Trying to perfect my Blonde recipe. It is modeled after 805 from Firestone Walker but only loosely. I’ve been on a few work trips to Vegas and they have 805 all over the place there at and it is a really really great blonde ale. Perfect for hot weather but really just great anytime. I wanted to try Great Western’s 2-row and so far it has been awesome. I really did not like their High Color malt but their Premium 2-row is fantastic. I’m trying 5-7% chit malt for my beers to promote head and retention which I got from Scott Janish’s IPA book. 805 uses Gambrinus Honey Malt which I have like when I used it in the past. it’s not so much a sweet honey flavor as a deep rich honey flavor and some other munich-esque flavors but pretty restrained. The hops also came from Scott Janish’s book. I’ve been using CTZ for my 60 minute addition. It does seem to give a spicy note to the beer which I really like. I wanted a blend of earthy/dank and citrus for this beer. Very much on the low end but noticeable. Janish found Nugget and Cascade do very well in the whirlpool so I figured I’d give those a go. And for the yeast, I’m trying Imperial’s Flagship which is the Chico strain. I have been super impressed with Imperial’s yeast but wanted to try a different strain for this run of beers.
Recipe Info
Recipe: grid blonde v1_2
Style: Blonde Ale 18A BJCP 2015
Date: 09-20-2019
| Recipe | Guideline Min | Guideline Max | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OG | 1.049 | 1.038 | 1.054 |
| FG | 1.011 | 1.008 | 1.013 |
| Color | 5.5 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
| ABV | 5.0 | 3.8 | 5.5 |
| IBU | 24.0 | 15.0 | 28.0 |
Brewery Info
Efficiency: 72 %
Attenuation: 78 %
Mash Info
Weight: 17.5 Lbs
Thickness: 1.25 Qt per Lb
Deadspace: 2.0 G
Strikewater: 7.47 G
Volume: 8.87 G
Temp: 32.0 F
Boil Info
Kettle Gravity: 1.042
Predicted Mash Run-off: 5.9 G
Target Starting Boil Volume: 11.0 G
Boil Duration: 60 min
Evaporation Rate: 1.5 G per Hour
Final Boil Volume: 9.5 G
Fermentables
| Weight | % by Weight | Name | Yield | SRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.000 Lb | 86.0 % | Brewer’s Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Western) | 80.0 | 2.0 |
| 1.250 Lb | 7.0 % | chit malt (BestMälz) | 78.3 | 1.5 |
| 1.250 Lb | 7.0 % | Honey Malt (Gambrinus) | 83.0 | 25.0 |
Hops
| Weight | Name | AAU | Time | Use | IBUs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.35 Oz | Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) | 15.5 | 60 mins | Boil | 12.0 |
| 1.0 Oz | Nugget | 13.0 | 20 mins | Aroma | 8.0 |
| 1.0 Oz | Cascade | 6.2 | 20 mins | Aroma | 4.0 |
Yeast
| Amount | Name |
|---|---|
| 1.000 unit | Flagship Imperial A07 |
Misc
| Amount | Name | Time | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.000 tablet | Whirlfloc Tablet | 15 mins | Boil |
| 1.000 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Wyeast) | 10 mins | Boil |
Water
Predicted Mash Ph: 5.46
| Ca | Mg | Na | Cl | So | Bicarbonate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 7 | 3 | 21 | 30 | 24 | 30 |
| Mash | 62 | 3 | 21 | 98 | 63 | 30 |
| Sparge | 62 | 3 | 21 | 98 | 63 | 30 |
| Final | 98 | 5 | 33 | 155 | 100 | 47 |
| Target | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mash Water
Total Water Treated: 28.391 G
Percent RO / Distlled: 0 %
Water Used: 7.500 G
Mash Water Adjustments
Gypsum: 2.0 g
Calcium Chloride: 4.0 g
Lactic Acid: 4.0 ml @ 88.000 %
Sparge Water
Leftover Mash Water Used: Yes
Total Water Treated: 7.500 G
Percent RO / Distlled: 0 %
Water Used: 7.500 G
Sparge Water Adjustments
Gypsum: 2.0 g
Calcium Chloride: 4.0 g
Notes
Ferment 68f for 2 weeks
Regular 3 Vessel Brewday. No issues.
For whirlpool I killed the boil and i already had cooling setup in place. I cooled to 205F, put in hops and whirlpooled for 20 mins before cooling. It fell to 179F by the end of the 20 mins.
I pitched most of the 400mL of yeast I collected from the APA
The wort tasted great. seemed a bit bitter maybe?
11/1/19 pitched @ 2pm
@8pm steady bubbling
11/2/19 @8am strong steady bubbling
11/3/19 ditto
11/4/19 ~8 sec
11/5/19 ~30 sec
11/15/19 cold crashed to 35F
11/18/19 harvested yeast -> filled up most of a quart mason jar
FG 1.014
tastes really good. nice subtle hop flavor. malt profile is really nice
12/18/19 Tasting notes compared to a Kona Brewing Big Wave Golden Ale (BJCP reference Blonde Ale)
Aroma- Mine: sweet. low bready. low citrus/grapefruit, low earthy, no off aromas
Kona:low generic sweet, med-low citrus, no off aromas
Mine has a noticeably strong malt aroma, especially the bready notes. kona has a much stronger hop aroma but to me it is too much for a blonde ale.
Appearance – Mine: deep gold. nice 1/2″ head. excellent retention. crystal clear.
Kona: straw to pale gold. excellent head and retention.
Kona is noticeably lighter in color
Flavor: Mine: Low honey sweet, low toasty, low bready, low citrus, stonefruit (apricot) and earthy.
Kona: sadly showing a bit of age and oxidation. low clean sweet generic malt, med-low citrus/orange, grapefruit
Kona has zero malt flavor and much higher hop flavor. similar levels of bitterness
Mouthfeel – Mine:medium body, no astringency, lingering low breadiness and earthy notes
Kona: similar but lingering citrus
Overall: kona seems out of style. the hop flavor and aroma are more pale ale or even ipa although the bitterness is good. i like my beer but i need to tune down the honeymalt – maybe in half? to bring down the higher than i want for this style bready and rich honey notes as well as bring the color down from a deep gold to a light gold to straw color.