Belgian Blond Ale SWMBO Slayer - Belgian Blonde

[chemdoc]

The original extract recipe has a typo. 5 lb wheat is a bit much. I tried the following:


3 lbs. Wheat DME

2 lbs. Extra Lght DME

8 oz. Caramel 10°L

8 oz. Flaked Wheat

4 oz. Caravienne malt



1 oz hops (Williamette)

Turned out great.


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[atli126]

Finally kegged mine and carbonated it. Damn it's good but strong! I could tell off half a sample glass lol

 

[seph]

Brewed up 10 gallons of this yesterday with two packs of T-58. When I left for work this morning they were both bubbling vigorously.

 

[atli126]

Oh Yea this stuff blew the lid off my buckets for a while it was crazy

 

[Moose_MI]

Brewed this today for the 3rd time and used Danstar Munich Wheat Yeast. I've not read particularly good things about this yeast but I had it so I used it. I'd welcome thoughts if others have experience with this yeast. I did hydrate it and it was very healthy.

I also sub'd the .25 caravienne with Munich 10l..it's what I had

Most importantly...I discovered my thermometer is off by about 10 degrees... So I've been mashing around 143 for the last several batches. Can't wait to brew my last several batches again to see what difference a correct mash temp will do ...

My wife loves this beer...

 

[NZLunchie]

Introducing the Malinois Blonde Ale, fermeted with Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes at relatively high temps to get those yeasty esters. Really happy with the result. Cheers for the recipe BierMuncher!

 

[atli126]

I made this and it got good (25 out of 50) reviews in the ky state fair. I entered it as a Belgian blonde but one guy said it may have did better as a 16-c saison. But both said good beer. Not bad for my 4th ever batch that I've brewed and I'm new to kegging also

 

[agentindemand]

Made this yesterday and still waiting for the WLP400 to wake up and get to work. Made a 1litre starter and still no sign of fermentation at 36 hour mark. Patiently waiting for signs of life.
The starter smelled fantastic and I am already looking forward to the beer this yeast is going to make.

 

[Moose_MI]

Brewed this today for the 3rd time and used Danstar Munich Wheat Yeast. I've not read particularly good things about this yeast but I had it so I used it. I'd welcome thoughts if others have experience with this yeast. I did hydrate it and it was very healthy.

I also sub'd the .25 caravienne with Munich 10l..it's what I had

Most importantly...I discovered my thermometer is off by about 10 degrees... So I've been mashing around 143 for the last several batches. Can't wait to brew my last several batches again to see what difference a correct mash temp will do ...

My wife loves this beer...

So I've been drinking this and it's good. I like IPA's so I'll probably never be blown away by a blonde ale, but this is good. I did a heffe and this Belgian blonde with the Munich Wheat yeast and kept fermenter in water bath ~66F....this yeast gives a good bit of clove at that temp which I don't mind in this beer at all.

I brewed another batch of this yesterday and used the WLP400..it's bubbling steady in my water bath I'm going to ad a little blackberry extract at bottling time...SWMBO loves blackberry in this

Thanks for the recipe!

 

[maurtis]

Brewed a batch this on Saturday. I usually use either smack packs or dry yeast, this was the first time using liquid yeast. Since the vial said to just let it warm up for a few hours, shake and pitch, that is what I did.

All of my other brews showed signs of fermentation within 12 hours, so far about 48 hours into it and still nothing. I picked up another vial on the way home from the office so figured I would get a starter going with some water, DME, and yeast nutrient/energizer and toss that in once it gets going. Even if the yeast already in there takes off by then, I figured it could use some company.

 

[kymalt]

Just brewed this, unfortunately my LHBS isn't very good and didn't have caravienne or caramel 10 so I just used 0.5lb of caramel 20.
Also used briess pale ale malt since I have a bag of that, guess my beer will be a little darker than the original.
Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[MollyHatchet]

Brewed this up on Sunday and tossed in a fresh tube of Wlp400 that took a good 36 hours to show any signs of life. O.g. 1.055, I used two ounces of fresh orange zest. Will poste a picture when it's finished. Doing this for a birthday party in about five weeks, cheers.

 

[maurtis]

Brewed this up in December, racked and added some blackberry juice in January, but been busy so it has just been sitting in the carboy. Need to bottle it up, looking forward to it!

Since we added blackberry juice, we are calling this on our Dirty Blonde.

 

[brewguyver]

So I did my first all grain Slayer and totally missed the mark - ended up with 4.25 g of 1.065 wort. So I can either make Imperial slayer or dilute out to 5.25 for a much healthier 1.053.

What do you think? Dilute and get an extra gallon out of the deal, or avoid it because it might cheapen the flavor?

Note: I boiled a gallon of filtered water - I'm letting it cool covered overnight while I wait for the smarter minds to weigh in.

 

[Rotor_Head]

I am NOT one of the 'smarter' minds but I say leave it as is, man up and get some of that slayer. She's a little rough around the edges but ultimately extremely satisfying. And it's cheaper than a strip club!

 

[bolus14]

You could do either. Diluting it would be basically the same as what extract brewing does.
Your hop utilization may have been slightly affected so IBU's may be a little off but not to the point where most would notice is.
If it were me I would dilute it, unless I wanted an Imperial. Which for the style is unusual and for me going into spring I prefer something closer to sessionable.

