Blonde Recipe : “Virale” by B*V Brewing Co. :
- Color : Blonde
- Alcohol content : 5.3%
- Quantity : 20L
- Bitterness : Mild
- Brewing time : 4/5h
- Difficulty : Easy
Ingredients
- 4.3kg Malt Pilsner
- 200g Malt Carahell
- 10g Houblon Target
- 10g Houblon Target
- 10g Houblon Amarillo
- 1 Safale S-04 yeast packet
- Total water volume : 36L
Brew the “Virale” blonde recipe by B*V Brewing Co. step by step
Step 1
Heat 20 liters of water to 55°C and pour in the crushed grains.
Stir well, and don’t hesitate to crush any lumps against the sides of the tank. Continue until you reach a temperature of 50°C. Hold for 10 minutes. Valentine – the brewery’s big boss – will tell us more about this stage at the end of the article.
Then raise the temperature to 64°C and hold for 50 minutes.
Finally, mash-out for 10 minutes at 76°C.
In parallel with this step, heat 16 liters of water to 77°C.
Step 2
Once the first step has been completed, move on to rinsing and filtration.
Step 3
Heat the wort and boil for 60 minutes.
Add 10g of Target hops at the start of the boil.
With 10 minutes to go, add 10g Target and 10g Amarillo.
Step 4
Cool the wort to 19°C and transfer to the fermenter, not forgetting the yeast.
Initial density should be around 1.048.
Ferment at 19°C for 3 weeks. Final density should be around 1.011.
Finally, cold crash at 3°C. To do this, lower the temperature gradually – no more than 5/6°C a day. Once at 3°C, hold for 3 days.
Step 5
Add 6.5g per L of sugar to the bottling.
Advice from Valentine, brewer and Big Boss of B*V Brewing Co
At 5.3%, this pale ale has a lovely light, refreshing character. Virale is a thirst-quenching blonde recipe, with lovely bread notes and a hint of citrus on the finish.
Valentine always recommends an iodine test before mashing out to ensure that all the starch has been converted. Monitoring pH is also important. Here, 5.3 is ideal. Finally, the most important tip is to keep your fermentation temperature under control. Here, 19°C for 3 weeks and (if possible) a short 3-day cold crash at 3°C.
Finally, for the 50°C impregnation step, Valentine explains that this technique, normally used for beers with a high percentage of flakes, allows the proteins to be broken up well. The result is a beautiful, light blond color on the finished product !
A word about B*V Brewing Co
B*V Brewing Co. is the brewery of Valentine, one of our own! Already an experienced brewer when she joined Rolling Beers (during the COVID period), she may well have prepared some of your orders!
In 2022, she moved to Le Cheylard in the Ardèche to set up her own brewery and offer a range of very nice beers. Porter, IPA, Blanches, Pils, Triple… Valentine has mastered a whole host of beer styles. If you’re ever in the Dolce Via, be sure to stop off at B*V Brewing Co.
