Blonde Ale Feedback Please

[MannyEdwards]

I'm going to track this project at jigheadbrewing.com, and your feedback will be a critical part of developing the final recipe.

I'm still experimenting with Mosaic, and I'm going to try it with a blonde per the bjcp guidelines.

The main issue is that I'm aiming for:

1. "Low to medium hop aroma."
2. "Light to moderate hop flavor."

I'm wondering if anyone has experience using Mosaic at low levels, and can give me feedback on the hop schedule. (All I know is how to hop it to the gills for an IPA).

Here's the recipe:

Sport Fisher Blonde (extract)
5.5 gal (fermentor)
7 gal boil
Boil Gravity 1.039
45% efficiency (steeping)
Fermentables
5.5 lb Extra Light dme 68.8 %
Steeping Grains
1 lb Pilsner 12.5%
1 lb Victory 12.5%
.5 lb Carapils 6.3%
Hops
.35 oz Magnum 60 min. IBU 16.46
.5 oz Mosaic 5 min IBU 4.88
Yeast
1 pack Nottingham 68 F rehydrated

OG 1.049
FG 1.011
ABV 5%
IBU 21.36
SRM 6

Please let me know what you think! If you've used Mosaic at low levels, please please describe your hop schedule and results!!

 

[SnakeRidge]

I think the hops look pretty good as a starting point. A half ounce at 5 minutes is going to give you both low hop aroma and just a little bit of flavor. I've used Citra in a blonde about like that. I think I added mine at 10' with magnum at 60'

That seems like a lot of Victory to me though. My all grain blonde is 9.5# 2-row and a half pound of crystal 10. I think that might come out a little malty for a blonde but I've never tried it so what do I know?

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I think it's worth a shot. You may want tot just cut the victory out or half out. Blonde ales are just plain beers, and don't need a lot of flashy special grain. I used a lb of crystal 20 which some would argue is a lot though, but it was mostly to balance back some of the IBUs.

This is my blonde ale, which is one of the best most drinkable beers I've made. I could drink them all day! It uses Amarillo and chinook at low levels and /or short times to get a hop presence without being overpowering.

The Regular : Blonde Ale
Ingredients:
Units for 5 gallons @ 65% Efficiency
10 Lbs - American 2 Row
1 lb - Crystal 20
.5 lb - Pilsner Malt

Hops:
.5oz Chinook @ 60
-----------------------
.5oz Chinook @ 10
.5oz Willamette @ 10
-----------------------
1 oz Amarillo @ 0
.5oz Willamette @ 0

Yeast: US-05
Starting Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV: 5.8%

 

[MannyEdwards]

@SnakeRidge -- Thanks for the heads-up about the Victory. A light bread, biscuit, or toast is fine with me, but I don't want too much.

@MarshmallowBlue -- I think I'd better follow your (and SnakeRidge's) advice about the Victory. It might not be fitting for the style, and besides, the reduced complexity will actually help isolate the Mosaic, kind of like a smash. I'll do some more research and either reduce it or take it out altogether.

Again, thanks!

 

[SnakeRidge]

Happy to be helpful. I always considered a blonde to basically be a SMaSH. I add the crystal 10 just to get a little sweetness for balance. A blonde should be simple (no pun intended) and it's hard to be restrained. I want to turn everything I brew into a hop bomb.

 

[RmikeVT]

I would consider using Safale S-05/WLP001/Wyeast1056, although it is personal preference. With a beer as delicate as a blonde the fruity esters of Nottingham might be a bit much. The strains I listed are also clean fermenting through a broader temperature range. I just don't prefer Nottingham in my lighter flavored beers.

I would also back off the Mosaic, too. Again personal preference, but if you are trying to make a blonde to style, I would go with Mt. Hood, Liberty or Willamette or German noble hops. But again, personal preference. I say this because Mosaic is just a citrusy, tropical fruity hop with high AA.

But this is home brewing, you get to do whatever you want and I would probably prefer the blonde with Mosaic over what I listed, but you mentioned style guidelines being important.

 

[Sailingeric]

I have read that nothing comes from the steeping the pilsner- it needs to be mashed but one of early brews was a honey blonde that I steeped pilsner (before I read it should be mashed) and I used .25 pound of honey malt and it was a very yummy beer and when I do it again will be steeping the pilsner

 

[MannyEdwards]

Happy to be helpful. I always considered a blonde to basically be a SMaSH. I add the crystal 10 just to get a little sweetness for balance. A blonde should be simple (no pun intended) and it's hard to be restrained. I want to turn everything I brew into a hop bomb.

I know what you mean about restraint. And simplicity; my daughter is blonde. Very blonde.

Do you think 4-6 oz of Victory would provide enough malty sweetness without being too much? (It's what I happen to have on hand).

