Blonde Ale Miller Lite (Really Triple Hopped)

[fendersrule]

Cool. I'm thinking about brewing it for a competition, one that specifically has a rule of "no lagers". I'm thinking this one may be unique enough that it could taste like a lager, but really be an ale?

Do you guys see this as being an interesting enough beer for a competition that could throw some judges off, and gain extra points being that it's really an ale? I can't imagine that anyone else is entering anything like this, so this could be a unique choice in my mind that's worth a shot.

Or does this taste obviously like a ale, and no one is going to be fooled?

 

[balrog]

To me, one man's opinion, even "clean" ale yeasts have a certain "fruity" nature.
When I made this recipe, I used Nottingham, fermented 60-64, thinking I'd have very clean, light to no malt flavor, C-hop nature, which was indeed there, but I could also tell I had used an ale yeast.

 

[fendersrule]

Yea. It's tough to make stuff for brewing competitions. You just know that there's going to be 30+ IPA entries, so unless you make an IPA that could rule all others (unlikely) it's best to focus on unique things, and just see what sticks.

I always find that having a 'hint" of something different/unique in there really helps. The orange peel citra Pale Ale that I made did really well last time.

I wonder if something like this beer, but with a gallon of fruit juice (lime or lemon) added to the fermenter may give this a further edge? Or maybe split the batches up (brew a 10 gallon) and lime one up, and make the other batch as-is and see what happens. What do you think?

 

[balrog]

If you're after lime, check out @SD-SLIM 's Lemon Lime Hefe thread here. The sorachi give it more lemon than lime, but it uses Simply Lime-Aide.

 

[fendersrule]

That's actually another good option I can do. I made that once before, but I think I had an infection and such. May be good to re-roll that again.

 

[pwking]

Wanted to thank Schlenkerla for this recipe as well as for getting me back into brewing beer. It had been 6 years since I brewed and all I ever did was extract. This was my first all grain attempt and it is really good for an easy drinking beer. It also got some of my friends to think twice about homebrew.

 

[cmac62]

pwking, good looking beer for the first time in 6 years. Brew on!!

 

[fendersrule]

Brewing this with a friend on Saturday.

How has everyone's efficiency been with this brew? I typically get 71-72% like clockwork.

I have the recipe built up to have a SG of 1.041 @ 73% efficiency. 1.041 -> 1.000 = 5.4% ABV.

Any reason I should expect more or less efficiency with this grist list?

Kinda wanting to shoot for about 5%, though 4.5% - 5.5% is totally fine I would think. I may still lower the grist slightly.

 

[fendersrule]

FYI, I got 87% efficiency...damn!

So now I'm going to have a 6% Miller Ice, and that's if it works down to 1.000. OG: 1.048

 

[deVeer]

Brewed this yesterday. I did a cereal mash with corn meal, whisked 2 lbs into 2.5 gallons of boiling water and simmered for 15 minutes. I tried this for two reasons, never did it before and the cost difference.
Corn meal @ .50 /lb vs flaked corn @ 1.89/lb. Not sure the labor and cleanup were worth it, but worked well.

I added the boiling corn liquid to two gallons of 100 degree hot water then added my malt and the mash stabilized at 149 degrees. I did my usual BIAB procedure for 120 minutes. I believe all conversion was done @ 90 minutes iodine test showed clear but I wanted to make sure.

As per Brewers Friend my conversion was 88% and my brew house efficiency was 79% which is 5% higher than my usual high adjunct recipes and 4% higher than all malt recipes. I don't know if this is because of the low gravity or the corn process.

I have never seen wort this clear and the trub is very fluffy. Looking forward to the final result in a month or so.
Thanks Schlenkerla for the recipe.

 

[deVeer]

After 6 days in primary the bubbles were down to 1 per 90 seconds. I hydrated one teaspoon of amylase enzyme in 4 oz of previously boiled and cooled water than I added the enzyme solution to the primary. After one hour the bubble rate increased to 1 per10 seconds. It must be working! I've got to say I am surprised.

 

[rsumm1337]

I'm unfortunately having no luck with the enzyme in secondary. It's been stuck at 1.009 for about a week and a half now. I will admit - I originally added it to primary since I never feel like whipping out the carboy for secondary, but I ended up racking to secondary after a few days of no activity. I racked onto a tsp of the enzyme in hopes it would mix in a little bit to help me out. Anyone have any thoughts for help?

