Skadoosh Blond Ale
Late in 2025, I had a decent inventory of beer.
The inlaws were visiting for Christmas, and the FIL is the kind of guy who pretty much always likes "blonds". It honestly doesn't matter what style it is as long as it is pale yellow without too much hop or yeast character. To him, that is a "blond".
Unfortunately, thanks to my 2025 emphasis on Roll-a-Style the beers I had on tap were:
- Gnomeberry Hollow Cherry Porter ... WAY too dark.
- Tafel Mystère Belgian Single ... We could probably sell this as a "blond", but it does have a fair amount of yeast character.
- X-Mas Ale 2025 ... Too big and too dark in color.
- Yoker Belgian Tripel ... Too big and too "Belgian".
Other than maybe the Tafel Mystère, none of these are Father-in-Law beers.
So ... I put together a simple blond recipe and brewed it a couple weeks before Christmas. I really like the combination of Rye and Vienna malt in my Tafel Mystère, and thought I'd recreate that malt bill for this beer.
Honestly, it will be close to get this brewed and kegged by the time they arrive, but I think I can get it done.
The name "Skadoosh" comes from Kung-Fu Panda, which is a movie my kids (and their parents) really enjoyed when it came out.
Po, the Panda is fighting the evil Tai Lung and after a long exhausting battle, Po figures out the Wuxi Finger Hold. As he executes it, defeating Tai Lung, he says "Skadoosh". Maybe a dumb name for an American Blond Ale, but it makes me smile and that is all that matters.
For more information about this beer, see Sheppy's Blog: Skadoosh
| Skadoosh Blond Ale --- Batch 1 (386) |
| Style | Blonde Ale | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 6.42 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 68.00 | Boil Time | 30 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.045 SG | Estimated FG | 1.011 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 25.9 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 4.4 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.576 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 5.0 SRM |
|
|||||
| Measured OG: | 1.045 | Measured FG: | 1.010 | ||||
| ADF: | 77 | Measured ABV: | 4.6 |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.66 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 4.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 4.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 1.50 tsp | Lactic Acid (Mash) | Water Agent | 4 | - | - |
| 8 lbs | Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 80.0 % | 0.63 gal |
| 2 lbs | Rye Malt (Briess) (3.7 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 20.0 % | 0.16 gal |
| 1.000 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min | Hop | 7 | 14.7 IBUs | - |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) | Fining | 8 | - | - |
| 2.000 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 9 | 9.6 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Saaz [2.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 10 | 1.7 IBUs | - |
| 1.0 pkg | SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] | Yeast | 11 | - | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | Add 30.63 qt of water at 158.1 F | 152.0 F | 45 min |
| Heat | Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min | 158.0 F | 15 min |
| Mash Out | Heat to 170.0 F over 7 min | 170.0 F | 10 min |
If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Recipe Notes
Water salts bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=101,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=128,Cl=90,HCO3=104
Acid to bring water pH to around 5.3
Mash as directed.
Boil as directed.
Cool wort to as close to 65F as possible.
Ferment at ambient temp.
Keg after one to two weeks in fermentor. Force carbonate to taste.
Enjoy!
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.042 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (6.42 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
12/11/2025 Placed an order at the Brew Hut. Would like to brew this Sunday if I can pick up grains Saturday.
12/14/2025 Brew day went pretty good. Typical church break between mash and boil. Pre-boil gravity was a touch high so I diluted. Forgot to take an OG measurment, but I decided to just declare it as planned since pre-boil was there. Finished up around 11am.
12/15/2025 A little bubbling and krausen starting to form on the top. Tilt says 1.036 at 62 degrees.
12/16/2025 Going strong. Tilt says 1.020 at 66 degrees.
12/17/2025 Bubbling slowed down quite a bit and the krausen is just a thin layer at the moment. Tilt down to 1.007 at 69 degrees.
12/18/2025 Tilt says 1.006 at 66. Krausen mostly gone. Beer starting to clear up. The plan is to keg this up on Sunday, but I might do this early. I guess we'll see.
12/22/2025 Kegged. Meant to do it yesterday, but our garbage disposal crapped out and was leaking, so I waited until I could get that replaced. The beer was more clear than I remember any beer out of the fermenter in quite awhile. The sample was nice. Maybe a little more bitter than I intended, which is good for me, but since this was meant as a non-craft-beer-fan beer, it might not be what we want. Anyway, it is chilling now. I'll really have to hit the PSI high to be ready for Christmas. Tilt said 1.005 at 66. The official hydrometer FG is 1.010, which is very close to plan. ABV 4.6. ADF 77. Looking forward to drinking.