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

[JordanThomas]

I brewed this with CTZ and Cascade as it was what I had on hand. Either I should have FWH the CTZ or I'm finding that hop leaves a real bite that I'm not fond of in lower IBU beers. I'm thinking of doing Nugget and Cascade next time. The beer is good, a little over-hopped and the bite is there. Tastes more like a Pale Ale than a Blonde, which means my wife likes it a little less. Good simple recipe that I'll do again with different hops. Glad I'm learning more about my hops though. I like buying in bulk, but knowing which work best with different styles is key.

That's interesting to note. I've never used CTZ, but I had to use the "Centennial Type" hops due to the Centennial shortage, and the beer turned out great.

 

[tre9er]

That's interesting to note. I've never used CTZ, but I had to use the "Centennial Type" hops due to the Centennial shortage, and the beer turned out great.

A good high-alpha hop for hoppier pales and IPA's/anything that you need a good, cheap bittering addition. I've noticed the sharpness before, though but it was well-masked in a pale/IPA that's supposed to have some bite.

Cohumulone in CTZ is in the 30's where it's in the 20's for Nugget, my fast-growing favorite for bittering. I'm a believer that cohumulone matters, personally.

 

[Chriso]

Thanks for your notes on that, tre9er, I have a bunch of Columbus to use up and it's good to properly anticipate how 'harsh' of a hop it is, or isn't.

Kind of thinking I need to brew 3 or 4 different batches of this recipe, and use a different pair of hops each time, to work on finding the right combo. I'm thinking 1 all-Centennial, 1 Columbus+Centennial, 1 Nugget+Centennial, and dunno what else.

 

[tre9er]

I also thought that I might try backing the CTZ off considerably next time if I were forced to use it. As BierMuncher stated though, Centennial and Cascade were the magic combo he found after lots of attempts.

 

[RiverBirchBrew]

If anyone is still having problems finding Centennial, Bells (www.bellsbeer.com) has it both in 1lb and 1 oz bags. The price seems pretty reasonable. I didn't even know they sold ingredients until now. I look forward to trying this recipe.

 

[justkev52]

3/4 Columbus and 1/4 Cascade works well.
It's close to Centennial.

 

[jackson09]

It's centennial type on the Bells site. So it appears to be a mixture designed to mimic centennial.

 

[JordanThomas]

It's centennial type on the Bells site. So it appears to be a mixture designed to mimic centennial.

Yea, they are hoarding all of the real Centennial for Two Hearted. Boooooring.

 

[temple240]

The swmbo and i are drinking our extract batch of centennial blonde right now. This one will be a huge hit with the family tomorrow.

 

[RiverBirchBrew]

It's centennial type on the Bells site. So it appears to be a mixture designed to mimic centennial.

Ah crap. I hope its close to the real thing, I bought a pound of it. :smack:

 

[Silverbullet]

Decided to try this one base on what I had laying around. Based on beersmith, this is what I'm looking at...

11.5 gallon batch
77% efficiency brew house efficiency
82% mash efficiency (will probably be higher)
Est Original Gravity: 1.046 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.6 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 24.1 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 3.8 SRM

15 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 78.9 %
2 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.5 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.3 %
1 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 4 5.3 %
0.33 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 55.0 min Hop 5 2.9 IBUs
0.33 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 55.0 min Hop 6 6.9 IBUs
0.33 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 35.0 min Hop 7 2.5 IBUs
0.33 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 35.0 min Hop 8 5.8 IBUs
0.33 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 9 4.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 1.7 IBUs
0.33 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 11 0.5 IBUs
2.0 pkg American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272)

Dextrine is a bit high and slightly low on Vienna and caramel, but should be pretty good yeah?

 

[tre9er]

Goldings at 5? Interesting

 

[Silverbullet]

Goldings at 5? Interesting

Original recipe called for .5oz cascade at 5 min which I didn't have....but I do have an extra oz of EKG so.....?

 

[purphumpbackedwhale]

Biermuncher, I substituted crystal 20 for your half pound of crystal 10. I realize now i should of used carapils or even crystal 40. Am I screwed or is it just going to be a darker beer? Followed the rest of the recipe to a T.

 

[Chriso]

Crystal 20 is closer to the original than the Crystal 40 you speak of. You are correct that Cara-Pils would have been closer to C*10 than C*20 is. But that's still okay. It should come out more or less the same - slightly darker and a little maltier, perhaps.

 

[purphumpbackedwhale]

Thank you for the response Chriso

 

[daggers_nz]

haven't read all 243 pages but thanks for posting recipe and would you advise against dry hopping in secondary?

