Blonde Ale help

[marchio-93]

Hi everyone, I'm searching for a simply but highly balanced recipe in maltiness/bitterness. The doubt I have is about IBUs.
Here's the recipe:
50% Pils
35% Pale ale
10% Flaked wheat
5% Munich

Hops:
@ 20 'Willamette (2 IBU)
@Flame out 15 'Citra (9 IBU)
@Flame Out 15 'Topaz (13 IBU)

OG 1050 FG 1009 IBU 24, Bu/GU 0.5, 5.3% ABV

Any suggestion?

 

[thehaze]

It looks OK as is.

Personally I would opt for a lower ABV, something slightly under 5%, with a lower OG. 24 IBU is decent, but the final beer could " feel " more malty than it actually is. Maybe bring it closer to 28-30? If you have more Munich malt, you can simplify the recipe by only using Pils or Pale malt and Munich ( depends on which Munich and maltster - Weyermann Munich I/Light is around 6L - at that lovibond, it will allow you to use 20-30%, maybe more if you like Munich in those amounts ).

 

[marchio-93]

It looks OK as is.

Personally I would opt for a lower ABV, something slightly under 5%, with a lower OG. 24 IBU is decent, but the final beer could " feel " more malty than it actually is. Maybe bring it closer to 28-30? If you have more Munich malt, you can simplify the recipe by only using Pils or Pale malt and Munich ( depends on which Munich and maltster - Weyermann Munich I/Light is around 6L - at that lovibond, it will allow you to use 20-30%, maybe more if you like Munich in those amounts ).

Okay now I put all Willamette in Flame out so and reached 27 IBU, and ABV now is 4.9%. BU/GU is 0.6, isn't it too much high for a simple blonde?

 

[thehaze]

It depends on your taste really. I am not a complete fan of malty, light blonde/golden ales. I prefer a bit more balance between the maltiness and the hops, and most time I want a bit of bitterness in there. At 27 IBUs, it will not be as bitter as you might think. For me, a slightly more bitter beer, perfectly carbonated, crisp, dry-ish, makes for a drinkable beer. As hops can fatigue ones palate, so does maltiness, at least for me. A malty Blonde ale - while drinkable when cold - it will lose its drinkability after 5-10 minutes in the glass.

 

[marchio-93]

It depends on your taste really. I am not a complete fan of malty, light blonde/golden ales. I prefer a bit more balance between the maltiness and the hops, and most time I want a bit of bitterness in there. At 27 IBUs, it will not be as bitter as you might think. For me, a slightly more bitter beer, perfectly carbonated, crisp, dry-ish, makes for a drinkable beer. As hops can fatigue ones palate, so does maltiness, at least for me. A malty Blonde ale - while drinkable when cold - it will lose its drinkability after 5-10 minutes in the glass.

Thank you very much, just finished brewing it and got 27 ibu, and I go for an ABV 4.9%. I also aimed more at a bitter like that, the only thing that scared me was the bu / gu ratio that approached that of an IPA. However thanks again

 

[mattdee1]

The recipe looks pretty good to me; the malt bill is similar to the approach I use on blonde ales where the goal is to have a simple, drinkable summer type beer that both beer snobs and Coors drinkers have a chance of liking. I'd be careful with the wheat on beers like this; I find it makes the beer pretty bland.

The "right" hops strategy will vary by personal taste, obviously. I prefer a more firm and crisp noble-hop bitterness for this type of beer - almost like a "pseudo-pilsner" if that makes sense. I go with a charge of Magnum at 60, with something like Perle around 30 and target ~35 IBU. Sounds high, but tastes about right to me. I ferment it with something fairly neutral like S05, WLP001, WLP090, Notty, etc.

 

[marchio-93]

The recipe looks pretty good to me; the malt bill is similar to the approach I use on blonde ales where the goal is to have a simple, drinkable summer type beer that both beer snobs and Coors drinkers have a chance of liking. I'd be careful with the wheat on beers like this; I find it makes the beer pretty bland.

The "right" hops strategy will vary by personal taste, obviously. I prefer a more firm and crisp noble-hop bitterness for this type of beer - almost like a "pseudo-pilsner" if that makes sense. I go with a charge of Magnum at 60, with something like Perle around 30 and target ~35 IBU. Sounds high, but tastes about right to me. I ferment it with something fairly neutral like S05, WLP001, WLP090, Notty, etc.

Thanks! This is the first try for me brewing this kind of beer so simply but so complicated to balance. I think it also depend a lot on the FG, because if it ends on 1.007, the risk is to get a really too dry beer! And with > 30 IBU the bitter may be too harsh. Sorry for my bad English

 

[mattdee1]

Thanks! This is the first try for me brewing this kind of beer so simply but so complicated to balance. I think it also depend a lot on the FG, because if it ends on 1.007, the risk is to get a really too dry beer! And with > 30 IBU the bitter may be too harsh. Sorry for my bad English

Hope it works out for you.

And your English is easily better than 90% of the gibberish you see from native English speakers on the internet and social media, so don't sweat it.