Blonde Ale - 6B

I like to keep a beer like this on tap all the time.  It is easy to drink and refreshing especially in the summer months.  This is also a good introductory beer to novice beer drinkers that are used to quaffing light American-style lagers.  The recipe I came up with uses a mixture of Pilsner malt and American 2-Row malt, with just a touch of biscuit-like character malts.  I also went with Czech Saaz hops and some homegrown Mt. Hood hops from last year’s crop.

Mrs. Bumstead

Ingredients (makes ~10 gallons of finished beer)

Grains

8.25 lbs Pilsner Malt

8.25 lbs American 2-Row Malt

1.0 lbs Biscuit Malt
0.5 lb Victory Malt

Kettle Additions

1.5 oz Czech Saaz (3.1% AA, 60 min)

2.0 oz Mt Hood Hops (homegrown, 15 min)
2.0 oz Mt Hood Hops (homegrown, 5 min)
1 Tablet Whirlfloc (5 min)

Yeast

2 pkg WYeast #1056 (2000 mL starter)

OG: 1.048, FG: 1.010, SRM: 5, IBU: ~23, ABV: 4.8%

Mash at 153 oF for 50 min, boil for 90 min then chill to 65 oF.  Ferment initially at 67 oF and let the temperature rise slowly over the course of several days to 70 oF.

Belgian Specialty Ale - 16E

This style designation is for all Belgian ales that do not fit into one of the eight other Belgian ale categories. Commerical examples are plentiful - Orval and New Belgium's 1554 Black Ale come to mind. The beer we decided to brew is a cross between a Belgian Witbier and a Belgian Blond Ale.

Witty Blond

Ingredients (makes ~10 gallons of finished beer)

Grains

11.2 lbs Pilsner Malt

3.2 lbs Malted Wheat

0.8 lbs Aromatic Malt

Kettle Additions

1.5 oz Saaz Hops (5.1% AA, 60 min)

12 grams Lemon Zest (from 4 small lemons, 10 min)

0.5 oz Saaz Hops (5.1% AA, 5 min)

Yeast

2 pkg WYeast #1214 (1200 mL starter)

OG: 1.044, FG: 1.006, SRM: 3, IBU: 16, ABV: 5.0%

Mash at 150 oF for 50 min, boil for 90 min and ferment initially at 65 oF and let the temperature rise slowly over the course of several days to 72 oF.

The Quest

This blog will chronicle my quest to brew an example of every style of beer, mead and cider. According to the 2008 BJCP style guidelines there are 80 beers, nine meads and nine ciders. In ten years of brewing I have brewed just over half (42) of the beers on this list.

I plan to introduce each style by first briefly discussing the unique characteristics of the style. If available, I will also evaluate a commercial example of the style. Finally, I will design a recipe (or borrow one) and then brew it.

This will be a long process, and my hope is to learn much along the way.