"What's a blonde ale"

This was a question posed to me by my niece this weekend. My answer was it was a beer that is very light in color and flavor, craft brews answer to a light lager. Also I said it was a marketing gimmick and it really didn’t tell you what was in the bottle except something light in color. Am I correct in my answer?

Let me clarify . I know there are some good blonde ales but would you know what it was just from the label blonde? Could it be a lighter color version of any style?

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style06.php#1b

I’d call it a light colored beer that doesn’t really fit in another category. It doesn’t use lager yeast like a light lager would. It doesn’t have large amounts of wheat malt. It isn’t very hoppy like a bitter or pale ale. That’s how I think of it.

Thanks Dave, I’ve read that but it sounds like from their discription like I said it could be anything. I’m not sure it’s a real style, sorry judges.

…I’m not sure it’s a real style, sorry judges.[/quote]

In truth, the same can probably be said about at least half of the listed ‘styles’.

cream ale is the ale version of light lager, or at least American Adjunct Lager.

Blonde is to your point a very wide category…but I don’t know what you mean by “its not a real style”. Its definitely a catch-all that describes beers with widely varying flavor profiles, but I’ve had some frigging awesome blonde ales (including the one that I make, which is a cross between a cream ale and a CAP and a bo pils…with ale yeast). Some have been hoppy, some have been crisp and malty, some have been slightly phenolic and yeasty, but they can be awesome.

This seems like saying “pale ale isn’t a real style” just because American Pale Ales are different than Belgian Pale Ales are different than English Pale Ales.

I guess if you are saying that the style doesn’t have any historical significance, like many of them, or is not specific, I could get behind that. But then again, saison is pretty unspecific, and it is pretty amazing when done right.

[quote=“Pietro”]cream ale is the ale version of light lager, or at least American Adjunct Lager.

Blonde is to your point a very wide category…but I don’t know what you mean by “its not a real style”. Its definitely a catch-all that describes beers with widely varying flavor profiles, but I’ve had some frigging awesome blonde ales (including the one that I make, which is a cross between a cream ale and a CAP and a bo pils…with ale yeast). Some have been hoppy, some have been crisp and malty, some have been slightly phenolic and yeasty, but they can be awesome.

This seems like saying “pale ale isn’t a real style” just because American Pale Ales are different than Belgian Pale Ales are different than English Pale Ales.

I guess if you are saying that the style doesn’t have any historical significance, like many of them, or is not specific, I could get behind that. But then again, saison is pretty unspecific, and it is pretty amazing when done right.[/quote]

Could you share the recipe? Thanks.

Its basically Jamil’s Classic Am Pils using US-05 instead of a lager yeast. I did it originally to see the differences and I found I liked to drink this one more than the lager (and could turn it in 10 days or so).

70% 2-row (or pils); 30% flaked maize to about 1.055-60; Saaz throughout to 50-60 IBUs, no more than half of which come from the bittering addition. US-05 fermented at (this is key) 60* for 2-3 days, raised to 65*, then 70*.

I used to think a blonde ale was a Belgian style because that’s what I had and enjoyed. I was corrected by you Pietro and told American blonde is something else. I just thought they were just poor examples of the Belgian style. I also make a Pilsner urquel recipe with Us-05 that I enjoy. Don’t call it a blonde though. I call it a Pilsner hopped pale ale.

Like any style, it’s whatever the brewer calls it. Enough American breweries have a blonde ale for the BJCP to have recognized it. Same for Belgian Blondes.

[quote=“Pietro”]Its basically Jamil’s Classic Am Pils using US-05 instead of a lager yeast. I did it originally to see the differences and I found I liked to drink this one more than the lager (and could turn it in 10 days or so).

70% 2-row (or pils); 30% flaked maize to about 1.055-60; Saaz throughout to 50-60 IBUs, no more than half of which come from the bittering addition. US-05 fermented at (this is key) 60* for 2-3 days, raised to 65*, then 70*.[/quote]

Am I reading this correctly? After 10 days you can turn this around and have it ready to keg/bottle?

[quote=“Catch22”][quote=“Pietro”]Its basically Jamil’s Classic Am Pils using US-05 instead of a lager yeast. I did it originally to see the differences and I found I liked to drink this one more than the lager (and could turn it in 10 days or so).

70% 2-row (or pils); 30% flaked maize to about 1.055-60; Saaz throughout to 50-60 IBUs, no more than half of which come from the bittering addition. US-05 fermented at (this is key) 60* for 2-3 days, raised to 65*, then 70*.[/quote]

Am I reading this correctly? After 10 days you can turn this around and have it ready to keg/bottle?[/quote]

Yes, grain to glass in 10 days, if I need to. Don’t get me wrong, its not ideal, but I’ve done it several times with little affect on the beer. It definitely improves with an extended cold age/lagering, but its pretty solid with this schedule as well:

Days 1-3: ferment at 60*
Days 4-7: ferment at 70-72*
Day 7-8: cold crash
Day 8-9: gelatin
Day 10: rack to keg, quick carb, serve

I’ve also employed this schedule with my steam beer, and some english ales.

[quote=“Pietro”]Its basically Jamil’s Classic Am Pils using US-05 instead of a lager yeast. I did it originally to see the differences and I found I liked to drink this one more than the lager (and could turn it in 10 days or so).

70% 2-row (or pils); 30% flaked maize to about 1.055-60; Saaz throughout to 50-60 IBUs, no more than half of which come from the bittering addition. US-05 fermented at (this is key) 60* for 2-3 days, raised to 65*, then 70*.[/quote]

Thanks. I’ll have try it that way. I have a hard time getting down to 60*, but I can get to 62* or so.

Interesting. You get full carbonation in 1 day?
I’m calling BS on that. Sorry Pietro that needs elaborating.

[quote=“Brew Cat”]Interesting. You get full carbonation in 1 day?
I’m calling BS on that. Sorry Pietro that needs elaborating.[/quote]

Speaking only for myself, yes, I have done this before. Shake the chilled keg at 30psi for 3-4 min. Let sit 10-15 min to let the foam settle, and vent. Test it, and if needed shake again at 30 psi another minute or so… You can go from flat to fully carbed and on tap in less than an hour.

I’m sure you can get some bubbles in your beer. Heck I’ve carbonated beer in a soda stream. But is it something you would serve your disearning friends as something other than a novelty ? I mean no disrespect, I’m just skeptical. I’ve force carved before and wasn’t satisfied with the beer. For me the magic happens at three weeks even force carved.

I force carb all my kegs - I don’t have space in my beer fridge to fit more than the two kegs on tap. But I then cellar it before I drink it. It takes some time before the beer settles down and tastes right after a forced carb.

It’s not my standard practice. Typically I “set it and forget it”.

But I think what was being described was an alternative, in a pinch, to get a very quick turnaround from grain to glass. And that quick-carb thing is something I have done is such a circumstance. And with fairly good results.

I make a session ale, its a pilsner ale, I guess some would call it a blonde I guess. Ferments about 10 days, put it in a keg and force it for 7 days . That’s about 2 1/2 weeks the fastest I can get it out. Its OK but gets much better .