I designed this beer for the warm weather. It definitely delivers. When fermented cool, WLP029 creates a super clean and crisp beer without the subtle fruitiness you might expect from a typical Kölsch. For those interested, this recipe has received a few reviews over at BeerSmithRecipes.com. I believe this yeast would produce a great beer in temperatures as high as 65°F; if you don’t have that precise of control, I’d recommend using something like WLP090, Nottingham, or the Chico strain.
Packaging Volume: 5 gallons
Estimated OG: 1.046
Estimated SRM: 4
Estimated IBU: 20
Estimated ABV: 4.7%
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
GRIST
7 lbs 12.0 oz US 2-Row (84.4%)
11.0 oz Wheat Malt (7.5%)
8.0 oz Crystal 10 (5.4%)
4.0 oz CaraPils (2.7%)
HOPS
~13 IBU Magnum/Warrior/Galena – Boil 55 min
7.00 g Cascade – Boil 25 min
7.00 g Cascade – Boil 10 min
7.00 g CTZ – Boil 10 min
7.00 g Cascade – Boil 5 min
YEAST
1.0 pkg WLP029 – German Ale/Kölsch
PROCESS
– Mash at 150°F for 60 minutes (3.75 gallons)
– Sparge with 170°F water (5 gallons)
– Chill to 56°F prior to pitching yeast starter
– Ferment at 58°F for 4-5 days then ramp up to 65° over the next few days
– Cold crash for 48+ hours after FG is stable (10-14 days)
– Package, carbonate, enjoy!
138 thoughts on “Best Blonde Ale”
I made this and I swear it taste just like Coors. Even a couple friends agree with the way it taste. Are you guys getting that same flavor?
I’ll always described it as coors, but with flavor. It’s light and clean but has a nice light malty flavor that doesn’t get in the way.
Hi. I always wonder how people adjust to different brewing efficiency. For example the grist percentage above at 90% eff will have lighter colour and when scale dark or amber beers this will be more visible. If try to keep all the specialty malts by weight and adjust to a higher efficiency only by reducing base malt then % between all grains will be very different. What you guys do?
I always keep the same grain percentages for each malt, but adjust total grain weight as I need (I use beer smith to make this super easy.) So if someone is getting 60% efficiency they might need 12lbs of grain to hit their target OG but someone who gets 80% might only need 10lbs, but as long as both people keep the same percentages of grain, they should develop identical worts.
Marshall, I tried using Imperial Keveiking A44 for this recipe fermented at 90 degrees F for 3 days. Gave the blonde strong citrus esters. Big difference from using the Kölsch strain. I will definitely brew with Kevieking again for this recipe!
Mmm, that sounds good, I’ll have that.
Is this recipe featured on one of the podcasts?
My Club GEBL (Greater Everett Brewers League) is doing a blonde ale same brew with a bottle exchange for our May 2021 meeting.
The award winning recipe we are starting from uses Imperial A09 Pub Yeast. While I have the yeast on hand, at the last minute (as I tend to do) I decided to make mine drastically different and will be adding German Ale Wyeast 1007. This isn’t a big deal for me as I tend to play outside of the rules.
But, as it is a club brew, I am trying to determine what style to call it for reference. Wyeast doesn’t list Blonde Ale as an option for this yeast and Amerian Wheat is the closest example, but after taking a look at the BJCP guidelines (and referencing this recipe), I would say it still should be categorized as a blonde ale. Curious what you bad of misfits think. 🙂
Full recipe:
Miss Vickie Blonde Ale
Details: 5.5-gallon recipe
Target OG: 1.050
Target FG: 1.008
IBUs: 20
Target ABV: 5.1
Target pH 5.2
SRM: 4.3
Mash @ 152 F for 60 min
Sparge @ 152 F to collect wort (volume depending on batch size)
Grains:
5# Pale ale
4# Pilser
.5# Munich
.5# Wheat, flaked
Hops:
.75 oz Cascade @ 60min
1.0 oz Saaz @ 15min
Yeast:
Imperial Pub Yeast
It’s not… yet.
Good day,
Just brewed this recipe yesterday, noticed this morning (24hrs in primary), no fermentation at 58F as advised, reconfirmed the fermentation temps on the WLP029 and sure enough this is what is said on the yeast : ‘It performs exceptionally well at temperatures ranging from 65 to 69°F (18-20°C) and does not ferment well below 62°F (17°C) after peak fermentation’…….did you really ferment this thing at 50F????
Thanks for the help
Starting stepping up wlp029 from the freezer a few days ago. This will be the first brew on the Brewzilla Gen 4! Can’t wait to brew this weekend!