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

[jflongo]

Well it's been another few days, that krausen is STILL on the top, the gravity has been at 1.008 for 3 days now, so I guess I'll just transfer this into a bottling bucket, and hopefully not disturbe that krausen.

I'm still debating whether it would be better to put this in a secondary for a few days then bottle it though?

I decided to bottle it, done now, i'll try it in about 4 days

Next up, sanitize some jugs so I can harvest the yeast.

 

[brevity]

Here is a partial mash partial boil version of this recipe that i just brewed. Hope it turns out good!

Boil Size: 3.50 gal
Post Boil Volume: 2.50 gal
Top up water: 3 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name
5 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US
12.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L
8.0 oz Vienna Malt
0.25 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 55.0 min
0.30 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 35.0 min
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)
1 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract

 

[TMannion87]

I tried search for this and had no luck, so I apologize if it has been answered elsewhere. Do you think it is possible to brew this with a 13 day turnaround? I'll be using WLP007 with a starter. I was thinking 10 days in the primary and 3 in the keg for carbonating. Do you think it would be possible to dry hop with .50 Cascade and .50 Centennial for 3 days without getting grassy flavors? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Miller4]

Just brewed this for my first all grain last night. Everything ended up going quite a bit more smoothly than I expected. Ended up mashing closer to 153 than 150, however this being my first time I wasn't going to stress it and decided to leave it there. Hit the OG of 1.04 right on and pitched the yeast late last night, woke up to it already bubbling in the airlock.
Pretty excited and I'm sure I will be happy with it. I think I will let it sit for about two weeks and then cold crash for a day or two and then bottle.

 

[orion7144]

Brewed this again today. Really windy outside so while coming to a boil I assumed the extended time was due to the wind. swapped propane tanks and noticed a huge difference in the flame from the jet burner. Hit 1.044 with my 2nd crush from my new mill. I used to get 65-70% from LHBS so I added 1lb. extra grain. Wont have to do that next time . Only issues I still can not seem to nail is I only ended up 10.5g in to fermenters.

 

[dgrums]

Has anyone experienced a slight sour taste on the front end of this? I brewed this two weeks ago yesterday, sat in primary for 8 days, cold crashed, kegged and carbed. Started tasting after about 11 days and there was a distinct sour taste to it. I haven't ever tasted a homebrew that young before but with the comments about the quick turnaround, I thought what the hell. Hardly noticed after the first few sips and the rest of the pint is quite good. Also tasted it yesterday and it seemed that the sour taste has diminished but still fairly noticeable. It fermented well and at a stable 66-70. My sanitation stays superb and there were no signs of any infection. OG was 1.042. FG was 1.010. It was a BIAB batch that we did while waiting for the mash tun parts to come in. Think I should just RDWAHAHB and let it age some more? Also thinking of tossing in an oz or so of cascade leaf hops that I have lying around. Anyone try that?

 

[user 131481]

I found this recipe in my search for a simple brew to isolate an off flavor. I made this following the original recipe along with using Yoopers instructions in brewing chemistry primer. That is I used distilled water with some cacl. It turned out a perfect tasting beer with only two weeks in the bottle. No off flavors and surprisingly clear. Here's a picture...

 

[justkev52]

Brewed this again today. Really windy outside so while coming to a boil I assumed the extended time was due to the wind. swapped propane tanks and noticed a huge difference in the flame from the jet burner. Hit 1.044 with my 2nd crush from my new mill. I used to get 65-70% from LHBS so I added 1lb. extra grain. Wont have to do that next time . Only issues I still can not seem to nail is I only ended up 10.5g in to fermenters.

Better too much than not enough. Nice to have your own mill. Raised my effiency alot.

 

[brevity]

While mine is fermenting away I can't help but think this is the perfect beer to afterwards rack another, stronger beer right onto the yeast cake. Any suggestions on what to do this with?

 

[jflongo]

While mine is fermenting away I can't help but think this is the perfect beer to afterwards rack another, stronger beer right onto the yeast cake. Any suggestions on what to do this with?

