Blonde Ale Miller Lite (Really Triple Hopped)

[Andrew Hodgson]

1.030 to a flat 1.000. Hope she tastes good.

 

[Schlenkerla]

1.030 to a flat 1.000. Hope she tastes good.

It will. The enzyme might give it funny parched dry taste but that will drop out in a week or so.

 

[eric19312]

Dry hopped mine yesterday. 1.032 to 0.997 in a week. Didn’t have exact ingredients but went with mix of Belgian pale, German pils and flaked corn. 50/30/20%. I caught an off flavor in the yeasty gravity sample but thinking yeast is still busy cleaning up and it will be fine.

 

[MyQuL]

I finally got around to making this, well a tweeked version anyway. It's a little lower OG as I wanted to go for around 3.5%ABV and keep the carbohydrate content nice and low (according to a calc online I found, it will be 4g carbs per 12oz bottle). But I kept the IBU:OG ratio the same as in the original recipe. I've just racked to a secondary and the current gravity is 1.004. I will add the amylase on the weekend if the gravity remains stable

Original Gravity (OG): 1.027 (°P): 6.8
Final Gravity (FG): 1.000 (°P): 0.0
Alcohol (ABV): 3.54 %
Colour (SRM): 2.3 (EBC): 4.6
Bitterness (IBU): 15.3 (Average)

2.3kg Pale Malt
1kg Flaked Rice (cheapo rice crispies from ASDA )

3g Magnum (11.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
40g Challenger (7.2% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
10g Challenger (7.2% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)
30g East Kent Golding (5.9% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 64°C for 90 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at whatever my kitchen floor happens to be (around 22C at the mo) with Nottingham yeast

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Chilled the first sneak peak bottle. Very neutral with a smooth hop bitterness. She’s a chugger for sure @Schlenkerla ill be making more riffs on this for summer for sure.

 

[eric19312]

Dry hopped mine yesterday. 1.032 to 0.997 in a week. Didn’t have exact ingredients but went with mix of Belgian pale, German pils and flaked corn. 50/30/20%. I caught an off flavor in the yeasty gravity sample but thinking yeast is still busy cleaning up and it will be fine.

Came out great. This is about 6 days in the keg. I cold crashed and fined with gelatin before kegging. Burst carbed at 50psi for 18 hrs then dropped to serving pressure. That off flavor was in there on days 2-3 but faded by day 4 and you have to hunt for it now. Really happy with how this came out!

 

[Schlenkerla]

View attachment 632353

Came out great. This is about 6 days in the keg. I cold crashed and fined with gelatin before kegging. Burst carbed at 50psi for 18 hrs then dropped to serving pressure. That off flavor was in there on days 2-3 but faded by day 4 and you have to hunt for it now. Really happy with how this came out!

Fugging nice looking beer!!!

 

[balrog]

@Schlenkerla , you spec "amylase enzyme" and @Brooothru used glucoamylase
I can buy either enzyme and I'm wondering if it matters.
They appear to be the alpha vs beta amylase (amylase vs glucoamylase) but I'm not entirely certain.

 

[Schlenkerla]

@Schlenkerla , you spec "amylase enzyme" and @Brooothru used glucoamylase
I can buy either enzyme and I'm wondering if it matters.
They appear to be the alpha vs beta amylase (amylase vs glucoamylase) but I'm not entirely certain.

I don't know. I have only used amylase enzyme.

 

[balrog]

I don't know. I have only used amylase enzyme.

Thanks. Good enough for me. I prefer to stick to the recipe first time out.

 

[verboten]

I'll be using gluco on this pretty soon. It's what I have, and will get it to ferment dry, maybe even a little more dry, which I love anyway.

 

[cmac62]

@Schlenkerla , you spec "amylase enzyme" and @Brooothru used glucoamylase
I can buy either enzyme and I'm wondering if it matters.
They appear to be the alpha vs beta amylase (amylase vs glucoamylase) but I'm not entirely certain.

The gluco will make it even drier because it will break down all of the complex sugars instead of just the 4 chain. This is what I have read anyway. The brut IPA thread suggests using the gluco specifically because of this.

 

[MyQuL]

Another great thing about this recipe is that, because the grain bill is so small it makes for a perfect maxi-biab for stove top brewers like me. My version had an OG of 1.027, so I just used the grain bill amount for 23L but made it like I normally make my 12L batches(so it fitted easily into my 15L pot), then just diluted it down to the correct gravity in the FV

 

[Lax coach]

I normally don't secondary--is that a requirement for this recipe, or can I just add the AE at the end of primary fermentation? I use SS Brewbuckets, and generally cold crash for 3-7 days after completing primary, then keg for carbonation.

I do have spare kegs if secondary-ing is necessary. If so, is there a risk with leaving it in secondary with the AE longer than 14 days? Thinking about brewing this about a week before going on a 2.5 week vacation, and transfer/carb when I get back.

 

[balrog]

I am very much wondering the same thing--whether I can just dump the AE into the primary at the appropriate time.

 

[sonic7173]

I normally don't secondary--is that a requirement for this recipe, or can I just add the AE at the end of primary fermentation? I use SS Brewbuckets, and generally cold crash for 3-7 days after completing primary, then keg for carbonation.

I do have spare kegs if secondary-ing is necessary. If so, is there a risk with leaving it in secondary with the AE longer than 14 days? Thinking about brewing this about a week before going on a 2.5 week vacation, and transfer/carb when I get back.

I brewed this on Sunday and I am just pitching the ae directly into primary tonight. Secondary definitely not worth the risk for me. I've always had luck with ae and the gluco ae in primary and let it finish there

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I just added it to FV with the first dry hop.