Used US-05, fermentation was at 64F, OG was 1.034

 

[fendersrule]

What was your mash temp?

 

[rsumm1337]

Kept it at 148 +/- 1ish degree using the Anvil Foundry.

 

[rsumm1337]

It made a liar out of me. I gave it the silent treatment for a few days so it finally apologized and started bubbling. Fingers crossed!

 

[mattakers]

Love this recipe, it’s almost always on tap at my house. I was thinking about entering it in a competition as well. What category do folks recommend? Blonde Ale or International Pale Lager? Something else?

 

[rsumm1337]

Tested the gravity again and it still hasn't budged. Hoping someone can give me a bit of a recommendation as to how to get this thing to drop closer to 1.000. Still stuck at 1.009.

Thanks!

 

[deVeer]

I kegged the beer today - 2/11 (needed space in the cold chamber for a lager) I brewed the beer on 1/28 and added enzyme to primary six days later. After 7 days with enzyme in primary I still had tiny bubbles coming to the surface and a tiny bit of white foam similar to rsumms picture. My gravity was 1.002 at kegging.
I added one oz of sugar to start carbonation and scavenge any oxygen in the keg. and I will leave keg @ room temperature (68 degrees) for another week or two. Before cold crash and finish carbonation.
I will check back in at that time.

rsumms1337 all I can say is the enzymes activity seems to be slow but steady. I don't thing it was done after a week. I did ramp up the temperature of the beer over the last week. It has been @ 72 degrees for the last 2 days.

 

[rsumm1337]

Thanks for the info. I'll move it to a different location in the house to see if that'll trigger the yeast to wake the hell up.

 

[deVeer]

Thanks for the info. I'll move it to a different location in the house to see if that'll trigger the yeast to wake the hell up.

You may want to give your fermentor a swirl to re- suspend the lazy little guys.

 

[fendersrule]

I'm about to bottle this one soon. Bottling 10 gallons (5 are for my friend).

So I'm left with 5. I'm thinking to add habanero tincture to the last gallon. What do you guys think of this beer with a medium habanero kick to it?

Mine is really a Miller Ice that's closer to 6% due to somehow getting skyrocketed efficiency.

 

[rsumm1337]

You may want to give your fermentor a swirl to re- suspend the lazy little guys.

Good call. I almost fell carrying the carboy up the stairs and, while my life flashed before my eyes, that may have stirred it up enough. Time will tell!

 

[fendersrule]

Curious, glass carboy? And do you have a handle/straps on it?

 

[rsumm1337]

Yeah it was glass, but I put it in an old fermenting bucket I no longer use and carried it by that rather than risking the glass slipping. I rarely use the carboy so I never invested in straps or a handle for it.

 

[fendersrule]

Just be careful whatever you do with glass. Potential for series injury including death, but it sound like you know that.

 

[deVeer]

Thanks for the info. I'll move it to a different location in the house to see if that'll trigger the yeast to wake the hell up.

If the room is not warm enough I use a seed starting heat mat to help. They are cheap on amazon or the big box stores. By sitting your carboy on the mat and wrapping in a towel you can bring the temp up quite a bit
The heat mat can bring the temp up several degrees depending on how you wrap the carboy. 2 - 3 degrees with a black plastic bag, 5 - 8 degrees by wrapping the carboy with a towel. Plus save you the potential danger of carrying that glass carboy around.

 

[deVeer]

I have to say this is a very nice dry, crisp ale. I served to a number of friends and relatives over the last few weeks and it is always well received. The flavor seemed to really improve about 4 weeks post brewing and after 2 weeks chilled in the keg. Thanks again for the recipe!

 

[fendersrule]

trying mine out tonight.

I noticed a slight "corn taste" after about 4 weeks in the primary fermenter. It's since been ABOUT 3 weeks in the bottle. Bringing some to my club tonight.

I call mine a "miller ice" because it landed at 5.9%

 

[Sauls]

trying mine out tonight.

I noticed a slight "corn taste" after about 4 weeks in the primary fermenter. It's since been ABOUT 3 weeks in the bottle. Bringing some to my club tonight.

I call mine a "miller ice" because it landed at 5.9%

Please report back. Pretty wild how the corn taste disappears after a few more weeks.

 

[fendersrule]

OK. I had some people sample and walk away. There's lots of dark beer drinkers in the club, so keep that in mind. I think the "Miller Ice" that I called it turned some people off right from the start. Whatever, that's what it is.

