Blonde Ale / Premium Lager
Testimonials
"After just one day in the keg this beer tasted great! I'm really happy with how this batch turned out. The beer is slightly grainy, slightly sweet, and has lots of nice, fresh, almost minty bitterness." - Geosmashing
"I finally brewed my first all grain batch of Blonde Ale that you recommended as a first time brew. It's freakin amazing!!!" - Erik N.
Introduction
This Blonde Ale / Premium Lager is one of our house favourites, one that we've brewed dozens of times over many years. It's a big hit with everyone who tries it as there's enough malt and hop flavour to keep the beer snobs happy (we don't use any flaked corn or rice), but it's still light enough to not scare away the Bud / Miller / Coors drinkers. It's a beer that just about anyone who likes beer can enjoy. The choice of German malt and hops makes this a German style beer.
It's a very simple recipe with one type of malt and one type of hop. Far too many brewers tend to over-complicate recipes. Sometimes simpler is better! The trick is choosing good quality fresh ingredients such as the German Weyermann pilsner malt (1.5-2.1L) and German Hallertau noble hops that we use here, and pitching enough yeast. Process is also very important, as is equipment that can actually implement that process.
We offer two versions of beer here where the only difference is the choice of yeast: Ale or Lager. The resulting beers are similar, but brewing with a lager yeast provides a cleaner tasting beer with a touch less fruitiness and yeast derived character. Patience is required however as a lager with its lower fermentation temperature means it can take longer to ferment if you do not pitch adequate amounts of yeast (make sure to follow our suggested pitch rates), and also requires a longer lagering (held near freezing) period after fermentation to allow the beer to mellow and smooth out.
Most people will find the Blonde Ale therefore easier to brew as it does not require special fermentation equipment to maintain a lower temperature and the whole process takes less time. Curious about the differences? Try a split batch and brew both at the same time, using our two recommended yeasts.
Looking for a cleaner / dryer beer? Consider our Cream Ale / Standard Lager recipe.
Brew up a batch and let us know how you like it!
Blonde Ale / Premium Lager
Size: 12 US gallons (post-boil @ 68F)
Mash Efficiency: 95%
Attenuation: 80%
Calories: 160 kcal per 12 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.048 (style range: 1.046 - 1.056)
Final Gravity: 1.010 (style range: 1.008 - 1.012)
Colour: 3.1 SRM (style range: 2 - 6)
Alcohol: 5.1% ABV (style range: 4.6% - 6%)
Bitterness: 19 IBU (style range: 15 - 25)
Mash:
18 lb German pilsner malt (1.5-2.1L) (100%)
Boil:
2.7 oz German Hallertau hops (4.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min [19 IBU]
1 Whirlfloc tablet (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
Blonde Ale Yeast:
Fermentis Safale US-05 dry yeast* (36g recommended or make an equivalent starter)
Premium Lager Yeast:
Fermentis Saflager W-34/70 dry yeast** (72g recommended or make an equivalent starter)
*If you prefer to use liquid yeast, Wyeast 1056 American Ale or White Labs WLP001 California Ale are excellent choices as they are the same clean fermenting Chico strain as US-05. You'll need ~406 billion cells or an equivalent starter.
**If you prefer to use liquid yeast, Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager or White Labs WLP830 German Lager are said to be the equivalent Weihenstephan sourced strains. You'll need ~812 billion cells or an equivalent starter.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
Notes / Process
- Add 500mg potassium metabisulfite to 20 gallons water to remove chlorine / chloramine (if required).
- Water treated with brewing salts to our Balanced flavour profile: Ca=50, Mg=10, Na=16, Cl=70, SO4=70. (Hit minimums on Ca and Mg, keep the Cl:SO4 ratio low and equal. Do not favour flavour / maltiness or bitterness / dryness. For balanced beers.). For more information on how to adjust your water, refer to our step by step Water Adjustment guide.
- 1.5 qt/lb mash thickness.
- Single infusion mash at 149F for 120-180 mins. (A very long low temperature mash helps dry out the beer).
- Raise to 168F mashout temperature and hold for 10 mins.
- ~90 min fly sparge with ~5.6-5.8 pH water (measured at mash temperature).
- Boil for 90 minutes, adding Whirlfloc and hops per schedule. Lid on at flameout, start chilling immediately.
- Cool the wort quickly to 68F if making the Blonde Ale or 50F if making the Premium Lager (we use a one-pass convoluted counterflow chiller to quickly lock in hop flavour and aroma) and transfer to fermenter.
- Aerate or oxygenate the chilled wort to a level of 8-10 ppm dissolved oxygen if making the Blonde Ale or 14 ppm if making the Premium Lager. For more information refer to our Aerating / Oxygenating Wort guide.
- Pitch yeast and ferment at 68F if making the Blonde Ale or 50F if making the Premium Lager (wort temperature). We use modified stainless fermenting buckets in wine fridges.
- Ferment until approximately 5 points from final gravity and then raise the temperature to 70-72F until finished. In our case we simply turn off the fermenting fridges and allow the beer to naturally rise to room temperature. Assume fermentation is done if the gravity does not change over ~3 days.
- Before packaging you may optionally rack to a brite tank (we use 5 gallon glass carboys) that has been purged with CO2 to avoid oxygen pickup, add 1 tsp of unflavoured gelatin dissolved in a cup of hot distilled water per 5 gallons of beer, and allow to clear for 2-3 days. In most cases we recommend skipping this step as the less you handle the beer and potentially expose it to oxygen, the better. The beer will drop brilliantly clear on its own during the conditioning period.
- Package as you would normally. We rack to kegs that have first been purged with CO2 and then chill to near freezing while carbonating at the same time in a 6-keg conditioning fridge. After ~1-2 weeks at serving pressure the kegs will be carbonated and ready to serve. In a hurry? Feel free to raise the CO2 pressure temporarily to 30-40 PSI to carbonate fast over a 24 period, and then turn back down to serving pressure.
- Carbonate this beer to around 2.5 volumes of CO2.
- The Blonde Ale will improve greatly if conditioned just above freezing for 4 weeks before serving (6-8 weeks is recommended for the Premium Lager). Avoid keeping the beer unrefrigerated for extended periods. It will remain clean and crisp for months if kept near freezing.
For detailed brewing instructions, see our Brew Day Step by Step guide.
Enjoy!
Questions? Visit our Blonde Ale / Premium Lager forum thread.
Pictures / Videos
Interested in seeing what we're brewing right now? Follow us on Instagram for pictures and videos of our brewing activities as they happen.
