Allagash Brewing Co.’s Nowaday Blonde Ale clone

Allagash Brewing Co.’s Nowaday Blonde Ale clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.051  FG = 1.010
IBU = 25  SRM = 4  ABV = 5.5%

A blonde ale fermented like a lager. Nowaday is fermented at lower
temperatures, including an additional lagering step, resulting in a crisp 5.5% ABV refresher of a beer with very low ester character.

Ingredients
9.5 lbs. (4.3 kg) Pilsner malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) caramel malt (10 °L)
4.3 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.33 oz./9 g at 13% alpha acids)
5.4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (10 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 4.3% alpha acids)
2 oz. (57 g) Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (0 min.)
1 oz. (28 g) Czech Saaz hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout), or SafAle K-97 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by step
Heat 15.8 qts. (14.9 L) of strike water to 162 °F (72 °C) and mix with grains. The mash should stabilize at about 149 °F (65 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes, then raise temperature to mash out at about 168 °F (76 °C), either by infusion of boiling water, decoction, or other means. Vorlauf until wort runs clear then begin the sparge process. Collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) and bring to a boil. Total boil time is 75 minutes, adding additions as indicated. After boil is complete turn off the heat, add whirlpool hops, and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.

Chill the wort to 50 °F (10 °C). There should be about 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a cool place in the 50–55 °F (10–12 °C) range. On day five, conduct a diacetyl rest by raising the temperature to around 70 °F (21 °C) for a couple of days. 

Once terminal gravity has been reached place the beer in a refrigerator or cold fermentation chamber to get the beer as cold as possible without freezing. Allow at least one week for the lagering period. Bottle or keg after lagering is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.55 v/v.

Allagash Brewing Co.’s Nowaday Blonde Ale clone

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.051  FG = 1.010
IBU = 25  SRM = 4.5  ABV = 5.5%

Ingredients
5.75 lbs. (3 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) caramel malt (10 °L)
4.3 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.33 oz./9 g at 13% alpha acids)
5.4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (10 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 4.3% alpha acids)
2 oz. (57 g) Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (0 min.)
1 oz. (28 g) Czech Saaz hops (0 min.)
Wyeast 3463 (Forbidden Fruit), White Labs WLP400 (Belgian Wit Ale), Imperial Yeast B44 (Whiteout), or SafAle K-97 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by step
Place caramel malt into a steeping bag and submerge in 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water at or near 155 °F (68 °C). (Reaching an exact, specific temperature is not required as there is no enzymatic conversion happening in this recipe. Just make sure it doesn’t exceed 170 °F/77 °C while steeping to avoid tannin extraction.) After 10 minutes of steeping, rinse the grain bag with 170 °F (77°C) water to top up to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L), remove bag, then boil. (If your brew kettle doesn’t allow for that large of a volume, rinse the grain bag with another gallon/4 L of water, remove bag, then raise to a boil.) When boil is achieved, take the kettle off the flame and slowly add the extract while stirring. Return to the heat source and boil for 60 minutes, adding the hops as indicated. After boil is complete turn off the heat, add whirlpool hops, and give a long stir to create a whirlpool. Rest for 15 minutes.

Chill the wort to 50 °F (10 °C). If you brewed a smaller volume, top off fermenter with pre-chilled water. In either case, the goal is to collect 5.5 gallons (21 L) of wort in your fermenter. Add yeast and aerate wort if using liquid yeast. Place your fermenter in a cool place in the 50–55 °F (10–12 °C) range. On day five, conduct a diacetyl rest by raising the temperature to around 70 °F (21 °C) for a couple of days. 

Once terminal gravity has been reached place the beer in a refrigerator or cold fermentation chamber to get the beer as cold as possible without freezing. Allow at least one week for the lagering period. Bottle or keg after lagering is complete, targeting a carbonation level of 2.55 v/v.