Blonde Ale

Properly situated in our new digs, it was a happy day when the brewing kit finally came out. The first beer on the docket was a style that hadn't held much interest for me until recently. I've often passed over blonde ales for bolder, hoppier options like pale ales and IPAs. As I've cultivated an appreciation for the uncluttered flavours of pilsener and kolsch over the past year, though, blondes have found a place in my glass, prized for their bready notes and extreme drinkability. I'd hoped to brew this before the official change in season--this would definitely count as a lawnmower beer--but with the weather here still more summery than autumnal on brewday, it worked out just fine.

A blend of domestic 2-row and Vienna keep the colour light. I haven't used Palisade hops before, but the descriptors--floral, subtle apricot, grassy--are in line with the unobtrusive role they're set to play here. I've wanted to see how a single yeast strain behaves over successive batches for a while now, so the neutral Chico yeast seemed like it would serve the purposes of that experiment and this beer.

For the first product of the brewhouse's new location, this was definitely a success. It might actually be too restrained, but it has a long bready tail and is still pretty damned quaffable. It's a fast, easy, sessionable beer that's kept the fridge well stocked and helped us make new friends; it'd make a great house ale that would easily lend itself to experimentation. I imagine I might see this one again (or a variation of it) come next spring.

Summer Farewell

Batch size: 6 gallons
Projected OG: 1.044
Projected SRM: 3.5
Projected IBU: 16.9
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 91%

Grains
62.5% - 5 lb Malteurop 2-row
37.5% - 3 lb Weyermann Organic Vienna

Hops
.5 oz Palisade (7.8%) (60 min)
.5 oz Palisade (10 min)

Yeast
11.5 g US-05 (rehydrated)

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (0 min)

Water
Profile: Reno
1 g Epsom salts
1 g CaCl
1 mL Lactic acid (88%)

Brewday: 27 September 2014
Mash: 10 qts @ 154F for 105 minutes - dropped to 144F
1st sparge: 11 qts @ 212F (w/ .75 mL Lactic acid)
2nd sparge: 11 qts @ 190F (w/ .75 mL Lactic acid)
Pre-boil volume: 6.7 gallons
Pre-boil SG: 9.2P (1.037)

Chilled to 68F.
Fermented in swamp cooler at 62F.

4 October 2014: Activity slowed. Removed from swamp cooler & swirled a few times a day.

Bottled: 7 October 2014
FG: 1.008
ABV: 4.7%
Bottled with 5.1 oz table sugar.

Tasting: Three and a half months after brewing, it showed its age a bit...or perhaps just my poor handling later in the process. The good bottles were still crisp, crackery, and very drinkable.