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

[Sadu]

Just kegged it. Flat, I definitely see why this is a crowd pleaser. Clear, light, sweeter. Mine ended up about 3.5%abv. Gonna take a few to get me there.

We will see once carbed and cold. So far, I can see this for mass people but not so sure for craft beer fans. Not a whole lot of depth or body.

I have brewed this 3 times and my own similar blonde recipe twice.

I find that higher ABV = more flavour (with this style of beer). My 3.5% version of this was a bit light and spritzy, even with a higher FG from using a low attenuation yeast. The 4.8% version is definitely better, but I still prefer my 5.5% blonde recipe which uses munich instead of crystal plus noble hops.

 

[fvirzi]

I have brewed this more times then I can remember. This batch I added sweet orange peel (10 gallon batch) it ended up sitting probably a little over a month until I kegged it. Never made a sour before but this tastes just like one. I think I used s04 on this one. The other 5 gallons tasted normal. Saw no visual sign of an infection (and I have had some before). Any ideas what it could be??????

 

[ZGBrewer]

Has anyone used Mandarina Bavaria instead of Cascade hops?

 

[davidst]

Has anyone tried throwing in a lb of Flaked Corn or Rice to bump up the ABV a little?

 

[slym2none]

Just ditch the Carapils & up the Vienna to two pounds. It won't hurt it a bit, IMHO. Or, if you are worried about head retention, half the Crystal & Carapils and again go with 2 lbs of Vienna.

I make an all-Vienna base and all-Centennial version of this beer and everyone loves it. No Carapils, only a little C-10, and it's wonderful.

 

[Chrispy92]

All good to do this will all centennial? Don't have any cascade... I have hersbrucker, perle and chinook but don't think any of these are appropriate substitutes?

 

[Shenanigans]

Anyone get this beer done from grain to glass in 3 weeks? I only have a 10% imperial stout and two 7% IPAs in the bottle at the moment and was thinking it might be better if I brewed something lighter form my NYE party. The plan would be to ferment it for a week and then bottle condition for 2 weeks. I will follow the original recipe so hopefully the Nottingham will get it done in a week.

 

[CGVT]

I've gone grain to glass in 10 days

Edit: Just saw bottle. I keg

But, it will be done fermenting in well under a week. You should make it by NYE

 

[slym2none]

All good to do this will all centennial? Don't have any cascade... I have hersbrucker, perle and chinook but don't think any of these are appropriate substitutes?

Look at the post of mine right above this one of yours.

Anyone get this beer done from grain to glass in 3 weeks? I only have a 10% imperial stout and two 7% IPAs in the bottle at the moment and was thinking it might be better if I brewed something lighter form my NYE party. The plan would be to ferment it for a week and then bottle condition for 2 weeks. I will follow the original recipe so hopefully the Nottingham will get it done in a week.

The last batch I did, I had one out of the bottle at day 15, and that included a cold-crash. Well-carbonated, tasted fine, not green at all.

 

[Shenanigans]

Thanks guys I'll give it a go on Saturday.

 

[Chrispy92]

Look at the post of mine right above this one of yours.


Oh wow..... how did I miss that!! haha cheers.... The brew days beginning now!

 

[slym2none]

Look at the post of mine right above this one of yours.

Oh wow..... how did I miss that!! haha cheers.... The brew days beginning now!

Awesome, please be sure to let us know how everything goes!

 

[02RedWS6TA]

I just kegged this Thursday night, force carbed, and pulled a glass this morning. Good blonde, would be a nice hot summer day beer and perfect for those just tipping their toes into the beer world. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[whovous]

How would changing to an all-barley grain bill affect the flavor of the NE IPA?

 

[Jwin]

How would changing to an all-barley grain bill affect the flavor of the NE IPA?

Wrong thread?

 

[fvirzi]

I have brewed this more times then I can remember. This batch I added sweet orange peel (10 gallon batch) it ended up sitting probably a little over a month until I kegged it. Never made a sour before but this tastes just like one. I think I used s04 on this one. The other 5 gallons tasted normal. Saw no visual sign of an infection (and I have had some before). Any ideas what it could be??????

Any ideas?? I think I am gonna dump tomorrow.

 

[whovous]

Wrong thread?

Wrong thread, and I didn't have a drop to drink before posting, either. Pretty sad.

Oh well, now I know why I wasn't getting any replies

 

[Chrispy92]

Awesome, please be sure to let us know how everything goes!