 

[SnakeRidge]

I'd give it a go. I would change the yeast to US-05 or something a little 'cleaner.'

With Victory and an English yeast, you might get a little more malt than you'd like for the style. Victory isn't going to give you a lot of 'sweet' maltiness, more like toast or cracker malt flavor. Victory malt is also called Biscuit malt (depending on the maltser) so think of it that way. It's not a crystal malt.

 

[MannyEdwards]

I would consider using Safale S-05/WLP001/Wyeast1056, although it is personal preference. With a beer as delicate as a blonde the fruity esters of Nottingham might be a bit much. The strains I listed are also clean fermenting through a broader temperature range. I just don't prefer Nottingham in my lighter flavored beers.

I would also back off the Mosaic, too. Again personal preference, but if you are trying to make a blonde to style, I would go with Mt. Hood, Liberty or Willamette or German noble hops. But again, personal preference. I say this because Mosaic is just a citrusy, tropical fruity hop with high AA.

But this is home brewing, you get to do whatever you want and I would probably prefer the blonde with Mosaic over what I listed, but you mentioned style guidelines being important.

You make a good point about the thing falling out of Blonde style with the Mosaic. It might, although my focus here is to experiment specifically with Mosaic -- I want to see if I can showcase its mango-peach-apricot in a more restrained way than in my Mango IPA.

But since you mentioned it, it got me thinking again. The aromas I'm focusing on are volatile, and I bet they'll dissipate in the boil, even just 5 minutes. I need to think about hopping it at flame out, and possibly a very light, brief dry hop at the end of secondary so I can cold crash immediately after removal to fix those volatile aromas in the beer.

So thanks for your response -- it's going to help the experiment.

 

[Sailingeric]

You make a good point about the thing falling out of Blonde style with the Mosaic. It might, although my focus here is to experiment specifically with Mosaic -- I want to see if I can showcase its mango-peach-apricot in a more restrained way than in my Mango IPA.

But since you mentioned it, it got me thinking again. The aromas I'm focusing on are volatile, and I bet they'll dissipate in the boil, even just 5 minutes. I need to think about hopping it at flame out, and possibly a very light, brief dry hop at the end of secondary so I can cold crash immediately after removal to fix those volatile aromas in the beer.

So thanks for your response -- it's going to help the experiment.

I would not worry about sticking with a style. It will still be beer!

 

[MannyEdwards]

I would consider using Safale S-05/WLP001/Wyeast1056, although it is personal preference. With a beer as delicate as a blonde the fruity esters of Nottingham might be a bit much. The strains I listed are also clean fermenting through a broader temperature range. I just don't prefer Nottingham in my lighter flavored beers.

I would also back off the Mosaic, too. Again personal preference, but if you are trying to make a blonde to style, I would go with Mt. Hood, Liberty or Willamette or German noble hops. But again, personal preference. I say this because Mosaic is just a citrusy, tropical fruity hop with high AA.

But this is home brewing, you get to do whatever you want and I would probably prefer the blonde with Mosaic over what I listed, but you mentioned style guidelines being important.

You're right on about avoiding the esters, but I like the drier finish of the Nottingham, which helps offset a false impression of sweetness from the extremely fruity Mosaic. So here's what I propose -- I'll look at dropping the temperature of primary to get the neutral flavor that Notty can provide at low temps. If it doesn't look like it will work, I'll alter the recipe to the S-05, because I think it's more important to avoid the esters than it is to avoid a softish finish.

 

[MannyEdwards]

I have read that nothing comes from the steeping the pilsner- it needs to be mashed but one of early brews was a honey blonde that I steeped pilsner (before I read it should be mashed) and I used .25 pound of honey malt and it was a very yummy beer and when I do it again will be steeping the pilsner

I think the main thing the pils provides is diastatic power for the conversion of the specialty grains. Does that sound right?

 

[MannyEdwards]

I'd give it a go. I would change the yeast to US-05 or something a little 'cleaner.'

With Victory and an English yeast, you might get a little more malt than you'd like for the style. Victory isn't going to give you a lot of 'sweet' maltiness, more like toast or cracker malt flavor. Victory malt is also called Biscuit malt (depending on the maltser) so think of it that way. It's not a crystal malt.

That makes good sense. Crystal it is, and with a couple of mentions to switch yeasts, I think I'd better switch.

 

[Sailingeric]

if you are doing extract, which I still do as well, steeping grains is for flavor and color, very little sugar comes from the grains, all the sugar action is from the extract. If you need the extra sugar you could do a minimash

 

[MannyEdwards]

if you are doing extract, which I still do as well, steeping grains is for flavor and color, very little sugar comes from the grains, all the sugar action is from the extract. If you need the extra sugar you could do a minimash

Yeah, there's no point combining the methods here. OK, the pils is out, which simplifies things with no penalty. Thanks!