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Centennial Blonde Ale 1.0 Some time ago, when searching for some good recipes, I found a Centennial Blonde Ale recipe that had been voted the top recipe by visitors to HomeBrewTalk.com. I've wanted to brew it for a while, and finally got around to doing it today. Ingredients 3 pounds 2-row Pale Ale Malt 5 ounces Cara-Pils/Dextrine Malt 3.5 ounces Caramel/Crystal 10L Malt 3.5 ounces Swaen Vienna Malt 0.10 ounces Centennial hops pellets @ 10.8% AA (55 min.) 0.15 ounces Centennial hops pellets @ 10.8% AA (35 min.) 0.15 ounces Cascade hops pellets @ 6.9% AA (20 min.) 0.15 ounces Cascade hops pellets @ 6.9% AA (5 min.) 1/2 vial White Labs Clarity Ferm 1 packet Lallemand Nottingham Ale Yeast 3 gallons of starting water in keg For a mash schedule, I've modified the High-Efficiency Mash Schedule in the Zymatic Recipe Crafter to hold the mash at 150F for 90 minutes, followed by 30 minutes at 154F, leaving the rest the same. Boil schedule will be: 60 minutes:   N...

2018 Tripel 1.0 Despite having had a Belgian Tripel take fourth place at the Ohio State Fair this year, I've still never really made one that I felt was "perfect" for my taste. I decided before brewing another that I'd study the style a bit, seeing what has worked for other brewers, and try to come up with my own recipe. I located as many Tripel recipes on the web as I could.  If the recipe was for a commercial Tripel, a commercially sold kit, published in a magazine, or listed as a winner in a home brewing contest, then I included it in the study.  There are many (possibly very good) Tripel recipes listed on the web that don't have a "track record" (for lack of a better phrase) associated with them.  I did not include those. The Style The BJCP 2015 definition for the Belgian Tripel style suggests the following: Overall Impression:   A pale, somewhat spicy, dry, strong Trappist ale with a pleasant rounded malt flavor and firm bitterness. Qu...

The finished beer My last attempt at a Tripel Karmeliet clone used what was purportedly the actual recipe from the 1600's. The beer came out darker, heavier-bodied, and far less lemony than the actual Bosteels product. This time around, I reduced the amount of wheat and oat in the mash, and included some Simplicity candi sugar to further lighten the body. To amp up the lemony flavor, I've used a mix of Hallertau Mittelfruh and Lemondrop hops, added lemon peel, and a small amount of coriander. The last time around, the Zymatic had trouble dealing with the grain bill for the beer (which was a full 9 pounds - the device's upper limit). Dropping a half pound of oats and a pound of wheat got the grain bill down a bit. The gravity should come out about the same, since I've added the candi syrup to the mash water (to give it a chance to caramelize during the boil). I edited the mash schedule to dough in at 113F, which hopefully will provide several benefits. At this te...