Continuing to refine my imaginary brewery beers :). No big changes. This beer is to build up Flagship for the APA and IPA.

Recipe Info
Recipe: grid blonde v1_3
Style: Blonde Ale 18A BJCP 2015
Author: 
Date: 12-21-2019

	Recipe	Guideline Min	Guideline Max
OG	1.046	1.038	1.054
FG	1.010	1.008	1.013
Color	4.3	3.0	6.0
ABV	4.7	3.8	5.5
IBU	28.0	15.0	28.0

Brewery Info
Efficiency: 72 %
Attenuation: 78 %

Mash Info
Weight: 16.5 Lbs
Thickness: 1.25 Qt per Lb
Deadspace: 2.0 G
Strikewater: 7.16 G
Volume: 8.48 G
Temp: 32.0 F

Boil Info
Kettle Gravity: 1.040
Predicted Mash Run-off: 5.67 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	91.0 %	Brewer’s Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Western)	80.0	2.0
1.000 Lb	6.0 %	chit malt (BestMälz)	78.3	1.5
0.500 Lb	3.0 %	Honey Malt (Gambrinus)	83.0	25.0

Hops

Weight	Name	AAU	Time	Use	IBUs
0.5 Oz	Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ)	14.0	60 mins	Boil	15.0
1.0 Oz	Nugget	13.6	20 mins	Aroma	9.0
1.0 Oz	Cascade	4.7	20 mins	Aroma	3.0

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: 5.49

	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

Water Profile Name: carrboro
Target Profile Name: standard

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

1/15/20 Brew Day
No starter
Normal 3V Brewday with no issues
No ice needed…tap water is 62F
pitched @ 2pm
10pm slow steady bubbling
1/16/20 steady bubbling
1/17/20 “
1/18/20 ~8 sec
1/19/20 no bubbline
1/20/20 ~26 sec
1/21/20 ~30 sec
1/23/20 > 60 sec
1/31/20 cold crash to 35F
2/1/20 harvested 600mL of yeast. mixed and split across two pitches.
2/3/20 racked to keg. FG 1.012. fairly clear. tastes really good. promising!
2/4/20 turned down to 14psi and put on draft
2/5/20 carb already pretty good. a little low. really nice beer. clarity not great so will track to see how long it takes to drop clear
2/8/20 still hazy
2/14/20 crystal clear

2/19/20 comparison vs thousand smiles golden ale from foothills

aroma – mine: malty sweet w/ bready notes, faint dark honey notes. low citrus and herbal hop notes. low mineral note? clean. no off aromas
foothills: low generic malt aroma. med-low citrus hop aroma. clean.
delta: mine is a bit more malt leaning. foothills has a bit more hop aroma.

appearance – mine: gold. excellent clarity. 1/2″ white head w/ excellent retention
foothills: straw. excellent clarity. 1/2″ white head with excellent retention.
delta: mine is a bit darker

flavor – mine: generic malt sweetness w/ low toasty and dark honey notes. low herbal and grapefruit hop flavor. low bitterness. clean. no off flavors. balanced. finishes dry but not astringent.
foothills: very low malt flavor. med-low grapefruit hop flavor. low bitterness. clean. no off flavors. balanced a hair hop leaning. finishes dry.
delta: mine has subtle but noticeable malt flavor. foothills has no real malt flavor. foothills is a little higher hop flavor and mostly citrusy.

mouthfeel – mine: med body. med carb. not warming or creamy
foothills: med-low body. med carb. not warming or creamy
delta: foothills is noticeably thinner

overall – both are nice beers
for my goal which is an easy drinking step up from bud light but some subtle complexity I feel it is spot on. i think this beer is where I want it!!!