Cool and clean
With so little to hide behind, any fermentation off-flavour shows: keep it cool.
Blonde Ale: how to brew it
An easy-drinking, approachable golden ale: light malt sweetness, a touch of hops, clean and crisp. A great first all-grain beer.
Blonde Ale at a glance
- Original gravity
- 1.038 – 1.054
- Final gravity
- 1.008 – 1.013
- Bitterness (IBU)
- 15 – 28
- Colour (EBC)
- 6 – 12
- Alcohol
- 3.8 – 5.5%
- Carbonation (vol)
- 2.4 – 3.0
Ranges from the BJCP 2021 style guidelines, category 18A.
A typical recipe
For 20 L (5 gal) at about 1.046: 90 % pale malt, 5 % light crystal, 5 % wheat. Bittering at 60 minutes and a small aroma addition at 10 minutes, to about 20 IBU. Clean ale yeast (US-05 or Kölsch type), mash at 66 °C (151 °F), ferment at 17–18 °C (63–64 °F).
Brewing tips
Light crystal only
A little crystal adds body; too much makes it sweet and dull.
Perfect to dial in your system
Simple recipes are ideal to measure your real efficiency and losses.
Brew your own Blonde Ale
Start from the style in Mashwerk: it builds a recipe within the ranges for your kit, and checks every number as you tweak it.
Start brewing free