Blonde Ale The Crowd Pleaser

[Gnomebrewer]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

Saflager S23

Yeast Starter

No

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

No

Batch Size (Gallons)

Any

Original Gravity

1.045

Final Gravity

1.009

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

22

Color

Beer coloured

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 days at 14C/58F

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

7 days +. Cold/lager in fridge.

Tasting Notes

Light yeast fruitiness with interesting malt flavour and balanced bitterness. Very quaffable.

I've brewed this beer a few times now and it has become my 'go to' for events where there will be a lot of non-craft beer drinkers. I'm tentatively calling it a 'blonde ale', even though it's really a lager, because that's how it drinks (and BJCP guidelines say that blondes can use lager yeast). It has a really nice, lightly fruity nose supported by some very tasty and interestingly layered malt and enough hop to make it balanced and easy to drink. This is a very drinkable beer that will keep everyone happy. The yeast is important - S23 in the 56 to 60F range produces some quite pleasant (IMO) fruity esters without any higher alcohols or harsh flavours. It sort of tastes like a lager/ale cross. For a bit of added hop, 1/2g per litre at flame-out gives a noticeable but not in-your-face aroma and flavour (I've used centennial and citra which were both excellent, but mostly brew this without the flamout hops).

Grain:
Pils Malt: 30%
Pale Malt: 30%
Vienna Malt: 30%
Dark Munich Malt: 5%
Dextrose: 5% (leave this out or replace with flaked corn if you're adding flame-out hops)
Aim for an OG of 1.045
Mash at 64.5C/148F for 75mins.

Hops:
Gold Cluster@60 mins to get to 22IBUs total (including the bitterness from the 20 minute addition)
Gold Cluster: 1/2g per L or 2g per gallon at 20minutes
Optional: 1/2g per L or 2g per gallon of any hop, eg. Centennial, Citra, at flameout.

Ferment:
Chill to below 14C/58F before pitching the yeast (S-23 dry lager yeast). Ferment at 14C/58F for 14 days (it should be finished in 7 to 10 days). Crash chill in the fridge for a week minimum then bottle or keg. Enjoy! I'll post a picture when my current batch is ready in about a weeks time.

 

[Wil Prim]

Did you use 5% dextrose for lower nitrogen (FAN)?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

No. Just for a dryer finish.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Here's a picture. This one has 1/4 g/L of Nelson Sauvin at flameout. Quite delicious.

 

[Oldskewl]

1/4 g/L of Nelson. So 5 grams in 5 gal? That is about 1/6 oz. Doesn't seem like that would do much.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

1/4 g/L of Nelson. So 5 grams in 5 gal? That is about 1/6 oz. Doesn't seem like that would do much.

Yep, thanks for picking up, it was a typo. Was meant to be 1/2 g/L (10 grams, or about 1/3oz, in 5 gallons). Gives a pleasant and subtle hop flavour without throwing the beer out of balance.