Light Session Blonde Ale

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beerandgarden

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I've already got a good pipeline of pale ales, IPAs, stouts etc. so for my next brew I want to do an easy drinking, low alcohol, session beer. I also want to use only the ingredients that I have on hand which are Hops: Motueka, Nelson Sauvin and Simcoe, Yeasts: US04, S04, Grains: TF Chocolate, TF Golden Promise, TF Maris Otter, Bairds Pale Crystal, Weyermann Pilsner, TF Caramalt.

Here's what I've come up with:

Blondie (Blonde Ale), Partial Mash

Grain Bill
2.000 kg Pilsner (62.5%)
1.000 kg Liquid Malt Extract - Light (31.25%)
0.200 kg Crystal 10 (6.25%)

Hop Bill
15.0 g Motueka Pellet (7.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
20.0 g Motueka Pellet (7.1% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil) (0.9 g/L)
25.0 g Motueka Pellet (7.1% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)

Misc Bill
Single step Infusion at 66C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 18C with Safale US-05

Recipe Specs
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Original Gravity (OG): 1.034
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 3.34 %
Colour (SRM): 3.7 (EBC): 7.3
Bitterness (IBU): 26.5 (Average)
Est. Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

I'm looking for feedback on this recipe. Do you think it will be a decent tasting light blonde ale, or might it be too bland/watery? I picked pilsner malt instead of pale ale malt for lighter colour. Would I get better flavour with a pale ale malt such as Marris Otter? Also going with a small quantity of the palest crystal malt to keep the colour light. Can a beer this low in alcohol still taste good? Could you recommend a better 3(ish)% ABV recipe from the ingredients I've listed above?
 
Looks great. Any reason for the liquid malt extract?

I would probably dial the bitterness back a tad, seeing as its a light beer.

Maris would be nice. A flavourful base malt without going over the top with specialties.
 
I'd ditch the crystal if you are after a blonde. However what I'd recommend is that, if you have the mash tun capability, use 3kg of base grain and mash it at 71 degrees for an hour. You'll get the low ABV but heaps of body and dextrins. (how I do my dark milds basically).

It works well. Commercial breweries don't do things that way otherwise the accountants would string them up by the nadgers :p
 
Commercial breweries don't do things that way otherwise the accountants would string them up by the nadgers :p

Nah it's cheaper just to cut them off :p

:icon_cheers:

Paul
 
I'd ditch the crystal if you are after a blonde. However what I'd recommend is that, if you have the mash tun capability, use 3kg of base grain and mash it at 71 degrees for an hour. You'll get the low ABV but heaps of body and dextrins. (how I do my dark milds basically).

It works well. Commercial breweries don't do things that way otherwise the accountants would string them up by the nadgers :p
My thinking on the crystal was that a bit of speciality grain would help with malt character in a low gravity beer and that a small amount of light crystal wouldnt darken it much. How about TF Caramalt instead of the Bairds Pale Crystal, would that be lighter?

I'm doing stovetop partial mash but I could probably handle up to 3kg. I've heard about the higher mash temp so I'm going to do that. My brewing calc (Brew Mate) does not lower the expected ABV when I increase mash temp from 66 to 71. Do other brew calcs account for this variable? Any way to figure out the effect of mash temp on ABV?

Just looking at your avatar and wondering would oatmeal add anything to this beer?
 
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