Blonde Ales

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rocketroach72

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Hi, This is my first post so here goes......
Since summer will soon be upon us I think a nice Blonde Ale would be in order. Any suggestions for a nice finishing hops? Cascade is, and will always be my favorite but I'm looking for something a little different to feature in the blonde. Something light and spicy/floral. Any good all grain recipes to share? Thanks, Rocketroach72


Keg; Puckabrush Oatmeal Stout
Common Island Pale Ale
Griphooks' Pumpkin Warmer
Primary- 0
 
Crystal, Liberty, Ultra, and Mt. Hood are American derivatives of noble hops and would be great in a Kölsch-ish Blonde. If you want to lean more English-inspired, maybe Glacier or Willamette (which is Fuggles' descendant).

All you really need in a Blonde is base malt, IMO, especially if it's something flavorful like Golden Promise. You can mess it up with too much biscuit/caramel/honey jazz.
 
Here's one that I did that turned out excellent. This was supposed to use saaz instead of Mt. Hood but that's all the LHBS had on hand.

I didn't write down the yeast but I used a White Labs Belgian strain.

Kettle Volume: 6.46 gal (1.064)
Boil Duration: 01. h
Evaporation: 1.0 gal
Final Volume: 5.24 gal (1.079)
Efficiency: 75.0%
Ingredients:
12 lb (85.7%) Pilsner Malt
2 lb (14.3%) Invert Sugar
.5 oz (28.6%) Northern Brewer (8%) - added during boil, boiled 60 m
.25 oz (14.3%) East Kent Goldings (4.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30 m
.5 oz (28.6%) Mt. Hood (4.7%) - added during boil, boiled 60 m
.5 oz (28.6%) Mt. Hood (4.7%) - steeped after boil
Analysis:
Apparent
Original Extract: 18.98 °P
Attenuation: 75.0%
Terminal Extract: 4.99 °P
% Alcohol: 7.79% ABV
IBU 25.6
 
I love some Amarillo in a blonde summer ale. I've made a couple and I find them very refreshing.
 
Thanks for the nice hops suggestions and recipes. After looking at some of the clone recipes for Blondes like Sweetwater 420 I knew there was more to the ale than just a pale ale without any color. Light, drinkable, with a nice hops finish. Thanks again.
 
I don't know if 420 is really considered a Blonde. I always considered Blondes to have lower IBUs. 420 is a pretty hoppy beer.
 
I think you would need some carmel flavors in there to balance out the big hop flavors. (making it more of a pale ale) But that's the beauty of making your own beers...you can pretty much do anything that you like the taste of.
 
Pickled_Pepper said:
I don't know if 420 is really considered a Blonde. I always considered Blondes to have lower IBUs. 420 is a pretty hoppy beer.

Agreed, 420 is an EPA (extra pale ale) really just a pale ale with some specialty grains. One of my favorites. I actually know one of the managers and he showed me the recipe on his computer at the brewery haha its very similar to the pale ale i make with cascade and centential.

You want far less IBUs in a blonde than a pale ale, depending on personal preference of course. I mean thats really the point of blondes, to be light and refreshing for summer. I like pales blondes and kolsches in summer. Good luck with the recipe!
 

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