Canadian Blonde - Honey Style!

[quachy]

OK fellow homebrewers, I have just bottled my Coopers Pale Ale and have used my capper for the first time. There is just something satisfying about pulling the handle down and capping a bottle, not to mention drinking out of glass! The fellow at the HBS I ordered from mentioned that beer kept in PET bottles slowly lose their carbination after 6 months. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

Anyway back to the topic, I'm going to put down a Canadian Blonde (coopers) with 500g BE1, 500g DLM & 500g Honey. Does this sound OK to the more knowledable people out there? Not sure about yeast, I have two saflager yeasts s-23 and w-34/70 and a safale US-05 yeast. Any suggestions? I do like a clean crisp finish to my beers.

Thanks for the input. Have I mentioned that this is a sen-bloody-sational forum!

Quachy

 

[tdack]

I've just put down a Coopers Canadian and used 1.5Kg of honey, that was it. I'll let you know how it goes, it's been in the fermenter for about 4 days now. I did pitch a second packet of Coopers kit yeast as I thought it hadn't taken off, turns out that I just didn't have the best seal on the lid so the air lock wasn't bubbling.

 

[Noxious]

Hey dude,
I put a Canadian Blonde with Honey on as about my fourth brew. Have done another since and both times used Eucalyptus based honey. First time was RedGum honey, second Yellow Box....I would recommend not using euc. honey as it imparts quite a different taste to what your probably expecting. Ive been told to use clover honey but i have alot of trouble finding it.
just make sure your honey doesnt have wild yeasts present. Which is difficult when the label doesnt mention anything of the sort.
Anyhow, the ecualyptus taste does subside slightly, after months of storage.
Good luck...
P.S - I would use the US-05 to get the honey taste coming through, as I think maybe the S-23 would make it fruity and sweet....cidery? Not sure
have fun

 

[quachy]

Only have a eucalypt honey. What do you reckon? Does anyone know where I could get clover honey (or not euco)?

Quachy

 

[Daawl]

depends on how much of a rush you are in.

Do you have Farmers markets or regular fates near you. These are usually a good source of different types of honey.

I do know that out here clover honey is in a shortage due to the drought. The clover hasn't been a prominent over the last year.

 

[quachy]

Yeah have the daylesford market and surrounds but they are all euco honey (checked over teh last few markets). Maybe I'll just do 1kg be1 and 500g DLM?

Quachy

 

[barls]

white box isnt too bad also yellow box isnt bad it jut takes a while to be drinkable like 8 months.
i like clover or coolabah myself and actuallly have about 3 kg of strawberry clover honey in the cupboard at the moment. try here http://www.beekeepers.com.au/2.htm
they normally have a good rang and also have some idea about what you need. just ask for a mild tasting honey and they should be able to help you.

 

[pint of lager]

OK fellow homebrewers, I have just bottled my Coopers Pale Ale and have used my capper for the first time. There is just something satisfying about pulling the handle down and capping a bottle, not to mention drinking out of glass! The fellow at the HBS I ordered from mentioned that beer kept in PET bottles slowly lose their carbination after 6 months. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

Anyway back to the topic, I'm going to put down a Canadian Blonde (coopers) with 500g BE1, 500g DLM & 500g Honey. Does this sound OK to the more knowledable people out there? Not sure about yeast, I have two saflager yeasts s-23 and w-34/70 and a safale US-05 yeast. Any suggestions? I do like a clean crisp finish to my beers.

Welcome to the hobby.

PET can lose it's carbonation long term. Some bottles seem to be worse than others.

If you use only part of the brew mixes such as BE2, make sure you stir the bag up thoroughly to mix the contents. They are blends of dextrose, maltodextrin and DME. You don't want all the maltodextrin bit, or all the dextrose bit. I don't know what exactly is in a BE1, hopefully it is written on the side of the packet.

Your recipe looks fine. What is your DLM? Usually the acronyms used are:
DME dried malt extract
LME liquid malt extract
then if need be, use the words dark, light, wheat or amber. If nothing is written in front, it is assumed to be light, as in light coloured.

If you can control the ferment temperature to 10-12 degrees, either of the lager yeasts will be fine. Otherwise, use the US-05. Generally, lagers will attenuate more than the ales, this means the fg is a bit lower for lagers which is part of the crispness you are looking for.

 

[quachy]

If you can control the ferment temperature to 10-12 degrees, either of the lager yeasts will be fine. Otherwise, use the US-05. Generally, lagers will attenuate more than the ales, this means the fg is a bit lower for lagers which is part of the crispness you are looking for.

Thanks for the reply, particularly this bit about the fg and lager yeast. I was refering to the light DME from coopers.

Quachy

PS - Although I am in no major hurry, I am trying to get a good stock up of a variety of beers before October as my wife turns 30 and i would like to throw a bit of a bash for her.

 

[quachy]

Just put down a Coopers Canadian Blonde with 500g BE1, 500g light dried malt and 500g organic mallee honey. I put the honey into a pot with about 500mls of boiled water and let it simmer for about 5 mins before putting into fermenter, hopefully all the little bugs (if any) have gone bye-byes with a distinct honey smell and taste still present in the honey water mix. Filled to 23.5 lts (was a bit hot so added another 500mls of cold water). When all the ingredients went in, the malt seemed a bit lumpy. Got most of the lumps out before pitching safale US-05 at 23 degrees. She's gonna get pretty cold down here tonight, so hopefully with the sleeping bag around my baby, the temp doens't get below 20 degrees.

Fingers crossed things go well. First attempt with real yeast and honey!

OG 1043.

Quachy