Hi everyone,

I'm finalizing the recipe for my next batch. Its based off of the Blonde ale refill kit from Mr. Beer with some extra ingredients/substitutions. My two batches so far have been low on the alcohol content so I want to bump it up a notch. Here is what I'm thinking about:

1 can Blonde ale. HME
2 lbs Munton's plain amber DME
0.5 Oz Cascade hops @ 6min
Munton's premium gold active yeast

Primary fermentation: one week
Secondary fermentation: two weeks

From reading the Mr. Beer literature and searching the forum I cam up with this estimate for alcohol content:
1 can HME = 2.3%
2 lbs DME = 4.0%
Total: 6.3%

Questions:

Will two lbs DME be too much? Should I use one lb DME and one package of booster instead?

I've never used hops before. Will my current amount/boil time be ok? I picked cascade because I like Sierra Nevada pale ale, but I can always switch. I also read that fuggles work well in a blonde ale.

Is the yeast decent? I have always used the yeast that comes with the Mr. Beer kit. Someone suggested that I 'upgrade' to the Munton's but I am a little skeptical since it is also dry. There is a LHBS near me so I don't think it will be hard to get other types of yeast. I just don't know what would be appropriate for this brew.

Questions/comments welcome!

Sounds like it'll be more of a redhead than a blonde... I've always had a thing for redheads.

I think you'll be ok... I would just do the CABA and only one pound of DME, and add about .5 oz of cascades at flameout... Maybe with half a pouch of booster. But I've never been a fan of overdoing the ABV in a beer just for the sake of having a high ABV beer.

Oh yeah, and dry yeast is perfectly fine. I would go to the LHBS and get a packet of US-05 dry yeast... It's a nice neutral ale yeast, so the malt and hops will really come through. Use the whole 11.5 g packet... Rehydrate the yeast if you're feeling feisty.

I'm gonna say no. 3 lbs of extract makes a beer with good flavor, but a bit strong. Use 2.5 lbs extract next time if you agree.


I'd actually suggest boiling 1/4 cascade @20 and 1/4 @ 5 then tweak it as you like next time. (Do not boil the HME)

psuchunk03:
What does CABA stand for?

The_Professor:

3 lbs? Was it a two gallon batch?

Oh, yes. I enjoyed making Mr. Beer batches a few times with 3 lbs of extract.

CABA is the Mr. Beer extract - Classic American Blonde Ale. Because most of us are usually too lazy to type out the entire name :-)

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+10 on this. US-05 is awesome and rehydration is super easy and gets things kicked off quickly.

also, 2# DME with a can of extract is perfect in my opinion. The cascades are a good choice and I agree with the prof, do half the addition at 20 and the other half at 7. Good flavor and aroma. If you are feeling adventurous, you could also dry hop the last week of fermentation with cascade.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Here is what I'm going with:

1 can Blonde ale. HME
2 lbs Munton's plain amber DME
0.25 Oz Cascade hops @ 20min
0.25 Oz Cascade hops @ 5 min
11.5 g US-05 dry yeast

I'm planning on brewing this weekend. I will report back and let you know how it goes.