Tropical Blond Ale

[mdwmonster]

Can someone give me an opinion on this recipe? I'm going for a light, crisp and "tropical" session for the patio this summer.

1lb Crystal 10L
1/4lb Honey Malt
4 1/2lb Golden Light DME (4L)
1/4lb Corn Sugar
1/4oz Mosaic (12.7%) @ 45
1/2oz Citra (14.1%) @ 10
1/2oz Citra (14.1%) @ 5
1oz Citra (14.1%) @ flameout
US-05

SG 1.042
23IBU
4.2ABV

Thought is that the Mosaic and Citra will give me a lot of tropical mango/grapefruit flavors, honey malt some sweetness, and the corn sugar help to dry and crisp it a bit. Do the proportions sound right?

Thanks for your input.

 

[craig90onu]

Wow!!! This sounds like a great Summer beer! This will be my next batch... Updates to follow...

 

[mdwmonster]

I got the stuff to make it today, just wondering if my proportions (especially the honey malt) seem good. I'll keep you posted!

 

[catdaddy66]

I would do 1/2# more DME and up the HM and CS both by 1/4#. I like a heavier OG in mine. Other than those tweaks, yours looks great!

 

[Billybrewer09]

Everything looks good to me.
Just wondering why the mosaic at 45.
You will only get bitterness from it.
So why not use a neutral high Alfa hop the and move it a late addition to get some flavor and aroma from it.

 

[mdwmonster]

Just wondering why the mosaic at 45.

Yeah, Billy, but I was wanting to stay with a similar flavor profile. Really wanted todo Galaxy, but it seems like no one has any, so the LHBS suggested I try Mosaic. Haven't used it before, so I figured why not give it a go.

 

[Billybrewer09]

I understand staying with the same flavors, but why not use a neutral bittering hop like magnum.

 

[mdwmonster]

Two weeks in the fermenter, and three in the bottle and I finally cracked one tonight. Beer was fantastic. Had a very strong pineapple/grapefruit flavor with a real crispness to it. I think the honey malt gave it a nice balance with the fruity flavors, without leaving a sweet aftertaste. As Billybrewer mentioned, I probably wouldn't bother with the mosaic in the future...LHBS was really hopped up about them, but I doubt it made much difference in the final product. Next time, I think I'd be inclined to go all Citra or something neutral.

All in all, I think this is a really beautiful beer that will be very nice on warm summer nights. Finished up at 1.010 giving me about 4.7% ABV.

If anyone else tries it, I'd love to hear what you think.

 

[phillyflyers36]

This looks awesome. Wish I didnt just buy the ingredients for something else... This will definitely come after that tho

 

[FermentedTed]

Mosaic is a great hop, and I think it would combine nicely with the Citra. But I'm sure you're correct that it didn't add much outside of bitterness. Any flavor or aroma would have been boiled off at a 45 min addition.

Recipe sounds great for summer and I definitely want to brew it... only change I'll make is to move the Mosaic to a later addition and use Warrior or some other bittering hop. Or, maybe I'll try the Mosaic as FWH... that might help bring the flavor through.

Thanks for posting this!

 

[Norselord]

Yeah, Billy, but I was wanting to stay with a similar flavor profile. Really wanted todo Galaxy, but it seems like no one has any, so the LHBS suggested I try Mosaic. Haven't used it before, so I figured why not give it a go.

Love Galaxy -- if you find any let me know. I added to a brew a few months back with 5 minutes left in the boil and it imparted a really nice peach flavor.

 

[Mdsutton]

Pictures! I would like to see it looks like!

thanks

 

[Herky21]

1 LB of caramel in this with the honey malt sounds like way too much. I'd drop the honey to 1/8 of a lb. drop the caramel 10 to .5 lbs and add .5 lbs of carapils.

 

[tdexterc]

I like the 1oz citra at flameout, but have you considered any additional dry hopping or maybe a hop stand with the citra? I feel like having that additional hop burst in the nose could crank the tropical factor to 11. I'm really liking the looks of this recipe and look forward to trying it for my next batch!

 

[mdwmonster]

I like the 1oz citra at flameout, but have you considered any additional dry hopping or maybe a hop stand with the citra? I feel like having that additional hop burst in the nose could crank the tropical factor to 11. I'm really liking the looks of this recipe and look forward to trying it for my next batch!

While the aftertaste was crisp and didn't have much lingering flavors, the front end was quite tropical. I guess it all depends how much of a punch you want. I didn't find it to be lacking the Citra flavors.

 

[mdwmonster]

1 LB of caramel in this with the honey malt sounds like way too much. I'd drop the honey to 1/8 of a lb. drop the caramel 10 to .5 lbs and add .5 lbs of carapils.

I guess it depends on how much sweetness you want to show through. I was trying for something with a sweet note, and I think this came out right were I wanted it. I don't find it to be overly sweet, or have a caramel/honey aftertaste, but it certainly is more on the sweet side than the bitter side. If that isn't what you'd prefer, definitely cut back on the crystal and honey.

