Fill In The Hops Blonde Ale - Extract With Specialty Grains

Big Brew 2008

5 gallons (19 L) yield with a 3-gallon (11.4 L) boil

Fermentables
6.5 lb (2.9 kg) Pale Liquid Malt Extract
0.5 lb (227 gm) Belgian Aromatic Malt
0.5 lb (227 gm) Honey Malt

Hops
60-minute bittering hops for 17 IBU**
0.5 oz flavor/aroma hops at 10 minutes
0.5 oz aroma hop, dry hop in secondary fermenter

¾ tsp (3 gm) Irish moss, added at 10 minutes

Yeast
2 packages of either Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast or White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast, or make a yeast starter

** To determine the amount of bittering hops in ounces needed for approximately 17 IBU, use this calculation (note that the calculation for the extract version of this recipe is different than the all-grain version due to the concentrated wort boil):

W = 0.044/AA% = 4.4/AA (for weight in grams, use 1.26/AA% = 126/AA)

For example, if the hops you are using are 5.0% alpha acid, the calculation would be:

W = 4.4/5.0 = 0.88 oz (25 g) of hops

For AA% = 7.0%, you need 0.63 oz (18 g) bittering hops
For AA% = 9.0%, you need 0.49 oz (14 g) bittering hops
For AA% = 11.0%, you need 0.40 oz (11.5 g) bittering hops
For AA% = 13.0%, you need 0.34 oz (9.7 g) bittering hops.

Directions for Extract Recipe
Steep grains in 2 quarts (1.9 L) of water at 150°F (66°C) for 30 minutes, raise temperature to 170°F (77°C) then strain and sparge with 2 quarts (1.9 L) of hot water. Add an additional 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) of water then stir in extract for a total boil volume of 3.5 gallons (13.2 L), and bring to a boil. At the beginning of the boil, add the bittering hops. Boil for 50 minutes then add the flavor/aroma hops and the Irish moss. Boil for 10 more minutes. After a 60-minute boil, cool the wort to 67°F-70°F (19°C-21°C). Transfer wort to fermenter and top-up to 5 gallons, if necessary. When the wort temperature is down to 67°F (19°C), pitch the yeast and aerate well. Ferment at 67°F (19°C) for a total of one week. Rack to secondary with the dry hop aroma addition and age for two weeks [if you have the capability, cool to 55°F (13°C) for aging]. Rack to keg, or add the bottling sugar and bottle.

Carbonation
Force carbonate at approximately 2.5 volumes of CO2.
or
Bottle condition using 3/4 cup (175 ml measure) corn sugar.

Hops Note
**The hop varieties and amounts have been intentionally left out of the Fill in the Hop Blonde Ale recipe. Due to the hop shortage, we felt it would be better to tell you the approximate IBUs for the bittering addition, so that you explore using hop varieties with which you may be unfamiliar, but which are currently available at your local homebrew supply store. Ask your shop owner, or your local expert which hops they would recommend for this recipe and why. Experiment and have fun with the recipe; you might be surprised by what you learn.