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

[happyappy]

We brewed this recipe as our first all-grain 10 gallon batch. Tasted it last night and it's delicious! Great summer beer for the lake.

We quickly decided we'll run another 10 gallon batch on our next brew day to stockpile a bit for summer.

Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Shenanigans]

Deleted - posted in wrong thread

 

[LemonJelly]

I made this beer recently and while it was clean and drinkable, mine came out very very dry and with very low hop presence. I was hoping someone could explain what might of been the cause.

To start things off my OG was 1.043 and it fermented down to 1.004 after 2 weeks. The yeast I had on hand was OYL-004 (West Coast ale). It was just under a month old, so I made a one liter starter, and let that ride for 2 days before pitching.

I should mention this was also my first time trying BIaB...well in a cooler and besides the low FG almost everything else seem to hit number wise.

I mashed at 151f for 75 mins in a cooler with a brew bag. I use a thermapen, so I have no reason to think that the mash temperature would be wrong but I don't have other thermometers to accurately test that. I sparged by dunking and squeezing in two gallons of warm water that was taken earlier from the strike water. I had to boil the wort for 80mins because my pre boil volume was a little more than I needed, and I did wait till the 60min mark before adding my first hops. After cooling and adding the wort to carboy, I checked the OG and I was at 1.043.

I fermented the beer at 64f for 7 days, then bumped it up to 68 for 7 days. For some reason I had the idea to rock the fermenter gently to rouse the yeast every 2 or so days during fermentation. After 2 weeks, I cold crashed for 3 days and kegged. I force carbed at 30psi for 24 hour than 10psi for 5 days.

The end result was somewhat thin, minimum hop aroma and taste, with a very faint malt flavor near the finish right before it instantly disperses into nothingness. While it's somewhat refreshing and hides the alcohol under the seemingly no taste, it's just not enjoyable to drink. Any ideas of what I did wrong?

I have to take back what I said. After sitting in the keg for 3-4 weeks it really turned around and is tasting pretty damn good. Sorry for being so harsh at first, this is a great recipe. Might have to try it again with a few modifications.

 

[Wreck99]

I have to take back what I said. After sitting in the keg for 3-4 weeks it really turned around and is tasting pretty damn good. Sorry for being so harsh at first, this is a great recipe. Might have to try it again with a few modifications.

I've noticed that with a couple of my really good beers. Sometimes they are just too green for a while at first, but given a little time, they are awesome!

 

[RedlegEd]

After 5 days of primary and the 5 days cold crashing in secondary, I kegged my first batch of this last night. Tasted fantastic when I pulled a sample. Really looking forward to sharing it at a party this weekend! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

How did they like the beer? Always nice to hear feedback. I know everyone loves it at my house because it's such a clean, great tasting beer.

 

[phyllobeddo]

I brewed this recently and used Conan yeast. I plan to dry hop it as well. We'll see how it turns out.

I didn't get around to dry hopping this batch. However, I do like the fruity flavor that the Conan yeast provided. I've brewed this before, and I'm sure to brew it again.

 

[Pyg]

brewed this up today with what I had around the house. Recipe looked like this:
4# extra light DME
1# pale DME
1# carapils (steeped 30 min @ 157)
.30 oz centennial 55 min
.40 oz centennial 20 min
.20 cascade 10 min
.20 cascade 5 min
notty ale yeast

Does anyone think the reduction in cascade will make that much a difference?
Will it be too bland?
Should I consider dry hopping or just see how it comes out?
Any thoughts?

 

[Traz1986]

Should be good, I split my batch and dry hopped 1/2 oz of citra, both turned out very good.

 

[snd1990]

Original 5gal extract recipe calls for a total of 1.1oz hops (.5 centennial n .5 cascade). By adjusting hop schedule and bumping up centennial you should be good togo. But maybe I'm just preferential to centennial since I grow my own! Lol I have made a batch with just centennial and loved it.

 

[Redtab78]

Should be good, I split my batch and dry hopped 1/2 oz of citra, both turned out very good.

Can you comment on the aroma differences between the dry hopped version and the non-dry hopped one? just curious to see how the exact same beer taste with the dry hop added like this side by side. I can only taste one or the other, and I usually don't remember what the other one taste like, never last that long.

 

[Pyg]

So what is the consensus about time in primary?
2 weeks due to the low abv?
or let it ride out my usual 3 week in primary?

 

[Pkrd]

So what is the consensus about time in primary?
2 weeks due to the low abv?
or let it ride out my usual 3 week in primary?

I don't see why you'd need to go past 10 days.

 

[LemonJelly]

Like Pkrd said 10 days should be good. I would start checking the gravity every 2 days for consistent numbers.

 

[rwh]

Exactly how light is this beer. I'm interested in brewing a nice quaffable beer for summer, but I don't want something too light.

 

[RedlegEd]

Exactly how light is this beer. I'm interested in brewing a nice quaffable beer for summer, but I don't want something too light.

It all depends on your definition of "too light." This beer is really good just the way it is in the OP, and is a really good starting point for experimentation (otherwise, this post wouldn't have 500+ pages!) My recommendation is to brew a 5 gallon batch using BierMuncher's recipe and see for yourself. It's fast from grain to glass and I think you'll find it's a really good beer. If you want to tweak it to your own tastes, go for it! If you want more dry & crisp, ferment lower and use a higher attenuating yeast like US-05; if you want a higher ABV, you can control that by the amount of grain you use and the level of attenuation; if you want light (as in low SRC,) the original recipe calls for about 3.9 (which is pretty light,) if you want more hoppiness, change the hops & schedule. No matter what, I think you'll end up with a very good "lawnmower beer."