Brew day went great, although I think my thermometer isn't calibrated so I probably mashed a little lower... That's OK a bit drier will be fine with me. got 88% efficiency so I'm pretty happy

I used s-04 and dealing with trying to keep the temp down. Heat wave here at the moment and it's going absolutely mental at 24C (75F). Might end up with some fruity esters?? Anyway it's going to be a Christmas beach beer so should be nice anyway! I'll post a pic when it's done mmm

 

[bway2141]

Has anyone used Mandarina Bavaria instead of Cascade hops?

I have 10 gallons of this in primary (9 days in) and used ~.5 oz at flameout after using the recommended amounts of cascade. My gravity was 1.055 so I wanted some more hop nose to accompany any additional sweetness.

The gravity sample smells strongly of orange, almost like a Weissbier. I haven't brewed this recipe exactly by the letter so I can't speak to the difference, but it is pleasant. I'm still on the fence about using my last .5oz to dryhop. I wish I had more but it was a small sample from a local brewmaster.

 

[bway2141]

Has anyone used Mandarina Bavaria instead of Cascade hops?

I have 10 gallons of this in primary (9 days in) and used ~.5 oz at flameout after using the recommended amounts of cascade. My gravity was 1.055 so I wanted some more hop nose to accompany any additional sweetness.

The gravity sample smells strongly of orange, almost like a Weissbier. I haven't brewed this recipe exactly by the letter so I can't speak to the difference, but it is pleasant. I'm still on the fence about using my last .5oz to dryhop. I wish I had more but it was a small sample from a local brewmaster.

 

[Atlmustang]

Report: my mom drinks bud light. Occasionally a blue moon. She asked for this beer more than a few times last night when there was a crisper full of Bud Lights.

Id say this beer passes the test!

 

[Atlmustang]

Also...could i do maybe .25 ounces of citra at 20 minutes? Would like to get some tropical notes in it. Or maybe dry hop for aroma only and no bitter?

 

[andrewmaixner]

Also...could i do maybe .25 ounces of citra at 20 minutes? Would like to get some tropical notes in it. Or maybe dry hop for aroma only and no bitter?

if you want some tropical, then I'd recommend you try to dry-hop or fermentation-hop with an 1/4oz or 1/2oz each of mosaic and amarillo. There are other good hops for this, but I'm most familiar with these.

If you don't care about clarity, then also switch the yeast to WLP644 -- it makes for a very fruity beer. It will take forever to clear, though. It's my current go-to IPA yeast if I want fruity instead of clean yeast/hop character.

 

[Atlmustang]

Thanks Andrew! I am really familiar with citra as it is my main aromatic in my house IPA so Ill do with that for a dry hop. Thanks for the feedback and merry christmas!

 

[Chrispy92]

Bottled today, definitely has a bit more colour. I didn't stick to the strict 10l crystal so I think it's coming from that? Or perhaps my Vienna was a bit darker? Either way it looks pretty. Tastes fantastic, I think the s-04 esters from getting a bit hot have complimented the all centennial really well. I was super worried the hot ferment I got would screw things up but I think letting it clean up for 2 weeks has helped. Photo and carbed report in a week!

 

[Calaeb]

if you want some tropical, then I'd recommend you try to dry-hop or fermentation-hop with an 1/4oz or 1/2oz each of mosaic and amarillo. There are other good hops for this, but I'm most familiar with these.

If you don't care about clarity, then also switch the yeast to WLP644 -- it makes for a very fruity beer. It will take forever to clear, though. It's my current go-to IPA yeast if I want fruity instead of clean yeast/hop character.

Did you still follow the same fermentation time?

 

[andrewmaixner]

Did you still follow the same fermentation time?

I haven't tested min fermentation time with 644. I kegged a 1.065 IPA using it at 20 days last time, didn't measure the attenuation before that because I wanted to limit oxygen exposure.

 

[SkylerChaBro]

Is it just me, or does this create an extremely high water/grain ratio? Beersmith is showing a ratio over 3qt/lb, which seems high. 2qt/lb is the highest I have worked with in the past.

Maybe a setting is incorrect? Can anyone chime in?

 

[JLeuck64]

I've brewed the 5gal recipe enough times now that I felt confident to take a stab at a 10gal batch today. I hit 82% BH efficiency with a little over 11 gal into the ferment buckets. Will be just shy of 5% ABV when it's done fermenting

Update: S.G. on this batch was 1.009 on 1/10/17 and still cloudy so I left it be to clear. F.G. hit 1.008 and I bottled half on 1/16 and the rest on 1/17, luv this yeast strain! It was drinkable a week later and continues to improve, at 4.86% ABV it is my favorite light beer now ( ;

 

[kristiismean]

Brewed this for the Holidays, and it turned out to be very popular with the BMC crowd as well as with the hoppy craft brew crowd.

Thanks for the recipe!

I followed the recipe on the first page, 5 gallons.