As to the Carapils, this brew didn't have a lot of body, but I wanted something crisp and light - which is why I added in the corn sugar. If you want a bit more body, that would be the way to go, or leave out the 1/4 pound of corn sugar.

 

[JKaranka]

That's quite a lot of crystal malt, but I think that it's sweetness is overstated. If a beer has a cloying sweetness it's more likely to be attenuation or yeast rather than crystal malt. That said, I do find that large proportions (15% and above) of medium crystal malt can make a beer taste nutty or toasty.

 

[strength3power]

Sounds good. Any idea how the recipe would look if I wanted to do all grain?

 

[John8251]

I'm kind of a nooby with this but is this a partial mash or do you just steep the grains?? what temp did you use and for how long....i showed my wife this recipe and shes really interested in doing it being that its a lighter beer with the fruity flavors...

 

[mdwmonster]

Here's a photo - for what it's worth.

 

[mdwmonster]

I'm kind of a nooby with this but is this a partial mash or do you just steep the grains?? what temp did you use and for how long....i showed my wife this recipe and shes really interested in doing it being that its a lighter beer with the fruity flavors...

I just steeped the grains for about 20 minutes at 155.

 

[Krovitz]

Looks good to me. I love hoppy session beers. Did you do a full or partial boil?

Also, Australia is in their harvest season now, so hopefully we'll be getting a lot more galaxy hops soon.

 

[mdwmonster]

Sounds good. Any idea how the recipe would look if I wanted to do all grain?

I'm not an all grain guy, so maybe someone else here can answer this...I'd guess about 7-1/2 LBS of 2-row, but I'm not sure of the mash temps and all that data...

 

[hethacker12]

I'm not an all grain guy, so maybe someone else here can answer this...I'd guess about 7-1/2 LBS of 2-row, but I'm not sure of the mash temps and all that data...

I believe its more like 6 1/2# of 2 row and since the recipe says this is a pretty crisp finish i would probably mash around 150-152. I had a question about the hop bill though, will post boil hops contribute to the bitterness? or do hops that are not boiled only give the beer/wort a smell and flavor of hops with absolutely no bitterness?

 

[FermentedTed]

I believe its more like 6 1/2# of 2 row and since the recipe says this is a pretty crisp finish i would probably mash around 150-152. I had a question about the hop bill though, will post boil hops contribute to the bitterness? or do hops that are not boiled only give the beer/wort a smell and flavor of hops with absolutely no bitterness?

When you add flameout hops in Beersmith, it does add to the total IBUs for the beer, but very little. You're not going to get a significant increase in bitterness.

 

[mdwmonster]

Looks good to me. I love hoppy session beers. Did you do a full or partial?

I did a partial boil with a late extract addition.

2 1/2 gallon boil, 1 1/2 lbs DME @ 45, 4 oz corn sugar @ 30, 3 lbs DME @ flameout.

 

[NathPowe]

I wouldn't write off the mosaic in this recipe (which looks great by the way). Just add it much later (it's awesome for flameout) or use it to dry hop. Super fruity and delicious. Nice pic - your beer looks great.

 

[Yesfan]

Could one just add more Mosaic? The grain bill just shows a 1/4 oz at 45 minutes. Maybe the low amount was why there was little to no bittering. What if you did a full ounce at 60 minutes?

I've been eyeing this recipe and was thinking about this for a all-grain version (changes in red).

1lb Crystal 10L
1/4lb Honey Malt
6 1/2 lbs of 2 row
1/4lb Corn Sugar
1 oz Mosaic (12.7%) @ 60
1/2oz Citra (14.1%) @ 10
1/2oz Citra (14.1%) @ 5
1oz Citra (14.1%) @ flameout
US-05

mash at 152F

I'm still new to all grain, so if that looks horrible......go easy. I've thought about just doing it as the OP did, but change the DME to 2 row. Nothing against extracts, but I just like trying to improve on my (what little I have) technique.

 

[Billybrewer09]

Could one just add more Mosaic? The grain bill just shows a 1/4 oz at 45 minutes. Maybe the low amount was why there was little to no bittering. What if you did a full ounce at 60 minutes?

I've been eyeing this recipe and was thinking about this for a all-grain version (changes in red).

1lb Crystal 10L
1/4lb Honey Malt
6 1/2 lbs of 2 row
1/4lb Corn Sugar
1 oz Mosaic (12.7%) @ 60
1/2oz Citra (14.1%) @ 10
1/2oz Citra (14.1%) @ 5
1oz Citra (14.1%) @ flameout
US-05

mash at 152F

I'm still new to all grain, so if that looks horrible......go easy. I've thought about just doing it as the OP did, but change the DME to 2 row. Nothing against extracts, but I just like trying to improve on my (what little I have) technique.

You could definitely do this. But personally I would use a neutral bittering hop and save the mosaic till later in the boil to get the full use of its flavor and aroma profile.

 

[Pratzie]

This looks like a nice and tasty summer beer