 

[verboten]

No pictures yet, as it was barely cold in the cooler, but it sure is tasty. I’ll be doing it again. I think this will come out nice after a couple weeks in the fridge.


I did use glucoamylase in mine, the dry hopped a couple days later to avoid any possible bio haze from active fermentation.

 

[cmac62]

I brewed this a month or so ago and it is definitely a great drinking beer. Super light and tasty. I just put the AE in at yeast pitch and it came in at 1.002. Dry enough for me. LOL

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I have to get around to making another batch of this in a couple weeks, great to have on hand for summer.

 

[verboten]

We just killed a keg of it last night. The neighbors love it. This will remain in my rotation.

 

[bwible]

https://byo.com/article/understanding-enzymes-homebrew-science/

“Alpha amylase is the enzyme responsible for breaking large, complex, insoluble starch molecules into smaller,soluble molecules. It is stable in hot, watery mashes and will convert starch to soluble sugars in a temperature range from 145° to 158° F. It requires calcium as a co-factor.

Beta amylase is the other mash enzyme capable of degrading starch. Through its action, it is the enzyme largely responsible for creating large amounts of fermentable sugar. It breaks starch down systematically to produce maltose.

Beta amylase is active between 131° and 149° F. But like all enzymes, its activity reaches a peak, declines, and then drops precipitously as temperature increases. The rate is also dependent on the amount of enzyme present. It takes time for all of the enzyme to be destroyed, but what is still intact works very quickly. So as the mash temperature approaches 149° F, beta amylase is operating at its fastest rate but it is also being denatured.”

So what does anybody believe they are accomplishing by adding enzymes to a secondary fermenter at room temperature? Enzymes are naturally present in the malted barley (which is why we mash around 150-155, to get a compromise temperature where these 2 enzymes function) and if you add extra enzymes, they are supposed to be used in the mash as they work at higher temperatures. I don’t know that adding enzymes to a secondary fermenter at room temperature or below accomplishes anything

 

[balrog]

Amylase enzyme is purportedly active between 0°C and 100°C, albeit very little at 0° and very little before denaturing at 100°C; it's *MOST* active in a certain temp range, but it's not completely inactive at other temps.

 

[verboten]

Enzyme absolutely works in the fermenter.
My Brut went to 0.998 with enzyme only in the fermenter.

 

[balrog]

Hm. "Alpha Amylase Formula", what I found and got after quick search, 1lb, is 96% dextrose.
Is this the right stuff or should I have gotten the little bottle?

 

[cmac62]

Hm. "Alpha Amylase Formula", what I found and got after quick search, 1lb, is 96% dextrose.
Is this the right stuff or should I have gotten the little bottle?

I think either should work.

 

[cmac62]

It looks like both are the same, the small bottle says 1 tsp per 5 gals and the large bag says .1 to .3 tsp per gal. works out to about the same amt per 5 gals.

 

[JM-brew]

I used the LD Carlson glucoamylase (had some leftover from a brut ipa). I used 1/8 tsp. in a 1.5 gallon batch toward the end of primary fermentation and finished at .998. It's been lagering for a few weeks now so I'm excited to taste it, but it already was tasting pretty good going into the keg.

 

[Schlenkerla]

https://byo.com/article/understanding-enzymes-homebrew-science/

“Alpha amylase is the enzyme responsible for breaking large, complex, insoluble starch molecules into smaller,soluble molecules. It is stable in hot, watery mashes and will convert starch to soluble sugars in a temperature range from 145° to 158° F. It requires calcium as a co-factor.

Beta amylase is the other mash enzyme capable of degrading starch. Through its action, it is the enzyme largely responsible for creating large amounts of fermentable sugar. It breaks starch down systematically to produce maltose.

Beta amylase is active between 131° and 149° F. But like all enzymes, its activity reaches a peak, declines, and then drops precipitously as temperature increases. The rate is also dependent on the amount of enzyme present. It takes time for all of the enzyme to be destroyed, but what is still intact works very quickly. So as the mash temperature approaches 149° F, beta amylase is operating at its fastest rate but it is also being denatured.”

So what does anybody believe they are accomplishing by adding enzymes to a secondary fermenter at room temperature? Enzymes are naturally present in the malted barley (which is why we mash around 150-155, to get a compromise temperature where these 2 enzymes function) and if you add extra enzymes, they are supposed to be used in the mash as they work at higher temperatures. I don’t know that adding enzymes to a secondary fermenter at room temperature or below accomplishes anything

FTR - I'm the OP.

Not sure your intent is to informative or you're just being inquisitive. Welcome either way.

The grain bill is partially corn. I'm not sure of the enzymes in flaked corn or rice. The enzymes help with residual adjunct sugars. Yes it can be done in the mash or the fermenter. Hence the recommendation of using 6 row. 6-Row is higher in enzymes than other barley types. It's good grain to use with high adjunct amounts in the grain bill.

This beer typically has a corn taste at racking time. The enzyme helps crank down the last few gravity points.

This recipe is rather old. Dating back to the 1980s or 1990s. Not sure how many homebrewers did detailed step mashes for maximum extraction. Also the quality of the grain may not have been as fully modified as they are now at the homebrew level. Then the available yeast strains with high attenuation.

Anyhow it I know it works. The beer is dry as can be without the need for lagering. Especially if you don't have the capability and like to use common ale yeasts.

One last addition. The fermentation activity looks slightly different in a glass carboy. In a dark location, when you add a flashlight to the carboy one can see thousands of tiny bubbles rising ever so slowly.

 

[Sauls]

Great to hear from the OP! Celebrity of sorts. Week 3 of mine and def tasted corn at week 2 but followed the original recipe and can’t wait for next weekend.