Blonde Ale with pils malt ?

[jfr1111]

I'm looking for a good yellow fizzy beer that will be dirt cheap to produce and still be interesting for beer geeks.

Thoughts on the hopping schedule ? I'm pretty much set on the grain bill, but it's the hops I'm not so sure about. I want something that will "mimick" light german lagers but still have an american twist to it. I have Willamette, Centennial and Cascade on hand, along with a butt load of English hops.

SG: 1.050
SRM: 3
IBU: 18

100% Weyermann Pils Malt

20g Willamette @ 60 min
20g Willamette @ 20 min

US-05 fermented cool (or Kolsch yeast, altough I want a high turnover).

 

[skyebrewing]

I did almost the same exact recipe but with halletaur (sp?). Nottingham in low 60's and week cold crash. Tasted like coors light. Friends found it bland....like coors light

 

[jfr1111]

Well, that doesn't bode to well... what would you have done different and what kind of beers do you like on average ?

 

[Yukmay]

This recipe is a favorite among friends who love miller light, and also by those with more 'refined' beer taste. It's so popular I actually keep it on tap at all times.

9 lbs pils

1oz mt hood at 60min (or whatever really....)
0.5oz saaz at 10 min

Wlp500 (Abbey ale)

Mash at 152

Select your fermentation temp based on how much Belgian character you would like.

This beer comes out looking like budweiser. Light, fizzy, with a relatively non offensive background of Belgian character. And delicious too. Really, really good.

 

[Yukmay]

On second thought, you could try willamette rather than saaz. I think budweiser uses willamette.

The yeast is expensive up front. But then again a simple wash and reuse ad infintum.

 

[jfr1111]

The yeast choice was far more out of convenience than anything else, but I'm not so sure I want this beer to have any belgian character. I'm leaning more towards pseudo-lager than belgian blonde ale.

 

[skyebrewing]

I liked it. Its easy drinking and i was down at 1.040 so i could drink a few with yard work and not have a stroke.
My next try will be all weyermann pils and all aroma hop additions to give it great hop aroma but little bittering. But then again, im a hop lover..... so a california pils with cascade, chinook, columbus, amarillo, citra.....

 

[Bob]

I'm looking for a good yellow fizzy beer that will be dirt cheap to produce and still be interesting for beer geeks.

Bit of an oxymoron. Beer geeks tend to be complete *****es about delicate beers that don't slap them upside the head with overpowering sensations. Doesn't matter how good they are; go read ratebeer.com sometime. Pliny in its various incarnations gets A++++++ rated, while outstanding American Pilsner beers get nothing above a C. In the reviews, they'll say things like "It's a fine example of the style, but it's not SuperImperialHopsDestroyer, so it gets a C."



When I brew fizzy yellow stuff, it's because I want to. I want the challenge of brewing a delicate style, and/or because I do not want my palate to be challenged after hours running the lawnmower.* I don't even give it to people I know to be beer geeks, because I'll just end up hitting them in the head with the empty bottle and throwing them out.

Thoughts on the hopping schedule ? I'm pretty much set on the grain bill, but it's the hops I'm not so sure about. I want something that will "mimick" light german lagers but still have an american twist to it. I have Willamette, Centennial and Cascade on hand, along with a butt load of English hops.

SG: 1.050
SRM: 3
IBU: 18

100% Weyermann Pils Malt

20g Willamette @ 60 min
20g Willamette @ 20 min

US-05 fermented cool (or Kolsch yeast, altough I want a high turnover).

Willamette, being a Fuggles cultivar, is not as obviously American as either of the "C" hops. If you want a distinctly American flavor note, use a small amount of Cascades late, say with 5 minutes left or at flameout.

Weyermann Pils benefits from a protein rest. If you can pull it off, do a short rest at ~122F; if you can do the Fix steps of 50/60/70C, awesome, because Weyermann Pils works really well in that regime.

I wouldn't go for such a high OG. I'd not exceed 1045-48.

I absolutely adore a good Blonde ale. This has the potential to be very nice indeed!

Bob

* I wish my grass was Emo, so it'd cut itself.

