Hey Guys. I am looking for some basic direction on a simple blonde recipe. I am going for something crisp but with some sweetness. I am not sure yet but I will probably be adding zest, lemongrass, or something at the end of the boil to make it a bit more interesting. Any feedback?
85% two row
10% carapils
5% honey malt
14 g Centennial 60 min
14 g Centennial 10 min
OG 1.048
IBUs 22
US05 yeast
I like it - I like simple. Make sure fermentation goes well, you have little to hide behind.
looks perfect to me!
I know don’t want it too dry, but 15% crystal malt in something this delicate seems like it would be overpowering to me. I’d cut both in half.
Good point. I always forget that honey malt is more or less crystal. I might leave the honey where it is and decrease the carapils…say 5% honey, 5% carapils? I know that isn’t half…
I’m using 2% - 3% carapil. I get the effect I’m wanting and don’t see a need to use more, unless wanting a crazy silky IPA. I target roughly a half pound per 5 gallon recipe and scale/adjust as needed.
What are you looking for regarding the Honey malt?
Honey flavor and sweetness
I’ve not used that, anyone else? A data-point is that I’ve had good results when pouring honey into the wort when the boil is done. Chill to 180, mix it in, continue chilling.
That will work fine but the honey is all fructose and glucose. It will ferment out completely, might add flavor but shouldn’t add sweetness at all.
In my experience, honey malt works better than honey for imparting actual flavor and sweetness. 5% seems to be the perfect amount for me to get a nice influence that is not overpowering whatsoever.
I’m trying to develop a blonde ale for a house beer. I’m on batch III and should be doing batch 4 soon.
Complete details of all recipes here
Each so far has been with a different yeast as well (although on batch III that was because the HBS was out of US-05, lol).
Body wise I’m liking the addition of corn. We’ll see how batch III tastes, it had more corn.
So I have not brewed this yet and am kind of torn. I am thinking about going with this grain bill instead of the original one. Any feedback? When I don’t brew soon enough, I tinker around way too much…
80% two row
10% white wheat
5% munich I
5% honey malt
14 g Centennial 60 min
14 g Centennial 10 min
OG 1.049
IBUs 22
SRM 5.1
US05 yeast
It looks good, but personally I think the original one was better. I’m sure they’d both be good, but my money is on the original one being closer to what would be expected of a blonde ale (by me, anyway). I like the simpler grain bill as well.
You should really brew them both and compare. Or at least brew the original to assess the result, and make changes for the next batch from there if needed.
I’d go:
90% 2-Row
5% wheat
5% honey malt
keep everything else the same.
Edit: And Simple
You can get a lot of crispness from carbonation. I seem to remember the use of rice contributes to this quality as well.
Thanks all. I will probably go back more to the original idea. My biggest challenge is to determine how much crystal I want to use. If honey malt is more or less crystal than I guess I should keep the total amount of honey malt + crystal at or below 10%. I do like hoser’s idea too…
Seriously, you are over thinking this :D. Blonde ales are very simple. Basically an all malt premium lager with ale yeast and maybe a little more hop character. Mostly 90+% 2-row, occasionally an adjunct(i.e. wheat), and maybe a light crystal malt, with low hop profile.
Per the BJCP (you may need to scroll down):
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style06.php#1b
Here is Jamil’s recipe from the Beer Dujour website. I like the centennial idea better than williamette:
http://beerdujour.com/Recipes/Jamil/JamilsBlondeAle.htm
Sometimes, the more simple the recipe, the better it tastes! 
Start simple and slowly build from there with one ingredient or process change at a time to achieve the beer you are looking for. Good luck!
Bottled this last week. Final recipe was
87.5% two row
6.25% honey malt
6.25% wheat
14 g Centennial - 60 min
14 g Centennial - 10 min
US-05 yeast
OG - 1.051
FG - 1.009
IBUs ~22
I also added 9 g lime zest, 19 g grated lemongrass with 5 min remaining in boil as I was partially influenced by Burnside’s Lime Kolsch. I am afraid it will end up tasting like a glorified mexican beer with a lime…