 

[tre9er]

haven't read all 243 pages but thanks for posting recipe and would you advise against dry hopping in secondary?

I wouldn't expect a true Blonde to have much hop aroma, or not a lot anyways, but if that's what you want, go for it.

 

[JordanThomas]

If anyone has racked this onto fruit, can you provide some details? I'm thinking of doing a strawberry or raspberry version for SWMBO.

 

[NoTrubble]

Hmmm. In the process of racking it to secondary I decided to taste it. I was afraid that I had tainted it somehow since this was my first all grain brew. But I was shocked! It definitely smells like something crappy with the addition of the strong hops. But it's taste is actually quite unique and smooth with hint of hops and hardly any ill after taste. It's aroma smells like something of a poison to me at first but I don't know how to describe it other than that. It's definitely not a "sweet" or "fragrant" smell and actually resembles something along the lines of a store bought lager that has sat in the sun without being chilled. So in this case it will prolly rock and roll once bottled and chilled.

So I am quite excited to try this one out. My OG was 1.038 and it looks like my FG is 1.010 or a tad under. So it looks like my ABV will be about 3.6%

I'm sure it will be much stronger on the next batch now that I think I've ironed out my MLT temp swing problems with a few tips from other members.

I think I may do one more 5 gallon batch before I start moving into the land of "****...that's a LOT of beer!"

 

[daggers_nz]

I wouldn't expect a true Blonde to have much hop aroma, or not a lot anyways, but if that's what you want, go for it.

"true blonde" would be incorrect as I used Wyeast

 

[AUEnder]

I'm brewing this recipe on Saturday. Got it shipped for only $22 total, which is awesome.

I have US-05 and California Ale WLP001 on hand. I know either would work, but does anyone have thoughts on one verses the other? I'll be fermenting in the mid to upper 60s.

 

[Guidry]

Just curious...Where did you purchase from at that cost? That price includes all ingredient minus the yeast?

 

[AUEnder]

Just curious...Where did you purchase from at that cost? That price includes all ingredient minus the yeast?

Brewmaster's Warehouse. My total is $22.39. The discount of $1.71 is using the discount code BNARMY. The $6.99 flat rate shipping is incredible for big orders.


Invoice Detail
Item SKU Qty Price Each Price Total
Blonde Ale 50b4dd9e725af 1 ea $17.11 $17.11
---- Briess 2 Row Carapils 0101442 0.75 lb
---- Briess 2-Row Brewer's Malt 0101475 7 lb
---- Briess 2 Row Caramel 10 0101443 0.5 lb
---- Weyermann Vienna 0101471 0.5 lb
---- Centennial Pellets - Dual Purpose Hop 11.6% AA 0101420 1 oz
---- Cascade Pellets - Aroma/Flavor Hop 5.6% AA 0101419 1 oz

Product Total $17.11
Gift Certificate -$0.00
Discount -$1.71
Subtotal $15.40
Tax $0.00
Shipping $6.99
Invoice Total $22.39

 

[lunshbox]

I love the flat shipping when I order 4 sacks of grain.

 

[NoTrubble]

It came out to $25.98 for shipping for me. That price kills my LHBS who hit me for $40 plus I had to go pick it up 16 miles away. Thanks for the info!

 

[JordanThomas]

I'm brewing this recipe on Saturday. Got it shipped for only $22 total, which is awesome.

I have US-05 and California Ale WLP001 on hand. I know either would work, but does anyone have thoughts on one verses the other? I'll be fermenting in the mid to upper 60s.

US-05 produced an awesome beer. Not sure about California Ale, but from what I've heard, it's a pretty neutral yeast that should produce similar results as US-05. Personally, I'd skip the liquid yeast for simplicity and go with US-05.

 

[mjap52]

If anyone is still having problems finding Centennial, Bells (www.bellsbeer.com) has it both in 1lb and 1 oz bags. The price seems pretty reasonable. I didn't even know they sold ingredients until now. I look forward to trying this recipe.

Those are Centennial Type hops, not Centennial. Similar, but different.

Centennial Type is a 70/30 mix of Cascade and Columbus

 

[daggers_nz]

I used Wyeast 1332.. haven't used this brand before so not sure how it's going to turn out

 

[JordanThomas]

It came out to $25.98 for shipping for me. That price kills my LHBS who hit me for $40 plus I had to go pick it up 16 miles away. Thanks for the info!

No offense to your LHBS, but... they have some awful prices if you are talking 5 gallon batch.

Mine was $13.85...