Wetta Blonde Ale (AG)
Brewed: 12/01/2013 Kegged: 12/14/2013
The first batch of beer I ever made was simply what came in the Mr. Beer Kit that my sister got me for Christmas of 2008. It was
Classic American Blonde Ale.
One night, we were visiting my in-laws and just happened to bring some of my early beers, including one bottle of the Classic American Blonde Ale. It was everyone's favorite of the beers I brought. My mother-in-law "Huera" in particular really liked this blonde. Of course by that time I had already decided that I didn't want to just add water to HME and booster for my beers, and at some point I promised I would design a recipe and name that beer after her. But, I remember clearly telling her "I'm going to spell it with a 'W'" (the way people pronounce it sounds like it should be "Wetta").
So I made Wetta Blonde Ale with Mr. Beer Ingredients. And people liked it. A lot. Still to this day, I think it is Huera's favorite of all the beers I have ever made. I believe part of that is because it is named after her, but it is also her kind of beer.
Even after I moved to all-grain brewing, but the one Mr. Beer recipe I continued to make the longest was this Wetta Blonde Ale.
 And then, I stopped making beers with HMEs at all. I converted some of my other Mr. Beer recipes to all-grain, but never did with Wetta Blonde.
Until now.
Instead of the Mr. Beer HME, I am using standard American 2-row malt with a bit of Munich and some C40. I am hopping it with EKG as that is what I used in the original Wetta Blonde, and I am adding some honey like the original recipe had.
I have no idea if it will taste exactly the same, but I think it will be close enough for a first shot. I'll adjust after we taste the first batch. I think it should be good.
To see what I've written on my blog about Wetta Blonde, see http://blog.ericshepard.com/search/label/Wetta
Wetta Blonde (AG) --- Batch 1
|
| Style |
|
Blonde Ale |
|
Batch Size |
|
5.50 gal |
| Type |
|
All Grain |
|
Boil Size |
|
7.76 gal |
| Brewhouse Efficiency |
|
75.00 |
|
Boil Time |
|
90 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity |
|
1.049 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.008 SG |
| Recipe Bitterness |
|
24.3 IBUs (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
5.4 % |
| BU : GU |
|
0.492 |
|
|
|
|
| Recipe Color |
|
4.8 SRM |
|
|
|
|
| Measured OG: |
|
1.049 * |
|
Measured FG: |
|
1.007 |
| ADF: |
|
86% |
|
Measured ABV: |
|
5.5 |
Ingredients
Ingredients
| Amt |
Name |
Type |
# |
%/IBU |
| 8 lbs 4.0 oz |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) |
Grain |
1 |
84.6 % |
| 6.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) |
Grain |
2 |
3.8 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3 |
2.6 % |
| 0.250 oz |
Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.60 %] - First Wort 60.0 min |
Hop |
4 |
18.9 IBUs |
| 1.00 Items |
Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) |
Fining |
5 |
- |
| 0.500 oz |
Goldings, East Kent [6.30 %] - Boil 15.0 min |
Hop |
6 |
3.3 IBUs |
| 4.00 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) |
Other |
7 |
- |
| 0.500 oz |
Goldings, East Kent [6.30 %] - Boil 5.0 min |
Hop |
8 |
2.1 IBUs |
| 1.0 pkg |
Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml] |
Yeast |
9 |
- |
| 5.00 ml |
Clarity-Ferm (Primary 2.0 weeks) |
Fining |
10 |
- |
| 14.0 oz |
Honey (1.0 SRM) |
Sugar |
11 |
9.0 % |
Mash Profile
Mash Steps
| Name |
Description |
Step Temperature |
Step Time |
| Mash In |
Add 11.09 qt of water at 163.7 F |
152.0 F |
60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(2.17gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water
Recipe Notes
Mash, sparge, and boil as directed. Remember
first wort hops.
Honey gets added at flameout.
Pitch as close to 60 F as
possible. Keep cold for first 24 hours, then let rise to no warmer than
68.
Carbonate to 2.5 volumes.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: |
|
12/1 |
|
Strike Temp: |
|
|
| Mash Temps: |
|
156 ... brought down to 150ish. |
| Pre-boil OG |
|
1.036 (1.036 SG) |
|
Pre-boil Vol |
|
7.75 (7.76 gal) |
| Actual Mash Efficiency |
|
|
|
Pitch Temp |
|
58 |
| Fermentation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Day 1: strong start 64 |
| Day 2: 64 |
| Day 3: Still going strong 70 |
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