22 replies to this topic

[3rd party JKor]

It came out great, very clean with just a hint of esters and subdued hopping, but properly balanced, nice mouthfeel and body. The problem is, it's too damn bland! I can't drink it. It's probably a good thing. I brewed it for visitors/friends who like the BMC swill, but damn, it's hard to accept the fact that I brewed something so bland intentionally. I think my next few brews are going to be an IIPA, RIS and Doppelbock to restore my beer karma.

[JimNasium]

It came out great, very clean with just a hint of esters and subdued hopping, but properly balanced, nice mouthfeel and body. The problem is, it's too damn bland! I can't drink it. It's probably a good thing. I brewed it for visitors/friends who like the BMC swill, but damn, it's hard to accept the fact that I brewed something so bland intentionally. I think my next few brews are going to be an IIPA, RIS and Doppelbock to restore my beer karma.

What would Terry Tate say at a moment like this?

[chadm75]

I brewed a batch of Cream Ale like that a couple of batches ago.....zero flavor!

[Patrick C.]

Does it get better when it warms up?

[3rd party JKor]

Does it get better when it warms up?

Meh, not much.

[lucybear999]

Use it for your post monster IPA beers.....you know, once your taste buds are slammed...

[3rd party JKor]

Use it for your post monster IPA beers.....you know, once your taste buds are slammed...

...or I can use it to keep the riff raff out of my monster IIPAs.

[MyaCullen]

It's never to late to dry hop!

[Thirsty]

...or I can use it to keep the riff raff out of my monster IIPAs.

A couple of my friends have the famous line as they walk up to my kegerator to take a pull, "So which keg are you trying to kick?" That is when I steer them to the sessions.I do like to keep a session on tap for that purpose, the only problem is if 4 out 5 are drinking sessions, they disappear a lot quicker, then the snobs jump onto the impies.

[Howie]

It came out great, very clean with just a hint of esters and subdued hopping, but properly balanced, nice mouthfeel and body. The problem is, it's too damn bland! I can't drink it. It's probably a good thing. I brewed it for visitors/friends who like the BMC swill, but damn, it's hard to accept the fact that I brewed something so bland intentionally. I think my next few brews are going to be an IIPA, RIS and Doppelbock to restore my beer karma.

What was your recipe? I really appreciate a well-brewed blonde ale/cream ale. I think it comes from judging that category at comps. There are so many god awful ones in the lineup, that a really good one just shimmers. Hard to get it right, since you can't bury off-flavors with a pound of hops.I am a session beer kind of guy. I drink beer, I don't sip it. I love milds, bitters, etc. Don't think I've ever brewed anything over 7%

[gumballhead]

It's never to late to dry hop!

+4 on the Dry Hoping.tell them it's Dry hopped Bud.through a few Saaz in with the Keg or what ever you have that can be sacraficed.none the less it's great to have a beer like that on hand for the Rif Raff.

[stellarbrew]

I gave up on brewing beers I don't like, just to appease the Bud Light sector of my friends. My time is too valuable to me to waste it brewing tasteless beer, when the Bud Light crowd at best tolerates it in lieu of the real Bud Light. In truth, they would really prefer Bud Light, which is cheap and easy enough to buy.

[3rd party JKor]

What was your recipe? I really appreciate a well-brewed blonde ale/cream ale. I think it comes from judging that category at comps. There are so many god awful ones in the lineup, that a really good one just shimmers. Hard to get it right, since you can't bury off-flavors with a pound of hops.I am a session beer kind of guy. I drink beer, I don't sip it. I love milds, bitters, etc. Don't think I've ever brewed anything over 7%

I pretty much used Jamil Z's recipe. 95% 2-row/5% CaraHell, Mash@152, OG 1.049, FG 1.011, 15 IBU of Willamette at 60min.Don't get me wrong. I don't want to change it. It has it's place and time. It' just that, for me, that place and time is limited.I'm a big session guy as well, but beers like milds, bitters, etc. have much more flavor than a typical blond. I was actually really curious how it would turn out. It's much better than bud light and the like, it's just subtle. I can only appreciate subtle every once in a while.

Edited by JKoravos, 28 September 2009 - 10:47 AM.

[Howie]

I pretty much used Jamil Z's recipe. 95% 2-row/5% CaraHell, Mash@152, OG 1.049, FG 1.011, 15 IBU of Willamette at 60min.Don't get me wrong. I don't want to change it. It has it's place and time. It' just that, for me, that place and time is limited.I'm a big session guy as well, but beers like milds, bitters, etc. have much more flavor than a typical blond. I was actually really curious how it would turn out. It's much better than bud light and the like, it's just subtle. I can only appreciate subtle every once in a while.

Yeah, I must admit that JZ's recipe does seem a little boring. I put a little Vienna and biscuit malt in mine, some late hopping, and use a more interesting yeast. Mine came out well and was a really good session beer.

[Big Nake]

I agree on the dry-hopping if you decide you want to get it back where you'd like it. If you plan to have friends over to drink it, leave it. But I made an experimental beer with US-05 and I underhopped it, IMO. I suspended a muslin bag filled with sanitized marbles and an ounce of Sterling in the keg and the beer was awesome! The hops stayed in there for over a month as the kegged was drained and the hops never got overly assertive. It was the first time I had done that but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again! Cheers.

[3rd party JKor]

I had another pint last night (OK, two). Maybe I was exaggerating a little bit before. I can definitely drink it, I think my beersnobbiness got the better of me for a second.

[3rd party JKor]

I think it just needs a hair more bitterness. IMO I think it's a little too unbalanced toward the malt side even for the BMC set. It's currently at 20 IBU (I said 15 earlier), I think next time around I'll bump it up to 23-25 IBU. This is one of the problems going off other people's recipes for light/low hopped beers. It doesn't take much to throw off the balance. The age of the hops between what Jamil used and what I used is probably enough to throw it pretty significantly out of balance.

[3rd party JKor]

chad's post in "what did you drink last night?" got me thinking, I bet this blond would make a great base for a blueberry ale. I might try to add some blueberry extract to a glass to see how it tastes.

[Big Nake]

chad's post in "what did you drink last night?" got me thinking, I bet this blond would make a great base for a blueberry ale. I might try to add some blueberry extract to a glass to see how it tastes.

JK: If you decide to do that, I highly recommend the Crosby & Baker blueberry extract as opposed to the LD Carlson. The C&B stuff is dark blue and has a very nice aroma. The LDC stuff is clear (IIRC) and has a very faint, artificial smell to it. There are also places online that sell all kinds of extracts in almost every flavor under the sun... almond, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon, watermelon, cherry, raspberry, etc... but the problem there is determining how much to use in 5 gallons. Cheers.

[Big Nake]

I think it just needs a hair more bitterness. IMO I think it's a little too unbalanced toward the malt side even for the BMC set. It's currently at 20 IBU (I said 15 earlier), I think next time around I'll bump it up to 23-25 IBU. This is one of the problems going off other people's recipes for light/low hopped beers. It doesn't take much to throw off the balance. The age of the hops between what Jamil used and what I used is probably enough to throw it pretty significantly out of balance.

Also... my Blonde is hopped to about 25. 5.3% of Sterling for 60 and then some Hallertau (¼ ounce, I think) for 10 minutes. Seems good to me and just a little higher than most beer-drinking mortals care for. Some have seen me drinking it and thought, Hey, that looks nice... can I have one of those?? and then they taste it like, Oh wow, it has a lot of flavor! No it doesn't.