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

[foobert]

Tiger -- That sounds very similar to my first experience brewing this recipe. 2 days and the airlock went flat. I just let it go for another week, took a gravity reading and it was 1.008 -- DONE!

BierMuncher -- Thanks for the great recipe! It has the distinction of 1) my first hack at all-grain brewing, and 2) the first recipe I brewed a second time because I (and everyone else) liked it so much. I swear there was a leak in that first keg -- it just blew foam way before it seemed time


http://foobert.com/linked/2010/20100326202428_DSC_5906.jpg
http://foobert.com/linked/2010/20100326202428_DSC_5906.jpg

 

[smokinghole]

Hi - just did my first batch of of Centennial Blonde all grain. Missed the OG a bit at 1.036. Finished brewing on Saturday evening and added 1056 yeast. First thing on Sunday the airlock was showing vigorous signs of fermentation. Was very active thru Monday, but by Tuesday evening it appeared pretty inactive. No signs of activity today (Wed). Temp was around 66 or 68 and has since cooled to about 62 which is the lower end of 1056 which says it's good to 60 degrees. I haven't taken a hydrometer reading which I'll do in the next day or so. Could it really have pretty much fermented out in 2 days?

With a OG close to 1040 you very well could have fermented out in two days. I think mine was done in between the 2nd and 3rd day. I had an og of 1045.

 

[FullDraw]

Just tapped the latest batch of this last night. Great beer. My brewpal and I took our first sips, and said "oh yeah, we'll do this one again". I did add some orange peel at flameout, and it is a subtle flavor. Highlights the citrus flavors of the hops well.

 

[Pubwilson]

Going for my second try at this tonight, if not then Sunday. Missed my post-boil volume by a lot, but it was my 1st AG try. Got 5 AGs under the belt now and 3 free kegs. Cool thing is my last keg has the original I made, so I can compare it when I sparge correctly this time. Thanks BM!

 

[jimba009]

Thanks for the great recipe BierMuncher. One quick question, do you do a full sparge volume or do you top up the kettle at all? Thanks in advance.

 

[Sudz]

I may have missed it but what style or region water should one target for this brew?

I've found that makes a big difference on my English Browns. I wouldn't expect it to be of the same magnitude on a light ale but it doesn't hurt to be deliberate.

So what is the best water for this American Blonde?

 

[289tiger]

With a OG close to 1040 you very well could have fermented out in two days. I think mine was done in between the 2nd and 3rd day. I had an og of 1045.

Just pulled a hydrometer reading....008. Looks like it's done!

 

[duffman2]

I tried reading through the whole thread but fell asleep on the keyboard!

My question is if anyone added any fruit or anything to secondary. I made a 10 gallon batch split into 2 carboys and thought maybe I would venture into cherry, strawberry, orange or something for my first time with one of them. Any suggestions? Dry hopping? Honey?

 

[bbone66]

Why yes I have. I've made 5 gallons "as is" quickest keg to bow to date. so the next time I brewed I made 10 gallons, 5 gallons dry hopped with 1/2 oz Cent. and 1/2oz Cascade and the other 5 gallons racked on top of 1 49oz can of Oregon Raspberries. It looks great, sample tasted great and I'm just waiting for the keg to carb up.

 

[duffman2]

Why yes I have. I've made 5 gallons "as is" quickest keg to bow to date. so the next time I brewed I made 10 gallons, 5 gallons dry hopped with 1/2 oz Cent. and 1/2oz Cascade and the other 5 gallons racked on top of 1 49oz can of Oregon Raspberries. It looks great, sample tasted great and I'm just waiting for the keg to carb up.

Sweet, that sounds like what I'm going for. I'll be looking at doing this towards the end of this week so keep me posted!

Thanks

 

[BlackNotch]

Gonna brew this one tomorrow, looking forward to it!

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I'm going to be making a DME version of this in the next day or two here, as per the recipe at the bottom of pg 1. Should I use theBriess CBW Pilsen Light DME (2 °L) or Golden Light DME (4 °L)? I'm steeping a pound of carapils first if that matters. Thanks

 

[smokinghole]

Use the Pilsen Light as it will probably darken up a bit through the boil to about where someone using an all grain two row base ends up.

 

[pcollins]

tagged for next batch.

 

[duffman2]

Sweet, that sounds like what I'm going for. I'll be looking at doing this towards the end of this week so keep me posted!

Thanks

Anybody else try any berries or anything else with this blonde?? I'm a week into fermentation and looking to get this on secondary next week.

 

[mgortel]

So can I just add 25% extra malt to this to increase the ABV % to 5%.....without harming the overall flavor, recipe, mix...etc....??? 4% is a bit low :rockin:

 

[mgortel]

Oh yeah...on the extract version....would Safale SA-05 be ok to use for yeast? Instead of the Nottingham? I just happen to have a pack of it in the fridge and figured I would use it.......

 

[BlackNotch]

Brewed this yesterday, can't wait! I forgot to put a screen in my boil kettle and found out the hard way that March pumps don't like whole hops.....DOH!

 

[EricT]

Gonna try and brew this again this weekend utilizing my lessons learned from my first batch.

 

[EricT]

Has anyone ever tryed this with Magnum and Cascade? I don't have any Centennial right now.

 

[bodie101]

I brewed this beer two weeks agao , bottled it friday night , its now sunday afternoon , I tried one , had a bottle that just didnt cap just right , left it out on the counter , just popped the top , poured it into a frosty glass , man , less than 48 hours in the bottle it is one of my best beers ! By next weekend its going to be great ! Most of my beers 6 to 8 weeks before drinkable , some of my beers 6 months before they are really good , but this beer is good right now , and I know a few week in the bottle its going to be great !

thank you very much for this recipe !

 

[EricT]

Brewed this again Sunday 5/23. OG came out to be 1.040. I ended up with a mash efficiency of only 66% which I'm pretty sure is due to my poor sparge. I also ended up using my magnum hops I had left over for the AA (adjusted the amount to .37 oz)and Cascade for finishing. Will see how it turns out.

 

[Jmurm]

Sorry but i did not want to read through the 81 pages to try to find the sulfite to chlorate ratio. any suggestions on this?

 

[ErieShores]

I'm a new brewer and I'm trying to use as many different hops as I possibly can to familiarize myself with their flavor and aroma. I recently made a pale ale using cascade hops and really enjoyed it. I would like to try this recipe and although I don't object to using cascades, I would like to try something different. Would amarillo be a good substitute for cascade?

 

[BendBrewer]

Yeah Amarillo would be a good substitute. I think you'll like it.

Cascade/Centennial/Amarillo seem to go well in any combination from what I have found.

 

[ErieShores]

Thanks bend, I'll be brewing this weekend. I'll report my findings in a month or so!

 

[mgortel]

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 am brewing this on Friday.....but I was thinking of 5 gallons instead.....anyone see a problem with dropping it to 5 gallons? I realize it will increase the ABV % and bitterness slightly...right?

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

hokay so one more quick question...

If you were making the extract version of this (as per the recipe at the bottom of pg 1) and you wanted to be drinking it in 3 weeks, and you bottle, what would you do? (using primary only)

1 week in the fermenter, 2 weeks in the bottle?
1.5 weeks in the fermenter, 1.5 weeks in the bottle?
2 weeks in the fermenter, 1 week in the bottle?

or something in between?

 

[EricT]

Option 2 should work

 

[smokinghole]

I didn't keep track on when I started fermentation of this but I bottled on the 17th or 18th and will be cracking some for a party this weekend.