However, for the first time, I had more than one person ask me for the recipe, which I have never received from the club before.

It was a resounding success. It's not for everyone, but if you're aiming to make a drinkable ale that is dangerous, I can't see it being better than this.

My own personal opinion is this is a very fine recipe. It came out perfect. It being 5.9%" didn't change it in any meaningful way.

Serve it ice cold. And just watch yourself.

I can't see this beer doing well for a competition however, because competition beers are usually judged to certain styles and typically they are "full of flavor" to their respective styles.

This beer just aims to be drinkable, and that's exactly why everyone should probably have some around.

This is an ale beer without mistake, but it's such a VERY light ale that you just want to keep chugging it. I actually decided to stay at my serving table and continue drinking it instead of sampling other beers.

 

[fendersrule]

Pics speak for themselves.

After 4 weeks in fermenter + 4 weeks bottle conditioning, it's better than any store-bought lager.

Thinking to brew 15G of this.

 

[Brewbuzzard]

FYI, I got 87% efficiency...damn!

So now I'm going to have a 6% Miller Ice, and that's if it works down to 1.000. OG: 1.048

What was your mash temp to get to 1.000? That's distilled water. Did you add enzymes (Beano)? Did it get to 1.000?

 

[fendersrule]

I mashed at 147F, per the instructions.

I didn't quite get to 1.000, but I got to 1.003. That seems to match what everyone else is getting using Enzyme. Amylase enzyme is a requirement with this beer. It distinctly gives it the "nudge" towards a light-bodied lager. Without Enzyme you're probably looking at around 1.006-1.007 FG.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Wanted to thank Schlenkerla for this recipe as well as for getting me back into brewing beer. It had been 6 years since I brewed and all I ever did was extract. This was my first all grain attempt and it is really good for an easy drinking beer. It also got some of my friends to think twice about homebrew.

Nice!!! Like some of my first pictures.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Glad to see so many of you making this.

 

[Brewbuzzard]

I mashed at 147F, per the instructions.

I didn't quite get to 1.000, but I got to 1.003. That seems to match what everyone else is getting using Enzyme. Amylase enzyme is a requirement with this beer. It distinctly gives it the "nudge" towards a light-bodied lager. Without Enzyme you're probably looking at around 1.006-1.007 FG.

Yes, with enzymes. I bet it is thirst quenching.

 

[Brewbuzzard]

OK. I had some people sample and walk away. There's lots of dark beer drinkers in the club, so keep that in mind. I think the "Miller Ice" that I called it turned some people off right from the start. Whatever, that's what it is.

However, for the first time, I had more than one person ask me for the recipe, which I have never received from the club before.

It was a resounding success. It's not for everyone, but if you're aiming to make a drinkable ale that is dangerous, I can't see it being better than this.

My own personal opinion is this is a very fine recipe. It came out perfect. It being 5.9%" didn't change it in any meaningful way.

Serve it ice cold. And just watch yourself.

I can't see this beer doing well for a competition however, because competition beers are usually judged to certain styles and typically they are "full of flavor" to their respective styles.

This beer just aims to be drinkable, and that's exactly why everyone should probably have some around.

This is an ale beer without mistake, but it's such a VERY light ale that you just want to keep chugging it. I actually decided to stay at my serving table and continue drinking it instead of sampling other beers.

There is nothing wrong with a very drinkable beer. It's hard to make a light flavored beer because there is nothing to hide behind. Years ago I entered an American lager in the Dixie Cup and won a third place. One of the judges commented it taste like a Budweiser. I had done my job as a brewer but I still had a hollow feeling. Lol

 

[Brewbuzzard]

Wanted to thank Schlenkerla for this recipe as well as for getting me back into brewing beer. It had been 6 years since I brewed and all I ever did was extract. This was my first all grain attempt and it is really good for an easy drinking beer. It also got some of my friends to think twice about homebrew.

Welcome back! I hope your brewing is going strong.

 

[Shenanigans]

There is nothing wrong with a very drinkable beer. It's hard to make a light flavored beer because there is nothing to hide behind. Years ago I entered an American lager in the Dixie Cup and won a third place. One of the judges commented it taste like a Budweiser. I had done my job as a brewer but I still had a hollow feeling. Lol

That made me laugh

 

[Brewbuzzard]

That made me laugh

It's is funny. If he'd said a Miller's or a Coors I may have felt better about it.