Wetta Blonde Ale (Mr. Beer Recipe)
Quite a few people really liked the first beer I made, Classic American Blonde Ale. This is somewhat unfortunate, but based on the overwhelming positive feedback on the beer, I decided that I probably should try to keep some blonde ale on hand. I did not want to stay with the old boring light beer that I first made, so I pushed it up a step, using UME rather than booster, and adding a little honey to see if I could improve the beer for those of us who actually like beer, while still keeping it something my light-beer fans still like. I think Wetta Blonde succeeded at that goal.
The beer is named after Sheppy's mother-in-law, Huera as she is pretty much the icon for non-beer (or light beer) drinkers. I misspelled it on purpose because at my first beer-tasting party, a big deal was made out of how Lisa (my wife's cousin-in-law) has always tried to spell Huera with a "W". Personally, I think it makes much more sense with a W.
Wetta Blonde has have a similar taste as CABA with more body and perhaps a little drier crisp taste because of the honey. Golden colored with a mild flavor with a dry finish. It has a decent body with just about a perfect BU/GU balance.
In October of 2010, I needed to use up some LME, and decided to do so in a Wetta Blonde recipe. Since my ABV was higher than my previous batches, I decided to call it an Imperial Wetta Blonde Ale. Hops bitterness was still balanced at almost .5, so it was very similar except it will around 6% ABV as compared to 4.75% or so. Had a bit more body to it as well, but still finished pretty dry.
The next recipe went back to the non-imperial version. It makes for a tasty refreshing session beer. I think that maybe Huera might actually get a bottle or two of these.
To see what I've written on my blog about Wetta Blonde, see http://blog.ericshepard.com/search/label/Wetta
Wetta Blonde Ale --- cost $21.37
| Style | Blonde Ale | Batch Size | 2.13 gal | |||
| Type | Extract | Boil Size | 1.01 gal |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.049 SG | Estimated FG | 1.013 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 24.5 IBU (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 4.72 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.500 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 5.1 SRM |
|
Ingredients
| Amount | Item | Type | % or IBU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 lbs 3.4 oz | Mr. Beer CABA HME (5.0 SRM) | Extract | 41.44 % |
| 1 lbs 3.4 oz | Mr. Beer Pale Export UME (5.0 SRM) | Extract | 41.44 % |
| 0.25 oz | Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (20 min) | Hops | 4.4 IBU |
| 0.25 oz | Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (1 min) | Hops | 2.2 IBU |
| 8.0 oz | Honey (1.0 SRM) | Sugar | 17.12 % |
| 1 Pkgs | SafeAle American Ale (Fermentis #US-05) | Yeast-Ale |
Recipe Notes
http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf
Batch prime with 2.75 oz honey
Brewing Notes: 08/17/2011 Brewing Day esheppy
Did it pretty much all during the hour that I let the kids watch Phineas and Ferb before bed. Everything went smooth. Pitched at 65. 1.051 OG. Excited to have some in a month or so.
08/18/2011 esheppy
Early morning, looks like kraussen is starting to form. Temp still right at 65.
08/25/2011 esheppy
Think I'm going to bottle this up this weekend.
08/27/2011 Bottled esheppy
Bottled up with 2.75oz honey. 1.012FG which give it right at 5% ABV. Got 12 12oz bottles; 4 bombers; 2 liter bottles.
08/27/2011 esheppy
76% ADF by the way.
09/07/2011 esheppy
Labeled the bottles today. Still has some time to carb, but should be ready to drink soon.
09/10/2011 esheppy
Put some (the bigger ones and the LB) in the beer fridge. The rest went into the conditioning cooler. I'm hoping that the ones in the cc will help stabilize the temps on the Rocktoberfest lager I'm brewing this weekend.
09/18/2011 esheppy
More in the fridge. Huera will be here soon.
09/24/2011 esheppy
Tasted LB. Beautiful gold color with thick white head. Nicely balanced malts with goldings hops. Wonderful beer.
11/20/2011 esheppy
This beer has developed a wine-like flavor. Have no idea where it came from.
03/15/2012 esheppy
Wine character still there. Need to finish these up.
04/20/2012 esheppy
Enjoying a liter.