Hi All. Just wanted to get some quick feedback on a rough recipe for a blonde ale. Those who hate Simcoe need not read

80% Two row
15% Crystal
5% flaked oats

Simcoe 60 min (very small addition)
Simcoe 20 min
Simcoe 5 min/FO

pitching on US05 slurry

based on 70% efficiency and 89% attenuation:
OG 1.041
FG 1.005
IBUs ~25

Trying to keep it simple and light with noticeable hop character without much perceived bitterness

I've done something very similar in the past, what's your mash temp going to be?

hadn't really thought about it. Probably 152

Thats a good middle ground place to do it... You're not hopping it crazy so that should do.

What crystal malt are you planning on using? I prefer pale beers with no more than 5% crystal malt... I think 15% is a little high.

We are using Crisp Light Crystal which is rated around 15L at our LHBS. We are upping the % of crystal due to the high attenuation levels we are getting from US05 which is drying out the beer. We are hoping to get a little more maltiness.

If you've mashed at 152 before you could try raising that too... up to 156...

Good point. We normally mash at 152 or 154 but never have gone above that except for a porter where we did 156. I think we will brew this as is on Saturday and make any changes moving forward

I like the recipe and idea, but 15% crystal malt sounds like a lot to me too. Even if you are using c20 or something really light I can see the sweetness adding up, especially with a low gravity beer with nothing much to hide behind. The oats would be nice in this recipe though.

'simple blonde recipe"

Is there really any other kind?

For me yes. I always find it hard to keep things simple even though that is usually the best idea.

Didnt mean to mess up your thread Goschman. Just making a blonde joke.

A blonde walks into a bar... OUCH!

sorry I am a bit slow red...the first blonde ale I brewed was named "Dumb Blonde"

"We are hoping to get a little more maltiness."

Maybe Munich instead of crystal? More malt less sweet.

Or maybe maris otter for base... that fg seems really, really low... are all your temps right? Is your thermometer you mash with calibrated?

The thermometer seems to be accurate but we will be changing once we increase or capacity in the upcoming weeks. At one mile above sea level boiling temp should be around 206 I think. I tested it a couple of weeks ago and water started boiling right as the temp hit 206. I did not use distilled water..

The high attentuation has been a problem for us mainly because we are getting higher ABV than we would like. I don't really mind the dryness so much. We did an IPA with an OG of 1.067 and it finished at 1.007. We are consistently getting between 87-90% attenuation for every beer whether we are pitching a new pack or reusing yeast slurry. I have been tracking the results for about ten batches now and the results are very consistent. I guess the thermometer could be reading high so our mash temps are actually lower than we think...

We really like US05 so we have been reluctant to sub in white labs or wyeast

I have never taken the time to learn about water but that could be a big piece. When I used to brew at my house I would get about 78% attenuation using US05. We move operations to my buddies house and now we get 87-90. Same thermometer

Huh... I also use US05 but haven't ever seen FG numbers so low (at least not consistently!). The only beer that I have had ferment even close to that was a DIPA that I totally screwed up the mash temp and mashed WAY too low, that beer came out to 1.8 P.
The water can affect your mash efficiency and it can affect fermentation but I don't think that's why you're getting such high attenuation.

If you figure it out then I'd love to hear about it.

yeah I have posted about this a few times now but I have been a bit too lazy to dig into it more. I think I need to try a higher mash temp soon (at least according to my thermometer).

Something like this happened to me and it was my hydrometer.