Hoppy Golden Ale Recipe Idea

[Deckers_Beers]

What do you guys think of this recipe?

12 gal batch
13.5 gal boil

16 lb - 2-row
4 lb - malted wheat
1 lb - Vienna
1 lb - Carapils
.5 lb - honey malt

1 oz Galaxy - 13.3% - 60 min
.5 oz Galaxy - 13.3% - 30 min
1 oz Cascade - 7% - 15 min
.5 oz Galaxy - 13.3% - 5 min
.5 oz Cascade - 7% - 5 min
1 oz Citra - 11% - Flameout
.5 oz Cascade - 7% - Flameout

Dry hop with Citra & Cascade, but possibly Cent instead

Is that too much wheat? I want to give it a creamy mouthfeel, but not too much of the wheat spice. I'm throwing in the honey malt to give it a nice sweetness that isn't overly caramel-y. & I wanted to highlight some of the grapefruit notes that the Cascade would bring to the table, & do something different than just Citra, Cent, Simcoe. Which is what I always do

I was thinking of mashing at 152. Should I shoot for lower?

I'm also not sure what kind of yeast I should use. Maybe a wit yeast? Or just 1056?

Thanks for the input!!!

 

[didinho]

If you want to add creaminess without wheat taste, add flaked barley, up to 15% and not wheat malt.
I never add hop at 30'. For the hop flavor you should add at 15-20 minutes. You can move the 30' addition at 15'

 

[jjeffers09]

Usually only one hop showcased. No malt in the aroma, so I would be careful with the Vienna. FWIW I would go centennial, motueka, jarrylo, or nelson sauvin. 12A is low carbonated with a low head. So the carapils may not be necessary given the 4% wheat that you have. Also the amount of wheat you have, it is pretty common in bitter golden ales, and within style IMO. I would say the addition of honey malt puts you in the American Blonde vs Golden Ale, obviously close in style and numbers but not in the flavor.

 

[Deckers_Beers]

I would say the addition of honey malt puts you in the American Blonde vs Golden Ale, obviously close in style and numbers but not in the flavor.

Hmmm, that's a good point. I may want to make it more of an American Blonde then... might be more what I'm going for. In that case, do you think the Vienna would still be out of place? Thanks for the input!

Any pointers on what kind of yeast or mash temp would work best?

 

[jjeffers09]

152F single infusion

American Blondes are amazing with honey malt, and your original grist would be pretty good. I would say any hop at that point, just not over 28IBUs (rager) with a 1.054OG. American Blondes are ALL about balance and malt=hops. If you are heavy like you first hop schedule you are in the APA territory. As for yeast I would say WLP029/51 (65F/67F) or Wyeast1099/2565 (64F-67Fish) a fruity ale is appropriate for the style.

 

[Deckers_Beers]

Thanks jjeffers09! I may move around my hop schedule (remove the 30 min and add more at 10 or 5 min), but I am trying to make an very hoppy blonde, so it may stray into APA territory. I'm hoping to get almost a cross between the ultra-juicy IPA flavor that is very popular right now (that often uses wheat) with a malt profile and alcohol content that is more in the blonde/golden area. Trying to brew something that both myself and the wife will enjoy!

I'm thinking of going with the Wyeast 1099. Haven't used that one before, and seems to be right what I'm going for.:rockin:

 

[Deckers_Beers]

So I ended up brewing my "hoppy blonde ale" with the same malt profile, but with the following hop schedule:

Galaxy - 13.3%
Cascade - 6.9%

1 oz Galaxy - 60 min
1.5 oz Cascade - 15 min
.5 oz Galaxy - 5 min
.5 oz Cascade - 5 min
.7 oz Galaxy - FO
.5 oz Cascade - FO

I dry hopped one of the 5 gallon carboys with 1oz each of Galaxy & Cascade, the other I left alone.

Both 5 gallon batches turned out fantastic. The one that wasn't dry-hopped has honey in the front, then grapefruit/tropical flavor hop notes, and a biscuity malt/wheat zest finish. Everyone who has tried it so far loves it. The half I dry-hopped has a much more pronounced hop aroma & flavor (duh), with the honey taking a backseat to the very strong passion fruit/guava/papaya notes. All my IPA-loving friends are really enjoying it, as well.

I brewed this batch to be something that both myself and my wife can enjoy, and I definitely succeeded. Going to be brewing this beer again.