Some additional water under the bridge already but to your question... I might attribute certain hops to certain styles, yes. If I were going to make a "blonde ale", my personal preference would be to make it neutral with hops like Mt. Hood, Santiam, Ultra, Northern Brewer, Perle, Crystal and any other neutral hop. That's just a "blonde ale" to me. If I go with something like Amarillo, Galaxy, Citra, Simcoe, etc., I'm probably going to use a bit more of those which may push the beer into pale ale territory. I'm all for "anything goes" and you guys know that I will do some dumbass things with ingredients. But I have some guidelines on various styles. If I had a SRM-5 (or so) beer that had a lot of late Amarillo, Simcoe, Galaxy, Citra, etc., it would probably feel more "pale ale" to me. But that's just me.
the 2014 guidelines for Blonde Ale are -
Flavor: Initial soft malty sweetness, but optionally some light character malt flavor (e.g., bread, toast, biscuit, wheat) can also be present. Caramel flavors typically absent; if present, they are typically low-color caramel notes. Low to medium fruity esters optional, but are welcome. Light to moderate hop flavor (any variety), but shouldn’t be overly aggressive. Medium-low to medium bitterness, but the balance is normally towards the malt or even between malt and hops. Finishes medium-dry to slightly malty-sweet; impression of sweetness is often an expression of lower bitterness than actual residual sweetness.
Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.038 – 1.054 IBUs: 15 – 28 FG: 1.008 – 1.013 SRM: 3 – 6 ABV: 3.8 – 5.5%
Commercial Examples: Kona Big Wave, Pelican Kiwanda Cream Ale, Victory Summer Love, Russian River Aud Blonde, Widmer Blonde Ale
So that said... I just made something similar to chadm75 recipe - https://www.brewersf...in-s-blonde-ale
chadm75, on 18 Jun 2015 - 10:49 AM, said:
With Bravo as the bittering and some late additions of Cascade, total IBU was 23.5 and it has plenty of hops for me ...almost to much for me and again, only 23.5 hops.
I think some hops have more punch than others... and this bravo hop has some punch in it for sure, probably more than mt hood.
I orginally thought a Blonde Ale should be more balanced and less hoppy than I made... My recipe is in the middle of the guidelines... but yes it is trending towards Pale Ale territory, IMO.
thanks for all the comments.
Kevin
