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

[tg123]

I'm going to try using the BIAB method in the coming weeks once I get all the equipment for it (bag). It'll be my first BIAB attempt.

 

[Fett]

I've made through around 200 pages of this post. Some people are saying they bottled/kegged after 9 days, some are saying wait 2 weeks (or longer). I'll be bottling. Is 9 days in primary really long enough for this recipe?

 

[CGVT]

I've made through around 200 pages of this post. Some people are saying they bottled/kegged after 9 days, some are saying wait 2 weeks (or longer). I'll be bottling. Is 9 days in primary really long enough for this recipe?

Yep

I go grain to glass with it in 10 days when I need a beer quickly. It is a bit cloudy in that short of time but it settles out after a few days in the keg. I never bottled it, but I bet that 7-10 and then bottle conditioned would be pretty solid

 

[Fett]

Yep

I go grain to glass with it in 10 days when I need a beer quickly. It is a bit cloudy in that short of time but it settles out after a few days in the keg. I never bottled it, but I bet that 7-10 and then bottle conditioned would be pretty solid

Thanks for the quick reply. Looks like I'll be stopping at the LHBS to pick up some corn sugar and extra bottles on the way home.

 

[dave8274]

I was going to ask the same, I only brewed this a week ago today, but it's been done for about 4 days and I was considering bottling it this weekend to free up a fermenter.

 

[Fett]

I should have added, I used Wyeast 1056. I read a few replies that said that needed a little longer to finish fermenting.

 

[HBrew71]

1056 will take a little longer to ferment. But the beer will clear faster.

 

[CGVT]

I should have added, I used Wyeast 1056. I read a few replies that said that needed a little longer to finish fermenting.

I always make it with Notty, but when it's done, it's done

 

[Fett]

It was at 1.006, seemed reasonably clear, and tasted damn fine, so I went for it and bottled. Here's hoping for no bottle bombs!

This is now my third brew I've bottled, and I've learned that bottling ~5 gallons at a time is getting old fast. Time to start investing in kegs.

 

[PeteNMA]

Well I re-brewed this on Sunday to replace the infected batch which now languishes in my septic tank.

The dumped batch used the last of my Simcoe, so this one has Centennial as the 60/30 additions and Citra as the 15/5 additions. Fermented with a new pack of Notty, pitched on Sunday and gravity checked this evening as 1.010. Moved to the fridge to cold crash, I'll rack it over to a keg Monday or Tuesday.

 

[jflongo]

It was at 1.006, seemed reasonably clear, and tasted damn fine, so I went for it and bottled. Here's hoping for no bottle bombs!

This is now my third brew I've bottled, and I've learned that bottling ~5 gallons at a time is getting old fast. Time to start investing in kegs.

Yes Kegs are a great way to go. Also, switching to 1L PET bottles, makes bottling go faster too.

 

[daggers_nz]

for those who have replaced the cascade with citra, is there anything to be careful of? I've heard it's easy to over-use citra (in the boil, anyway), is it just a case of adjusting the addition amounts with respect to the AA% content?

 

[mux]

for those who have replaced the cascade with citra, is there anything to be careful of? I've heard it's easy to over-use citra (in the boil, anyway), is it just a case of adjusting the addition amounts with respect to the AA% content?

Adjust for the excess consumption- due to the increase deliciousness!

 

[BigPicture]

Has anyone used the White Labs WLP001 yeast on this recipe? How does it compare?

YMMV of course but I'm thinking................................... maybe!

 

[tg123]

Would crystal malt 15L be an ok substitute for the 10L? My LHBS didn't have the 10L.

 

[HBrew71]

Would crystal malt 15L be an ok substitute for the 10L? My LHBS didn't have the 10L.

Yes

 

[daggers_nz]

the lowest my store has is 23L

 

[tg123]

Yes

Thx. Just started the Mash. First mistake, temp is a little high at 158... Oops

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Decided to go with the US-05 vs. Nottingham.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[PeteNMA]

I've only ever brewed this using 20L crystal. No complaints here, its still a nice pale yellow colour.

Secondarily, just racked my last batch of this over to the keg. This one had 0.5oz Citra as the 15/5 minute additions and thankfully is not infected. A good shake of the keg got some carbonation going (although obviously not ideal) and a pint (or two) show a nice flavour going on. My previous experience showed that this really needed at least a week on the gas to actually come together, so this should only get better with time.

