Yardwork Pale Ale - Thoughts?

Box of Rocks

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Looking to brew a Blonde American Ale, with a bit less alcohol. Something like a session beer. Here’s the first draft of the plan and all constructive criticism is encouraged!

(I see now I need to tune it up - the Vienna isn’t DME.)

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Yardwork Pale Ale

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Blonde Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 2.7 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4.24 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.031
Efficiency: 60% (brew house)

Hop Utilization Multiplier: 1

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.044
Final Gravity: 1.008
ABV (standard): 4.76%
IBU (tinseth): 24.27
SRM (morey): 4.84
Mash pH: 5.49

FERMENTABLES:
4.5 lb - Pilsner (87.8%)
6 oz - DME Goldpils Vienna (7.3%)
2 oz - CaraMunich II (2.4%)
2 oz - Flaked Oats (2.4%)

HOPS:
2 g - Galena, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 7.65
6 g - Galena, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 8.32
20.38 g - Galena, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Whirlpool for 0 min at 180 °F, IBU: 8.3
2 oz - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Dry Hop for 4 days
2 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 11, Use: Dry Hop for 4 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Strike, Temp: 162 F, Amount: 4 gal, Initial heating
2) Steeping, Temp: 152 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 4 gal, Temps not final
3) Sparge, Temp: 152 F, Time: 15 min, Amount: 0.8 gal

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
5 g - Calcium Chloride (dihydrate), Time: 90 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
5 g - Gypsum, Time: 90 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
0.15 g - Citric acid, Time: 90 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: No
 
I think it looks pretty great. If I had to nit-pick, I would probably dial back the dry-hopping, keeping the hop flavor/aroma low. When I think of a Blonde Ale, I don’t think of any dominant hop presence (same goes for malt). Clean and crushable. Maybe 2-row instead of Pilsner, but that’s personal preference. I always equate Pils with Kolsch and 2-Row with a Blonde Ale, but there’s a fine line separating the styles (and Cream Ale for that matter).

Good luck.
 
Everyone has their personal preference, but for this style I would be inclined to dial back the IBU's a little. Maybe around 20, depending on your preference. With a little lighter malt bill, I usually dial back the IBU's a bit as well.
 
I think it looks pretty great. If I had to nit-pick, I would probably dial back the dry-hopping, keeping the hop flavor/aroma low. When I think of a Blonde Ale, I don’t think of any dominant hop presence (same goes for malt). Clean and crushable. Maybe 2-row instead of Pilsner, but that’s personal preference. I always equate Pils with Kolsch and 2-Row with a Blonde Ale, but there’s a fine line separating the styles (and Cream Ale for that matter).

Good luck.
Thanks Megary, I cut the dry hopping in half, and dialed back the ibus:
HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Yardwork Pale Ale

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Blonde Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 2.7 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4.24 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.031
Efficiency: 60% (brew house)

Hop Utilization Multiplier: 1

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.044
Final Gravity: 1.008
ABV (standard): 4.8%
IBU (tinseth): 20.48
SRM (morey): 4.44
Mash pH: 5.53

FERMENTABLES:
5 lb - Pilsner (89.9%)
5 oz - Goldpils Vienna Malt (5.6%)
2 oz - BEST Caramel Munich I (2.2%)
2 oz - Flaked Oats (2.2%)

HOPS:
2 g - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 7.34
3 g - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 3.99
23.38 g - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Whirlpool for 0 min at 180 °F, IBU: 9.15
1 oz - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Dry Hop for 4 days
 
Everyone has their personal preference, but for this style I would be inclined to dial back the IBU's a little. Maybe around 20, depending on your preference. With a little lighter malt bill, I usually dial back the IBU's a bit as well.
Appreciate the perspective Bubba. I am drawn to hoppy beers, but want this to be less hoppy and high ABV, so it’s a bit of a departure for me. See the revisions in my reply to Megary that reduce the ibus.
Is Safale US 05 a good yeast fit for this? Need to get more yeast, so am open to other types.
 
^Less hoppy and lower ABV
 
Appreciate the perspective Bubba. I am drawn to hoppy beers, but want this to be less hoppy and high ABV, so it’s a bit of a departure for me. See the revisions in my reply to Megary that reduce the ibus.
Is Safale US 05 a good yeast fit for this? Need to get more yeast, so am open to other types.
I think you should use whatever yeast will give you the cleanest profile. If you have had good success with US-05, then use that. Some people say they get “peachy” from this yeast but I’ve never experienced it. Though to be fair, I don’t use US-05 much.

I think your (revised) recipe will be great as is. You say you are drawn to hoppy beers, so, in that context, the dry hop makes sense.

Good luck.
 
Is Safale US 05 a good yeast fit for this? Need to get more yeast, so am open to other types.
Excellent choice.

If you have temperature control, I like to hold this yeast at about 65 degrees until vigorous fermentation is complete and then bump up the temperature one degree a day for five days. I find that this gives a very clean finish with US05.
 
Looks great! I think the label “blonde ale” is misleading but the labels don’t fit all of the new styles anyway. Id be more likely to try the first recipe than the second because I get the feeling this is not a classic blonde. Very sessionable which a lot of people are looking for. But bursting with juicy hops, and with thought given to compensation for mouthfeel (oats) and IBUs (early additions) given the lower than usual ABV. Could we consider this a session IPA for those who appreciate the juicier hop-forward style? If so, I can get behind that. Hard to pull off though given tasters expectations from hops like Mosaic! Give it a try and let us know how it goes.
 
