers I have brewed with Maris Otter or Golden Promise.
Drinking and enjoying one right now :tank:
 
Mashed this at 152. Can't say for sure if that is why there's a sweet finish but it is rock solid. This is going to the nd versus temple in a few weeks and then up to the great Lakes steelhead fishing if it makes it. I may need to consider just a touch of a dryhopping in the future. Smells good but I'm big into aroma.

At the end of the day, thank you for the recipe....
 
After a 2 week primary I just transferred to secondary to cold crash for a week or so. My gravity sample that I tasted was absent of any noticeable hop flavor/aroma. I'm really trying to resist the urge to dry hop this batch as its my first go at it.. I know flavor will change drastically once carbed and cold. Anyone have thoughts on this? Thanks in advance!
 
I brewed this as noted and I thought it was bland- IMO kinda like bud light/coors light. I'm actually brewing the same recipe again this weekend but really thinking about adding a bit more hops and maybe dry hopping. Going to up the mash temp to 153 or 154. My wife even said it was lacking flavor.
Not quite sure if I want to add a different hop than what the recipe calls for or just increase the amounts to up the IBU.
 
Last batch I mashed at 154 for a bit more body and dry hopped with 1/2oz of cascade for a week. It was quite good but next batch I will up all the hops a bit.
 
brew703 said:
I brewed this as noted and I thought it was bland- IMO kinda like bud light/coors light. I'm actually brewing the same recipe again this weekend but really thinking about adding a bit more hops and maybe dry hopping. Going to up the mash temp to 153 or 154. My wife even said it was lacking flavor.
Not quite sure if I want to add a different hop than what the recipe calls for or just increase the amounts to up the IBU.
Click to expand...

You are right it is by no means a hop bomb and adding more hops will probably be more to your taste.

Have you actually tried it a few degrees warmer than normal? I found that serving this beer ice cold it is indeed very bland but left to warm for a while the malt flavours really start to shine through.
 
Shenanigans said:
You are right it is by no means a hop bomb and adding more hops will probably be more to your taste.

Have you actually tried it a few degrees warmer than normal? I found that serving this beer ice cold it is indeed very bland but left to warm for a while the malt flavours really start to shine through.
Click to expand...

I have not served it warmer- may try that this go around. Not really looking for a hop bomb-just want more flavor. I may go with centennial, either as a dry hop as a late addition.
 
brew703 said:
I brewed this as noted and I thought it was bland- IMO kinda like bud light/coors light. I'm actually brewing the same recipe again this weekend but really thinking about adding a bit more hops and maybe dry hopping. Going to up the mash temp to 153 or 154. My wife even said it was lacking flavor.
Not quite sure if I want to add a different hop than what the recipe calls for or just increase the amounts to up the IBU.
Click to expand...

I agree. I dry-hopped a 3 gal batch with 1oz centennial pellets, and it turned into a American Pale Ale.
Then I dry-hopped a 5gal batch with 1oz cascade pellets , and it was about perfect 1 week later. Even .75 or .5 oz cascade pellets might have been good enough to give it the needed character.

Note that my in-keg dry-hop period is only 2 days before I pull them and cold crash.
 
OK I answered my own question. I kegged and forced carbed this morning and its on point. I can totally see the cross over appeal for BMC'ers. This is a two week primary to force carb...I have no doubt it will clear up and get better, but its very drinkable as is. Cheers!

View attachment 1443902641032.jpg
 
andrewmaixner said:
I agree. I dry-hopped a 3 gal batch with 1oz centennial pellets, and it turned into a American Pale Ale.
Then I dry-hopped a 5gal batch with 1oz cascade pellets , and it was about perfect 1 week later. Even .75 or .5 oz cascade pellets might have been good enough to give it the needed character.

Note that my in-keg dry-hop period is only 2 days before I pull them and cold crash.
Click to expand...

I'm not yet set up for kegging so these will be bottled.
I normally do two-three weeks primary and 1-2 weeks bottle conditioning. I usually start sampling at 1 week to see how it progresses.

THis will be mainly for my wife since she is starting to venture to craft beers. When I made it initially, she said it lacked flavor. So I used Crystal 20 in place of 10. I'm still undecided if i want to add centennial at 5 min or dry hop for 5 days. Thinking about .5 oz.
 
brew703 said:
I'm not yet set up for kegging so these will be bottled.
I normally do two-three weeks primary and 1-2 weeks bottle conditioning. I usually start sampling at 1 week to see how it progresses.

THis will be mainly for my wife since she is starting to venture to craft beers. When I made it initially, she said it lacked flavor. So I used Crystal 20 in place of 10. I'm still undecided if i want to add centennial at 5 min or dry hop for 5 days. Thinking about .5 oz.
Click to expand...
I'd say to dry hop for 2 days with .5-1oz cascade. It gives it a lot of flavor without taking it into the APA classification.
 

Similar threads

Zippy123
Feedback on recipe to split mash for two different beers
Replies
2
Views
565
Zippy123
Zippy123
S
Autumn Wheat Ale
Replies
5
Views
1K
kwilson16
kwilson16
PashMaddle
Brew day #2 is done.
Replies
22
Views
1K
lumpher
lumpher
D
First Recipe: 1 Gallon Maris Otter / Goldings SMaSH (Comments, suggestions?)
Replies
6
Views
575
Northern_Brewer
Northern_Brewer
Gadjobrinus
Festbier - first lager back in.
Replies
17
Views
2K
Brooothru
Brooothru

Latest posts

Back
Top