 

[daggers_nz]

I tried a hemp ale in Canada, it was amazing

 

[mgr_stl]

This should get you a very similar beer:

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 3.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 83.3 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 16.7 %
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (45 min) Hops 7.8 IBU
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (20 min) Hops 5.1 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (10 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

So with the extract version, you really don't add any hops until 15 minutes into the boil?

Since I'll likely be doing a late extract addition, this means I'll be boiling about 2 lbs of DME for 15 minutes before anything else is added?

Just trying to get my ducks in a row before brewing this weekend.

 

[FATC1TY]

So with the extract version, you really don't add any hops until 15 minutes into the boil?

Since I'll likely be doing a late extract addition, this means I'll be boiling about 2 lbs of DME for 15 minutes before anything else is added?

Just trying to get my ducks in a row before brewing this weekend.

Yes.

You'll steep the carapils, get your water volume you need, add the DME, and start the boil. After 15 minutes, you start your 1st hop addition.

 

[jasert39]

Ready start another brewing season with this great recipe. I am going to go with S05 this time around with plans of using the yeast cake to ferment an IPA in two weeks...it's been a long summer need to get some kegs filled.

 

[mgr_stl]

This should get you a very similar beer:

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 3.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 83.3 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 16.7 %
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (45 min) Hops 7.8 IBU
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (20 min) Hops 5.1 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (10 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

I stopped by the LHBS this afternoon and picked up the ingredients for this. Here's what I ended up with when putting it in Beersmith:

1 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
5 lbs Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
0.25 oz Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 45.0 min 7.1 IBUs
0.25 oz Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 20.0 min 4.7 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [7.10 %] - Boil 10.0 min 2.3 IBUs
0.25 oz Cascade [7.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min 1.3 IBUs

Estimated OG - 1.041
Estimated FG - 1.009
Estimated IBUs - 15.2 (a bit low, no?)
Estimated SRM - 5.7 (Guess it's a bit high since the DME I got is not extra light)
Estimated ABV - 4.1%

I ended up buying 6 lbs of dry extract due to how it was packaged at the store. If I add this, Beersmith says I'll bump it up to 4.9% ABV, OG 1.049, 6.4 SRM, and down to 14.3 IBUs. Would you also bump up the hops to help balance the added extract? If so, how much of Cascade or Centennial would you add and when? I have 1/2 oz extra of each.

I'd like to keep it reasonably close to the intent of the original recipe since this is my first time trying out the Centennial Blonde. Not sure if 6.4 SRM still qualifies as a blonde.

 

[dave8274]

Brewed this back on the 1st, and decided it would be my 1st kegged beer since I plan to serve it at my 1st annual Oktoberfest party today. It's been in the keg a week now, and tastes REALLY good, but it's hazy for some reason. Since I'm new to kegging, it's probably something I did, but the good news is people will be drinking it from a solo cup, so it's not a big deal

Looking forward to seeing everyone's reactions to this and my other homebrews!

 

[Groner]

Brewed this back on the 1st, and decided it would be my 1st kegged beer since I plan to serve it at my 1st annual Oktoberfest party today. It's been in the keg a week now, and tastes REALLY good, but it's hazy for some reason. Since I'm new to kegging, it's probably something I did, but the good news is people will be drinking it from a solo cup, so it's not a big deal

Looking forward to seeing everyone's reactions to this and my other homebrews!

Mix a packet of Gelatine with 4 oz. water, heat to around 155-160 F. Stir it up and throw it in the keg. Purge the keg with CO2 and swirl. Let it sit a day or two and pour off a very cloudy pint. The next (and every following) pint will be crystal clear most likely!

 

[CGVT]

Brewed this back on the 1st, and decided it would be my 1st kegged beer since I plan to serve it at my 1st annual Oktoberfest party today. It's been in the keg a week now, and tastes REALLY good, but it's hazy for some reason. Since I'm new to kegging, it's probably something I did, but the good news is people will be drinking it from a solo cup, so it's not a big deal

Looking forward to seeing everyone's reactions to this and my other homebrews!

How'd it turn out. My guess is that it was clearer after the first couple of pints. If not, it will be nice and clear in few more days, IF it lasts through the party

 

[dave8274]

Thanks for the gelatin idea. Unfortunately the party starts in just a little while, so it's too late to try it. And I'm not expecting much if any to survive the party

 

[CGVT]

This is my latest batch. I don't use gelatin and usually keg at about 10 days and its is cloudy for about a week. This has been in the keg for a while but it was clear after about a week in the keg