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Looks great! I think the label “blonde ale” is misleading but the labels don’t fit all of the new styles anyway. Id be more likely to try the first recipe than the second because I get the feeling this is not a classic blonde. Very sessionable which a lot of people are looking for. But bursting with juicy hops, and with thought given to compensation for mouthfeel (oats) and IBUs (early additions) given the lower than usual ABV. Could we consider this a session IPA for those who appreciate the juicier hop-forward style? If so, I can get behind that. Hard to pull off though given tasters expectations from hops like Mosaic! Give it a try and let us know how it goes.
Perhaps Blonde and Pale aren’t great identifiers for this. Maybe Yardwork Session Ale or Yardwork American Ale might be a better fit. Think I’ll go with the revised recipe since It is the opposite end of the hoppy big beers I’ve brewed so far, and less of a Tweener. But the original is where gravity pulls me...
 
Don't fret too much about it. Brew the beer and tweak it next time. The hoppiness will put it out of style, but who gives a $h!+, unless your going to compete with it. I personally would dial back on the bitterness, but maybe not the hop flavor and aroma. The problem becomes that everyone wants to brew your beer for you. Allow yourself to make mistakes, to brew "out of style" or whatever. This will make you a better brewer.

Now if it were my beer...... I would ditch US05 (I hate that yeast) because it's not really that clean. S04 is actually cleaner and 34/70 at 62F for a blonde or cream ale will produce a better beer than all of them. Mash high (154F) to keep your flavor, mouthfeel and to keep the finish gravity higher. Use late addition hops like you have and keep the bitterness @ 18-20IBU's. Remember that the lower the gravity, the more pronounced the bitterness.

Now ignore what I said and brew it the way you want.

Brew on!
 
If you were intending to brew 'to style' I'd say there's some changes needed. But if you want to brew 'a beer I like that's I can drink more of' I think you are pretty much spot on. I like the oats addition, give it some body.

You might think of using something different from Mosaic just for bittering. But you probably have it, it's just a few grams, meh, it's all good.

I did something similar recently, 1/2 oz Magnum (30-minutes) for bittering, 1+2 oz Mosaic (whirlpool, dry hop) for aroma, and planned ABV 4.2%. Came out great, and I can drink it like a session beer but with a lot more flavor than Busch light.
 
Thanks for the input. Here’s what I ended up brewing today. Decided to lower the ABV, use Galena for bittering, and dialing down the IBUs. But planning on dry hopping still, and ended up slightly higher than the last recipe version. Switched up the pilsner by adding bohemian floor-malted.
Curious to see how this tastes.

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Light Yardwork Ale #1
Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: American Light Lager
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 2.8 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4.32 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.023
Efficiency: 60% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.032
Final Gravity: 1.005
ABV (standard): 3.53%
IBU (tinseth): 15.19

FERMENTABLES:
1.75 lb - Floor-Malted Bohemian Pilsner (44.9%)
1.75 lb - Pilsner (44.9%)
4 oz - Corn Sugar - Dextrose - (late addition) (6.4%)
2 oz - Flaked Oats (3.2%)
0.33 oz - Caramel Munich 60L (0.5%)

HOPS:
1 g - Galena, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 3.98
3 g - Galena, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 5.92
14 g - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Whirlpool for 10 min at 180 F, IBU: 5.28
2.5 oz - Mosaic, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.5, Use: Dry Hop for 4 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Strike, Temp: 162 F, Amount: 4 gal, Initial heating
2) Steeping, Temp: 152 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 4 gal
3) Sparge, Temp: 152 F, Time: 15 min, Amount: 0.8 gal

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
 
Tasted after one week of bottle conditioning. Turned out well - very refreshing, and subtle. Lighter than a Stella, and a bit more complex than a Budweiser. No Dogfishhead, but that wasn’t the goal.
053A9ADF-1E2D-426B-82BF-49248C17D6E5.jpeg
 
Tasted after one week of bottle conditioning. Turned out well - very refreshing, and subtle. Lighter than a Stella, and a bit more complex than a Budweiser. No Dogfishhead, but that wasn’t the goal.View attachment 14925
Also - split the dry hop at day 4 evenly between Citra and Mosaic because... why not? And Focal Banger uses that split, but in bigger volume. So, in a small way, hoping to be in good company.
 
Tasted after one week of bottle conditioning. Turned out well - very refreshing, and subtle. Lighter than a Stella, and a bit more complex than a Budweiser. No Dogfishhead, but that wasn’t the goal.View attachment 14925
Very nice beer. And cool glass!
 
mmmmm, I would definitely try that! :) I am so new, I have only made two batches (both 1 gallon due to current lack of space) but they turned out good, so I shared them. I like your style. Less ABV and IBU is right in my own ballpark :)
 
Welcome! You'll get the hang of it.
 
@TamzyMarz Welcome! You'll be an expert in no time. I started by brewing the same thing over and over until I could understand which things caused which changes. By no means an expert yet, but I can brew drinkable beers.

Lately I have been experimenting with low ABV, my latest an ale at 3.3%. It came out just okay, as my first yeast pitch turned out dead, leaving a noticeable yeast flavor in the final product after pitching my S04 emergency packet. I wrote about that in another thread.
 
mmmmm, I would definitely try that! :) I am so new, I have only made two batches (both 1 gallon due to current lack of space) but they turned out good, so I shared them. I like your style. Less ABV and IBU is right in my own ballpark :)
Welcome to the forum @TamzyMarz what part of the Great White North are you from?
 

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