 

[brewbama]

This was on the docket for next weekend but my brew store ran out of Centennial. It will have to wait 3 weeks until my next planned brew day.

 

[Jwin]

This was on the docket for next weekend but my brew store ran out of Centennial. It will have to wait 3 weeks until my next planned brew day.

Could always go with cascade. Just balance out the AA.

 

[Relampago]

Brewed this one last night can't wait to try it out

 

[Barker]

I've got 5 gallons of this in the primary, currently on day 10. I'm going to split the batch and bottle one as is, and dry hop the other half. What hops would you guys recommend for dry hopping this? I'm thinking I want to go more towards the citrus notes from the dry hopping, rather than the floral or spice notes? Should I stick with cascade and centennial (do an ounce of each) or just one of them? Or go with a completely different hop strain?

Also, is dry hopping 2.5 gallons with 2oz of hops going to be too much for this beer?

 

[WrQth]

I've got 5 gallons of this in the primary, currently on day 10. I'm going to split the batch and bottle one as is, and dry hop the other half. What hops would you guys recommend for dry hopping this? I'm thinking I want to go more towards the citrus notes from the dry hopping, rather than the floral or spice notes? Should I stick with cascade and centennial (do an ounce of each) or just one of them? Or go with a completely different hop strain?

Also, is dry hopping 2.5 gallons with 2oz of hops going to be too much for this beer?

I have dry hopped it with 1.5oz of Cascade to 5gallons for 7 days at 68F. Pushes the style more in the territory of an American Pale ale in my opinion but I like it.

 

[NickT1133]

Just brewed (mostly) this 5gal recipe yesterday. I added 1/2 lb flaked oats, 1/4 lb acidulated and 1/4 biscuit. Changed the hop schedule a little as well. 1/2oz Centennial FWH and another 1/2oz at 20 min, then 4oz citra in the "whirlpool" with 1.5oz of that around ~170F and 2.5oz at ~145F for about 15 min each. First time trying this method, but I think I'll also DH with some citra near peak fermentation or a little after. Really looking forward to trying this after all the reviews!

A couple of notes I had:
1) my mash was a little low for the first 15-20 min at ~147, so I upped it to ~151-152 for the final 40 min, which thinned out the mash a little to close to 1.4 quarts/lb
2) I ended up collecting about 7 gal of wort at ~1.037 which got up to about 1.048 after the 60 min boil, which yielded 5gal into the FV

It sounds like this beer finishes up pretty quickly? I'm hoping to have it kegged and carbonated for a party on the 28th. I thought I read some replies on this thread about it being possible, but anyone brew this recently and have been able to package and serve within 2 weeks?

Thanks guys!

 

[MattyIce]

Tried my hand at this. Hard to beat 13 days grain to glass! Will probably keep some on tap at all times now. My wife is not a beer drinker but said she would drink this if she had to. I guess that's progress! I tweaked it just a touch for a 6 gallon batch. Also some untappd kudos from a buddy.

Entered this into a comp and poured at a festival this weekend. Great feedback all the way around. Judges' scores ranged from 41-45, took first place in its category. Cheers for the great recipe!

 

[chasemandingo]

I will be attempting this brew as my first all grain soon. I will mash @ 154 for a little more body and add some late addition hops for a little more hop character. I was thinking a half oz. @ flame out. My only regret is that I will have to bottle condition as I have no kegging equipment yet. And I don't think muy wife will let me have any until we move into a house. Will post pics during process.

 

[Pyg]

10 days in primary, 4 days until bottling and there is a strong centennial flavor when I sniff the airlock
Can't wait to see what it taste like using the below hop schedule.
My next batch will be all grain.

.30 oz centennial 55 min
.40 oz centennial 20 min
.20 cascade 10 min
.20 cascade 5 min

 

[Barker]

Had 5 gallons of this in primary for the past 14 days. Just bottled 2.5 gallons and tasted a little sample. Yup, I can see why BMC drinkers would drink this. I'm headed to a weekend in a cabin with family in a few weeks, so the first half of this batch is for my dad.

The second half is being dry hopped with 1oz of centennial for the next 5-7 days. I personally like a beer with a little more hops and my SWMBO won't touch anything that isn't a saison, a sour, hopped to the gills, or basically anything that's not BMC.

So if everything works out as planned, I'll be pleasing both ends of the spectrum with one 5 gallon batch!

 

[Pyg]

Bottled 44 bottles (knocked one over)
Has a skunky-grapefruity flavor.
Defiantly going to be along the line of BMC

 

[woo_pig]

Gonna do a raspberry version. Up the 2 row to #10 .And going to do a hop stand for 20 mins and a dry hop in keg.

 

[rwh]

Is everyone still using nottingham at 68 degrees on this?

 

[CGVT]

I've used Notty and S-05, both at about 66-68 degrees. I think the Notty ferments faster but there isn't much difference in the taste as far as I can tell. More refined palates may disagree, however.

 

[Calaeb]

Hey all, looking to brew this Sunday and had a question about the hops. I've been thru a lot of pages so far and haven't seen this question confirmed. I have quite a bit of A galaxy on hand. Has anyone subbed in galaxy for ether cascade or centennial?