You "can" do that, but also remember you will have left over hops/yeast/troub from the previous beer. I went ahead and harvested the yeast, into 2 pint jars for the future beers.

 

[brevity]

You "can" do that, but also remember you will have left over hops/yeast/troub from the previous beer. I went ahead and harvested the yeast, into 2 pint jars for the future beers.

Yes, but I figure if the next beer is an IIPA or strong stout (not sure about a stout with US-05) it should overpower any left over hops/trub. Plus it's so much less work than harvesting the yeast

 

[jflongo]

Yes, but I figure if the next beer is an IIPA or strong stout (not sure about a stout with US-05) it should overpower any left over hops/trub. Plus it's so much less work than harvesting the yeast

Go ahead and go for it if you want. I don't mind harvesting yeast, it doesn't take too long, and then gives you another 2 - 4 batches of yeast for your next brews.

 

[Mojzis]

While mine is fermenting away I can't help but think this is the perfect beer to afterwards rack another, stronger beer right onto the yeast cake. Any suggestions on what to do this with?

Nothing wrong with this. Ive done it a few times for stronger brews, but also similar normal strength brews. Anything will work since this beer is so lightly hopped and light in color.

Don't get me wrong, I harvest most of the time. But when I have two similar brews or a strong on deck, its a hell of a lot easier to pitch onto trub.

 

[Groner]

Brewed the 11 gallon recipe. Transferred this to secondary after 4 days in an attempt to get it ready for a party. OG was 1.042 (I always seem to get 75% efficiency thus the higher number.)and the FG when I transferred was 1.012. Tasted my sample for testing and man was it awful. Not quite undrinkable but definitely not good. I wasn't expecting much but since I have never had anything come out of the fermenter this quickly I wanted to see if anyone else had the same result. After sitting in secondary for a couple of days I lifted the airlock and it smells a bit better but haven't tasted it yet.

Anyone else have the same result?
I'm assuming this is just due to the fact that it was only 4 days old when I tasted it and it will clear up, but I am contemplating buying some commercial brew just in case!

 

[CGVT]

I tried search for this and had no luck, so I apologize if it has been answered elsewhere. Do you think it is possible to brew this with a 13 day turnaround? I'll be using WLP007 with a starter. I was thinking 10 days in the primary and 3 in the keg for carbonating. Do you think it would be possible to dry hop with .50 Cascade and .50 Centennial for 3 days without getting grassy flavors? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I did it grain to glass in 10 days and it was excellent (I used Notty yeast). I didn't dry hop. I think that would be overkill for this beer. It was bit cloudy at first but it cleared after a few days.

 

[reibrew]

Awesome recipe.

Curious to know about something. I made edworts pale ale and planned on making 15 gallons based on what I bought. Really happy with it, but I'm thinking something lighter might be better for my caloric intake. Also, I priced this out and if I re-use the s-05 it'll run me about $5 per 2-4 equivalent.

Right now I'm ordering up a bit more 2 row and some centennial. I plan on brewing this weekend, fermenting as usual, and then when I rack to the bottling bucket, I'd like to scoop out all the hop junk on the bottom of the fermenter, and leave a cup or two of yeast cake - then dump on some freshly cooled wort. I want to do this a couple times as I will have the ingredients to make 15 gallons total, stretch the yeast a little bit

My thinking was to siphon off, throw a bit of filtered water onto the yeast cake to carry off some junk, and then scoop out with a sanitized cup.

Would that work?

 

[austintxeric]

Just got finished brewing my first batch of Centennial Blonde! I did a 10 gallon BIAB batch following the exact recipe. I ended up with slightly higher than planned efficiency so ended up at 1.043 OG. Cooled to 68 and went ahead and pitched 1 package of rehydrated Nottingham into each carboy. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

 

[241]

Just a note - I brought this beer to a homebrew club meeting and served to about 30 people. Everyone really liked it. Said it was complex, light, dry and tasty, exactly what a blonde should be.

