Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

A Fruited Cream Ale brewed with cranberries, raspberries, lactose, + vanilla beans from Madagascar.

Heat 3.5 gallons of brew water to approximately 167°F (75°C) to hit a target mash temperature of 152°F (67°C) given the grain bill and system losses.

Heat Strike Water

Stir in the crushed Pale Ale malt, Light Munich, and Carapils into the strike water, stabilize and hold at 152°F (67°C). Mash for 60 minutes with gentle recirculation or stirring every 10-15 minutes to keep even temperature.

Mash In

Raise mash to 168-170°F (76-77°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity, then vorlauf until wort runs clear-ish back to boil kettle.

Mash Out

Bring wort to a rolling boil. Boil for 60 minutes total.

At 60 minutes remaining (start of boil): add bittering hops (Saaz or chosen mild noble).

At 10 minutes remaining: add Irish Moss or Whirlfloc (optional) and aroma hops (Tettnang/Cascade). Also add lactose at this time so it fully dissolves and is sanitized by the boil (lactose will not ferment).

At flameout (end of boil): chill wort quickly to around 68°F (20°C).

Use an immersion chiller, counterflow, or plate chiller to bring wort down to yeast-pitching temperature (66-70°F / 19-21°C). Transfer chilled wort to sanitized fermenter, leaving hop/trub behind if possible.

Aerate or oxygenate the cooled wort well (give oxygen for healthy ale fermentation). Pitch the ale yeast per manufacturer instructions and maintain fermentation temperature at 66-68°F (19-20°C).

Ferment for 5-7 days until active fermentation subsides (visible krausen drop).

Thaw the frozen cranberries and raspberries. Lightly puree or crush the fruit in a sanitized container (use sanitized food-grade bag and squeeze or sanitized blender). If desired, pasteurize by heating fruit to 160°F (71°C) for 10 minutes and cooling quickly to avoid wild microbes; alternatively rely on careful sanitation and vigorous pitching.

Prepare Fruit

Split the Madagascar vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds. Place both pods and scraped seeds into a sanitized jar. To extract and sanitize, you can add a small amount (1-2 oz) of neutral vodka and let sit for a few hours to overnight; add the whole vanilla (pods + extract) to the fermenter when transferring fruit.

Sanitize & Add Vanilla

Rack beer off primary yeast cake into a sanitized secondary fermenter (or leave in primary if you have headroom) and add the prepared cranberry and raspberry puree and the vanilla (pods + scraped seeds or vanilla extract). Also add the lactose if you didn't add it in the boil—however adding lactose in the boil is recommended for sanitation. Seal and keep at 66-68°F (19-20°C) for 5-10 days to allow fruit character to integrate and fermentation to finish. Monitor gravity; expect some re-fermentation from fruit sugars but lactose is unfermentable.

After 5-10 days (or when gravity is stable for 3 days), taste for balance — you want a bright cranberry-raspberry aroma and a soft vanilla and creamy body from lactose. If vanilla needs more presence, you can remove and soak additional split bean in a small neutral spirit and add a portion (or add directly for stronger flavor) for a few days, then remove pods if desired.

If kegging: cold crash the beer to near 35-40°F (2-4°C) for 24-48 hours to improve clarity, carbonate to ~2.3-2.6 volumes CO2 and serve. If bottling: dissolve priming corn sugar in 2 oz (60 ml) boiling water, cool and add to bottling bucket, rack beer onto priming solution, bottle and cap. Condition at 68°F (20°C) for 2 weeks to carbonate.

Allow bottles to condition an additional week cold if you prefer smoother integration of fruit and vanilla. Chill and serve slightly cold (45-50°F / 7-10°C) to preserve bright, crisp character.

Pale Ale Malt (2-row)

Light Munich Malt

Carapils/Dextrine

Lactose (milk sugar)

Corn Sugar (priming for bottling) OR skip for kegging

Saaz (or other mild noble) - bittering

Tettnang (or Cascade) - aroma/flavor

Ale yeast (clean, neutral strain e.g., SafAle US-05 or Wyeast 1056)

Frozen cranberries (thawed, sanitize if desired)

Frozen raspberries (thawed)

Vanilla beans (Madagascar), split and scraped

Brew water (adjusted for soft, slightly acidic profile)

Mash salt (calcium chloride or gypsum, optional)

Irish Moss or Whirlfloc (optional, for clarity)

Blushing Blonde

Make Blushing Blonde Recipe in just 24h . A Fruited Cream Ale brewed with cranberries, raspberries, lactose, + vanilla beans from Madagascar.

Blushing Blonde

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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