Sexy Blonde Ale!

So... What is it?

Blonde ale is a refreshing, easy-drinking beer that's all about balance! Light in body and golden in color, it’s the kind of beer that invites you to take a sip and savor its subtle flavors, such as hints of honey, biscuit and light hoppiness. Born in the U.S. in the 1980s as a lighter, more approachable alternative to hop-heavy brews, it was designed to be a crowd-pleaser for both seasoned beer drinkers and newcomers alike!

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What's ours like?

Coming in at 5.1% its sessionable & delicious so you can enjoy this beautiful blond all night long! ;) Brewed with moderation and balance in mind, it showcases a light malt profile with a subtle biscuit character and honey like sweetness, followed by gentle bitterness and a subtle herbal and floral hop finish leaving you wanting another sip!

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Batch Size & Stats

• 19L / 5 gal finished beer
• 22L (6.8 gal) wort
• Starting gravity – 1.048
• Final gravity 1.009
• ABV – 5.1%
• Brewhouse Efficiency 80%
• EBC - 8.5
• IBU - 18

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Brewfather link

What ingredients?

Water 

With sparging

• 20L (5.3 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F) for 30 mins then 70°C (158°F) for 30 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins
• 15.2L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)

Without sparging

• 30L (7.9 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F) for 30 mins then 70°C (158°F) for 30 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins

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Malts

Total Grain Bill 5kg (11 4lb)

• 4.059 kg / 8.9 lb (84.5%) —  Pilsner Malt
• 472 g / 1lb (9.8%) — Wheat Malt
• 150 g / 5.3 oz (3.1%) — Gladiator Malt / Dextrin Malt
• 125 g / 4.4 oz (2.6%) — Medium Crystal Malt

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Hops & whirlfloc tablets  

Hallertauer Mittelfrueh (3% Alpha Acid)

• 28g (1 oz) 9 IBU - 60 mins
• 56g (2 oz) 9 IBU - 15 mins

Whirlfloc 

• 0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil

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Water Profile

• Ca²⁺24
• ‍^‍Mg²⁺ 5
• ‍Na⁺ 15
• ‍Cl^- 31
• ‍^‍SO₄^2- 36
• ‍^‍HCO₃^- 57

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Yeast options & fermentation temperatures

• US-05  – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)
• AUS-05  – ferment at 20°C (68°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)
• S-04  – ferment at 18°C (64.4°F) 11g (0.38 oz) / (1 packet)

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Step by step process

Step 1 – Milling

• Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
• Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
• Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person

Step 2 – Mashing 

Mash at 64°C (147°F) for 30 mins then 70°C (158°F) for 30 mins, then mash out at 77°C (170°F) for 15 mins

• Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
• ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)  
• its easier to mash the grains and prevent dough balls if you add a little grain at a time, mix, add more grain and repeat until all the grains are mixed

if you don’t have a mash tun with heating then ensure after you have finished mixing the grains in to insulate your mash tun (thick neoprene or heavy blankets both work well)

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Step 3 (optional) – Sparging

• if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 15L (4 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
• if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
• as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil

Step 4 – Boiling

• once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 60-minute boil and add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh
• at 15 minutes left in the boil add 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz)) and 56g (2 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh

Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling

• After 60 mins of boiling turn off your heat source and start cooling wort down
• Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort

Step 6 – Yeast Pitching

• It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
• Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
• Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
• Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively 

• To make a yeast starter you can use either:

• DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040 
• some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
• 70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching

• To rehydrate yeast

• Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)

Step 7 – Fermentation

• Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
• If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)

• It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
• If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)

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Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin

• begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
• If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
• After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.

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