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.