After getting feedback I told everyone it was done via BIAB - lots of questions ensued as I was the only BIAB'er in attendance

 

[dgrums]

Brewed the 11 gallon recipe. Transferred this to secondary after 4 days in an attempt to get it ready for a party. OG was 1.042 (I always seem to get 75% efficiency thus the higher number.)and the FG when I transferred was 1.012. Tasted my sample for testing and man was it awful. Not quite undrinkable but definitely not good. I wasn't expecting much but since I have never had anything come out of the fermenter this quickly I wanted to see if anyone else had the same result. After sitting in secondary for a couple of days I lifted the airlock and it smells a bit better but haven't tasted it yet.

Anyone else have the same result?
I'm assuming this is just due to the fact that it was only 4 days old when I tasted it and it will clear up, but I am contemplating buying some commercial brew just in case!

Can you describe the taste?

 

[jflongo]

Mine personally took about 10 days to finish, ended at 1.008. At 4 days it was still going.

 

[zymurph]

I made my first batch of Centennial Blonde a few weeks ago, and it is awesome! Such an easy brew. I let it sit in primary for three weeks and then it went straight into a serving keg. I will definitely be brewing this one over and over. Thanks Beirmuncher!

 

[Kyled93]

Plan on doing a double batch of this for a wedding... The only downside.. LHBS had limited Hops. I was able to pick up Mt hood and EKG. Hope it will work out with 20 gallons.

 

[OBayBrewer]

I brewed this 3-FEB-13 exactly to spec. Gravity came out to 1.040; spot on!
Lost quite a bit in the boil, somewhere around 1.5 gal so not quite a 5 gal brew, but it is beautiful.
Tested the SG 6-FEB-13 and it is at 1.000. I'd call that done. It tasted great! Nice and light, with just a slight bitterness and citrus flavour from the hops.
I'm going to cold crash for clarity and then bottle sometime this weekend.
Can't wait to try the finished product in about a week!

UPDATE: This batch was bottled 9-FEB-13. I tried a bottle 13-FEB-13 (10 days from grain to mouth!!!) and it was carbed & very drinkable! It has a wonderful malty/bready/biscuity flavour with just a touch of bitterness and some citrus flavour from the hops. I drink this at room temp but will try some in the fridge just for comparison. This will most likely become my go-to recipe when it comes to a light quaffer beer with quick turn around. I would not change anything about this brew.

Thanks again BierMuncher!

 

[Groner]

Can you describe the taste?

Not exactly, but I know it didn't fit any of the usual suspects for infection/brewing errors. Like I said, I'm probably just over thinking it because it was only 4 days since pitching and the yeast probably haven't finished cleaning up yet. Possibly like a wet dog/skunky taste. Not undrinkable but not good either. A few days later it smelled way better, which lifted my spirits! I really do think it is just a result of the early sampling.

 

[GMP428]

Brewed this using us-05. I was quite disappointed when I first tried it. I think all the really positive reviews for some reason made me think it was going to be a very hoppy beer. Stupid thought I know, because the recipe doesn't call for a lot of hop additions. Once I got over this stupid expectation I began to really enjoy it. Nice flavor and a perfect subtleness to the hops. Definitely going to brew this one regularly!!

 

[allenH]

Just wrapped up my third batch tonight (1-5gal and 2-10 gal). My first batch was with Nottingham, my second was with US-05 and this batch was pitched with a pint of 1272 (from cream of 3 crops i kegged today) in each 5gal. I have made this for birthday parties and weddings, it is a definite crowd pleaser.

 

[Kyled93]

Did a double batch of this yesterday. From start to finish it took 9.5 hours. Took this photo towards the end of the day.

 

[Groner]

Had the party that I brewed this for last night... People were trying to find containers to bring it home in after they took all four of my growlers! Delicious and fast! A definite crowd pleaser!!

 

[orion7144]

I have the opportunity to pick up a bag of Maris otter. What would that change if substituting for the 2 row? I love this as is but this deal is too good to pass up.

 

[Chriso]

Maris Otter will give it a richer, somewhat toastier / maltier flavor than just plain 2-Row - but is certainly an OK substitution to make!