What are you brewing?

[nzbrewer]

Since this is the most popular thread on the RealBeer.co.nz forum I thought I would start it here just to see what happens

[denimglen]

Started it last night -

86% pale malt
7% crystal
7% pale malt (after conversion for souring)

7 IBU NZ Hallertauer

Safbrew S33

75 mins @ 65.6C

Approx 17 hours at around 50C for sour mash

Boiling now ATM.

Couldn't find much info on sour mash beers so thought I would give it a shot to see how it comes out. Fingers crossed it's drinkable.

[jt]

Just brewed a stickier brown than usual on Sunday
I upped the crystal from 250gm to 450gm and added 500gm wheat.
Standard 125gm chocolate but dropped the 20gm roast barley.
Balance of grain to 4kg was Marris Otter
OG 1.038, 28 IBU of Super Alpha, W1968
Chugging away @ 21C on the garage floor

Blonde Ale coming up this weekend, just got some pacific Hallertau - which I've been keen to use for sometime

[Edward Siddle]

what's your recipe for blonde ale JT? i was thinking of one of these myself last night, along the lines of randy mosher's recipe in Radical Brewing:
80% pils malt, 10% munich, 5% pale crystal, 5%wheat (malted or unmalted), with hops loaded towards the end - hallertau and saaz types. at least, that is mosher's recipe - i will probably cut back all of the munich and crystal and wheat to ensure it doesn't get too dark.

[jt]

I was going 80% pale, 20% Munich and 10% wheat

Not that I've read much apart from the BJCP guidelines on Blonde Ales. It's more that that's where a recipe progression is leading me and it seems to fit the BJCP description.

Once bittered I'm going 1gm per litre of PH at 10 and 1 minute, maybe at power off too (which may be at odds with the style)

Aiming for 1.040 which is my statndard and 25 IBU so at a BU:OG ratio of 64% it's quite Blande as well as Blonde :)

[jt]

The reason for the Blonde style is to provide a light, fizzy quaffer to fill the gap in lagers.
I need something to tide me over until the temp drops to ferment W2112 at less than 20C - guessing that's a month away.

Just took delivery of some Vienna and Carahell from Mike - I have plans to perfect my lager for the next SOBA comp :)

[Edward Siddle]

oh i know what you mean about filling that gap. i operate often on the basis of trying to keep a good range of 'colours' in my cellar and i can see that if i don't make a pale beer soon i will have an oversupply of amber, brown and black beers by april. and yet, i don't want to make a pils or helles lager, and i don't want to do another otter/sauvin summer ale just yet either. so a blondy fits the bill, really.

that grain bill looks much same as mine, really. i'll be going to 30IBUs i think, but then it'll also come in at 1048, a bit higher than yours.

[jt]

Yup, your BU:OG is pretty much the same as mine - 62 vs 64%

Perhaps Vienna would be better for the colour compared to Munich - if colour is an issue for you ?

[Edward Siddle]

you're probably right although i am actually more worried about the colour contribution of the crystal than the munich (light munich being about 6L and mid crystal 40-60L not exactly sure), and also having made a beer last year with 400g each of both munich I and II and the rest pils which came out a deep gold. the only crystal i have is mid crystal so that's the one i'm going to drop the quantity of most. i could probably do a colour calculation but i can never be bothered with those. if it comes out a smidge dark but tastes good, who cares?!

[jt]

"Caramel flavors typically absent" - maybe ditch the crystal altogether ?

[Stu McKinlay]

I can't get enough of amber, brown and black. When I want a blonde, I'll buy it.

By the way, I had a Pilsner Urquell last night. I'm not sure I've ever had it before - at least not that I remember. Bloody magic... for a lager ;-).

[Fairlane]

It's good stuff alright.......that's been my favourite beer for at least 10 years...

Now if only I could emulate it... :)

[jt]

Weighed grains & hops last night for Sundays brew, milling tomorrow
2.85 kg Pale
0.80 Munich
0.40 wheat

13gm Super Alpha 60 minutes
25 gms pacific hallatau each at 10, 1 and 0 minutes

1.040 and 26 IBU

I don't know if it's a blonde or not - it's on the low end of the gravity and high end of the IBU - but it is an ale.

Weekend after will be a break - daughters birthday falls on a Sunday (traditionally brew day)
Next brew day will be in early March, will it be cool enough to use the Cali Lager yeast I wonder ?

cheers, jt