Imperial Blonde Homebrew Recipe – All Grain, BiaB / No Chill
This was a off the cuff recipe that worked out really well. I have a classic blonde recipe that I use, which is based off of the Dry Dock Brewing recipe, and it’s been a standby for years. We had the opportunity to test out White Lab’s new packaging, called the Pure Pitch Next Generation. You can find the full story here in our video review. All we had to do was brew a beer with it, and then give our feedback. The yeast packaging is supposed to be able to ferment out, with one package, up to a 1.074 OG if fermented above 62 degrees F. I took my old standby, and beefed it up to hit an original gravity of 1.070. The beer finishes as 1.012, and ends up with an ABV of 7.8%
It’s still malty, with some lingering sweetness, yet a mostly dry finish. There’s distinct grapefruite from the cascade hops in both the flavor and aroma, and I would classify it more in the 18A: American Blonde Category, although it’s ABV puts it out a bit outside of the category itself, I sure wouldn’t enter it in any competitions as an American Blonde.
If you aren’t familiar with Dry Dock, they are a brewery out of Aurora Colorado, the Denver area, and they started out as an offshoot of The Brew Hut homebrew store, which is still next door the “South Dock” Location. They make a lot of excellent fruited blonde beers, and I’ve used the base recipe to do much the same. In this case though, I went imperial.
I quite enjoyed having a keg of it around, and it was really easy to brew and ferment, considering it was a brew in a bag, no chill, and only needed the one pack of yeast. I don’t see why I wouldn’t brew it again, especially if I was going to have some people over to help me drink it. Go ahead and give it a shot, and if you do brew it, let me know what you think.
Cheers!
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 gal | 90 min | 32.9 IBUs | 7.5852698 | 1.070 | 1.012 | 7.8 % |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) | 12.802 lbs | 93.87 |
| Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L | 13.39 oz | 6.13 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade | 2.25 oz | 60 min | Boil | Pellet | 5.5 |
| Cascade | 1 oz | 15 min | Boil | Pellet | 5.5 |
| Cascade | 1 oz | 0 min | Boil | Pellet | 5.5 |
Miscs
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lactic Acid | 3.00 ml | 60 min | Mash | Water Agent |
| Calcium Chloride | 1.75 g | 60 min | Mash | Water Agent |
| Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) | 1.40 g | 60 min | Mash | Water Agent |
| Epsom Salt (MgSO4) | 1.10 g | 60 min | Mash | Water Agent |
| Salt | 0.20 g | 60 min | Mash | Water Agent |
| Calcium Chloride | 2.26 g | 60 min | Water Agent | |
| Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) | 1.80 g | 60 min | Water Agent | |
| Epsom Salt (MgSO4) | 1.42 g | 60 min | Water Agent | |
| Salt | 0.26 g | 60 min | Water Agent |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Ale (WLP001) | White Labs | 77% | 68°F - 73°F |
Mash
| Step | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | 147.9°F | 90 min |
| Mash Out | 168°F | 10 min |
Notes
| Based on my dry dock blonde recipe, but I switched out the yeast so I can test some new packaging from White Labs, and I upped the ABV, boosted the IBU/OG ratio to regular blonde levels (.471) and added flavor and aroma hops. Shooting for a lighter body. Recommended pitching rate was 1 pouch of the PurePitch Next Generation 11/8/2022 - added .75g to get me to 5.75g at 1.070. I hit it with O2, then Pitched yeast 11/9/2022 - It was pretty cold in the basement, this morning I moved it to the ferm chamber and set the temp to 68. 11/19/2022 - Finished at 1.012 |
Download
| Download this recipe's BeerXML file |