 

[burninator]

Another vote for topping off. I do it frequently with no ill effects.

 

[brewguyver]

Duplicate post

 

[dervish]

Just got my first taste of this one after a month-long wait. It was great. I'm still trying to dial in my all grain skills so i was somewhat concerned about reaching my numbers. It came in perfect. Great recipe, great beer.

 

[vNmd]

This is one of my favorites so I entered in a competition in DC. I got 3rd place in the Belgians with a score of 38 and nothing but good comments. I always knew this was a winner, but now it has been confirmed. Thanks OP for the recipe!

 

[flokason]

I have a really nice 3711 slurry which I want to brew something with. Something like this, something for the swmbo.

Has anyone brewed this with 3711?

 

[madscientist451]

People's tastes regarding saisons are hit and miss. One person's great beer tastes like a foul horse stall to the next person. I've never used the 3711 yeast, but if you like it, just go for it with this recipe.

 

[bolus14]

I've used three different saison strains. More or less same recipe and the only one my wife cared for was the one with 3711. I'm not saying she would ask for it, just that she thought it was less "funky" than the others.

Like flokason said, Saisons tend to be a love or hate type of relationship. People either get intrigued by what the strain brings or they can't get past the funkiness of it.

 

[brewguyver]

Just cracked open my first all grain version - wasn't as sweet as the extract one, and slightly tart, but a damn good beer. I did bottle it young though (thank god for champagne bottles) so that may have contributed.

 

[bunt1828]

I brewed this about a month ago with the suggested WLP400 Wit yeast. It's been on tap for about a week now and it's got a soft but noticeable sent/taste of sulfur that is just strong enough to be obnoxious and make the beer unenjoyable. I understand hydrogen sulfide is a yeast byproduct and should age out, but does anyone know if it'll do so in a pressurized and sealed keg? I relieved the pressure on it last night hoping to release whatever scent was in the headspace (successfully by the smell of it), but I've got to imagine the remaining sulfur compounds will stay in the beer until something happens to allow them to escape? Anyone else have this problem?

The beer underneath is nice. Finished at a refreshingly low 1.004, but has a good sweetness to it that gives the perception of body. I think I'd really enjoy it if not for the sulfur issue. I'll also note I brewed this same recipe about 2 years ago as one of my first few all grain batches and, at that point, it was by far the best beer I had made - the first one I was proud to pour for friends. As such, it only lasted a few weeks

 

[maurtis]

We really screwed up our December batch... Used RO water with no salts added, left it on the trub about a month extra before adding the blackberry juice (got busy and forgot about it), fermented in my closet around 72 degrees. It was a bandaid tasting mess. I gave them all to my brother-in-law who hopes it will become something great with age. Good luck!

So I brewed another batch but this time I used the Bru'n water spreadsheet to get the chemistry I needed for a "Yellow Balanced" profile. I also finally made a fermentation chamber out of a chest freezer and STC-1000, so fermented around 64 degrees, and this time did NOT add blackberry juice to the beer.

And it turned out great! No off tastes, light, and delicious. A very nice changed from the porters and IPAs I have been brewing. Thanks again for the wonderful recipe!

 

[4arrows]

Brewed a 10 gal batch of this yerterday, pitched with Nottingham slurry from a previous brew. First 10 gal batch i have done, looking forward to the results.

 

[stever1000]

Looking to brew the extract next weekend if all goes as planned, probably will change the hops though. Unless the recipe has been modified this is what I'm planning to go with:

3 lbs. Wheat DME
2 lbs. Extra Light DME
8 oz. Caramel 10°L
8 oz. Flaked Wheat
4 oz. Caravienne malt
1 oz Saaz or Hallertauer hops

I'm thinking of splitting the batch and using different yeasts in each:
In Fermentor #1 - WY1214 - Belgian Abbey (The Chimay Strain)
In Fermentor #2 - Harvested Ommegang from Game of Thrones bottle

Since Ommegang uses the same yeast for fermenting and bottling in all their beers, and I've read that it's a Witbier like strain, that one should fit this well. I want to use the 1214 because I'll be moving an Abbey off the cake that weekend and want to see how much the yeast makes a difference.

Any thoughts?

How did your extract version turn out? I want to try this soon

 

[VApatriot]

People's tastes regarding saisons are hit and miss. One person's great beer tastes like a foul horse stall to the next person. I've never used the 3711 yeast, but if you like it, just go for it with this recipe.

I'm glad I have no frame of reference for what a "foul horse stall" would taste like. I feel bad that you do

 

[bolus14]

How did your extract version turn out? I want to try this soon

From what I recall it was ok. Not what I would make again, although I'm not sure if that was due to the recipe or the yeast or the extract. I made that almost 2 yrs ago, I believe, and my taste and knowledge has grown a lot since then and I would say that for me blondes are too "neutral or subtle" for me. I want something that has a little more punch when it comes to taste and aroma, more like a Pale Ale I guess.

I might give this another go in a few months when I start brewing again. If I make it I'll likely peak around at some other Blonde recipe's and compare it to what I think I like and go from there. I'm pretty much going to stick with Belgians this coming year, and likely slip a couple porters/stouts and might try my hand with a sour/Brett beer as well.