Rich’s Blonde (Blonde Ale)

If you are like me and have a father in law who loves Coors Light, and is a hop farmer, this might be the recipe for you. I really like this recipe for a number of reasons.

First of all it uses US-05 which is my workhorse yeast. No time to make a starter? You don’t need one with US-05, I generally toss the yeast in at night and come downstairs to an explosion the next morning… I buy this stuff by the brick and keep it in my freezer, it lasts forever.

Its light yet flavorful. This beer is nice and crisp, which I can appreciate, yet with some subtle hop flavors. It doesn’t taste like apple juice like a lot of the corn based cheap lagers you will find.

It looks really nice… There is something to be said as a homebrewer when you produce a beer that pours nicely and has a golden hue to it. A lot of my earlier recipes came out looking shockingly similar (brown).

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Blonde Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 11 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 11.75 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.045
Efficiency: 95% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 4.89%
IBU (rager): 19.86
SRM (morey): 3.43
Mash pH:

FERMENTABLES:
13 lb – German – Pale Ale (90.4%)
9 oz – American – Caramel / Crystal 10L (3.9%)
13 oz – American – Wheat (5.7%)

HOPS:
11 g – Chinook, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 10.59
22 g – Chinook, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 25 min, IBU: 9.27
18 g – Chinook, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 0 min
55 g – Amarillo, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.6, Use: Dry Hop for 5 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Temp: 149 F
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale – American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 81%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 54 – 77 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

NOTES:
Mash out 168
1.047
Lightly dry hop with something light/fruity, el dorado/cascade, amarillo etc

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