 

[stamandster]

Interesting thread... I'm awaiting a tasty and light recipe! And thank bob the for the link, that was some nice reading.

 

[jfr1111]

Bit of an oxymoron. Beer geeks tend to be complete *****es about delicate beers that don't slap them upside the head with overpowering sensations. Doesn't matter how good they are; go read ratebeer.com sometime. Pliny in its various incarnations gets A++++++ rated, while outstanding American Pilsner beers get nothing above a C. In the reviews, they'll say things like "It's a fine example of the style, but it's not SuperImperialHopsDestroyer, so it gets a C."



When I brew fizzy yellow stuff, it's because I want to. I want the challenge of brewing a delicate style, and/or because I do not want my palate to be challenged after hours running the lawnmower.* I don't even give it to people I know to be beer geeks, because I'll just end up hitting them in the head with the empty bottle and throwing them out.

When I say beer geek, I'm mainly talking about myself and a few friends. We're pretty much all session beer fanatics The last time I brewed something with such a high OG was around december last year...

I'm an atypical beer geek

Willamette, being a Fuggles cultivar, is not as obviously American as either of the "C" hops. If you want a distinctly American flavor note, use a small amount of Cascades late, say with 5 minutes left or at flameout.

Weyermann Pils benefits from a protein rest. If you can pull it off, do a short rest at ~122F; if you can do the Fix steps of 50/60/70C, awesome, because Weyermann Pils works really well in that regime.

I wouldn't go for such a high OG. I'd not exceed 1045-48.

I absolutely adore a good Blonde ale. This has the potential to be very nice indeed!

Bob

* I wish my grass was Emo, so it'd cut itself.

I could do a protein rest, but I'm not sure I could put up with a more complicated schedule than that, mainly because I BIAB and I have no way to direct fire my mlt. What does the protein rest do exactly ? All my brewing experience is with single infusion english inspired beers.

What about this recipe ?

SG: 1.048
SRM: 3
IBU: 17

100% Weyermann Pils Malt

20g Willamette @ 3.9% 60 min
14g Willamette @ 3.9% 20 min
14g Cascade @ 5.5% 5 min

US-05 fermented cool.

 

[Bob]

That update sounds lovely. I'd drink the hell out of that.

A protein rest can promote foam and reduce chill-haze formation, as well as net you a higher extract yield. That might help you a lot with BIAB, though I have no idea how I'd implement it using that technology. I raise temperature by multiple infusions (I dough in relatively dry; 0.8-1 quart per pound).

Cheers,

Bob

 

[jfr1111]

That update sounds lovely. I'd drink the hell out of that.

A protein rest can promote foam and reduce chill-haze formation, as well as net you a higher extract yield. That might help you a lot with BIAB, though I have no idea how I'd implement it using that technology. I raise temperature by multiple infusions (I dough in relatively dry; 0.8-1 quart per pound).

Cheers,

Bob

I'll probably do infusions too: I still sparge by dunking the bag, so I don't mash with the whole water at once, making infusions possible. So a protein rest @ 122F, but for how long ? 20-30 minutes ? And what sacc temp range do you target afterward ? I'm looking for something more on the dry side, but not too dry.

I was thinking about:
122 F @ 1 qt/lb - 20 min
151F @ 1,6 qt/lb - 60 min

 

[Bob]

With modern, highly-modified European Pils malts you don't need to hold the first rest very long at all. I don't like to exceed 15 minutes. Then, as infusing more liquor ramps the temperature instead of spiking it and loosens the grist with a greater volume of liquor, I find that I don't need to hold a rest at a low sacc temp; I just go to 155-158F (70C). Studies have shown that a looser, wetter mash permits the liquor greater access to the malt, and conversion doesn't take long at all; the time it takes for you to infuse the mash with boiling liquor and raise the mash to the target high sacc temp should be enough time to get good β-amylase activity, and rising to 70C and holding for 45 minutes will in my experience net excellent α-amylase results.

Just don't hold at 50C for too long or you'll degrade too many of the proteins which promote good foam, defeating one of the purposes of that rest. 15 minutes, tops.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[jfr1111]

Thanks Bob. As always, you are helpful and knowledgeable.

 

[Bob]

[bows]