National Homebrew Competition 2017: Belgian Blond Ale entry

For my second entry in the National Homebrew Competition for 2017 I brewed a Belgian Blond Ale (BJCP category 25A).

Recipe

For this time of brewing a Belgian Blond Ale I chose a tweaked version of a previous recipe that I have tried a couple of times called Ron Jeffries’ Blond Ale out of Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them (see page 229) by Stan Hieronymus.

Here is the recipe I used together with a yeast starter:

• German Pilsner malt – 8 lbs 8 oz
• White Wheat malt – 4 lbs 12 oz
• White table sugar – 2 lbs @ 90 mins
• Styrian Goldings hops – 0.5 oz @ 90 mins for bittering*
• Hallertauer Mittelfrueh – 0.5 oz @ 90 mins for bittering*
• Hallertauer Mittelfrueh – 0.75 oz @ 60 mins for bittering
• Irish Moss @ 15 mins
• Bitter orange peel – 0.25 oz @ 5 mins
• Belgian Ale yeast (Wyeast 1214)

* This should have been 1 oz of Styrian Goldings only but unfortunately I did not have sufficient hops available at the time of brewing.

Brewing

The brewing schedule included the following steps:

• Mashing @ 147 deg F for 75 mins
• Mash out @ 168 deg F for 10 mins
• Bring to the boil then add bittering hops #1 & corn sugar
• Boil for 30 mins then add bittering hops #2
• Boil for 45 mins then add Irish Moss for clarifying
• Boil for 10 mins then add bitter orange peel
• Boil for 5 mins then chill wort
• Cool wort to 64 deg F then pitch the yeast starter
• Ferment @ 68 deg F until complete, allow to settle then keg, carbonate and bottle

The finished beer had the following characteristics (with BJCP standards):

• Starting Gravity: 1.066 (1.062 – 1.075)
• Finishing Gravity: 1.006 (1.008 – 1.018)
• ABV: 7.88% (6.0 – 7.5%)
• SRM: 4.1 (4 – 7)
• IBUs: 27.0 (15 – 30)

Everything apart from the alcohol content were within the relevant ranges.

Results

Each beer is assessed by two judges with marks and attributes assigned under 5 sections.

Judge #1:

• Aroma = 7/12
  • Malt: low & grainy
  • Esters: medium & banana
  • Phenols: high
  • Alcohol: none
  • Sweetness: none
  • Acidity: none
• Appearance = 3/3
  • Clarity: medium-high
  • Head Size: low-medium
  • Head Retention: low-medium
  • Head Texture: rocky
  • Beer Color: gold
  • Head Color: ivory
  • Other: legs
• Flavor = 12/20
  • Malt: low-medium & bready
  • Esters: fruity & banana
  • Phenols: high
  • Bitterness: medium
  • Balance: malty
• Mouthfeel = 2/5
  • Body: medium
  • Carbonation: low-medium
  • Warmth: medium
  • Atsringency: medium
  • Flaws: slick
• Overall Impression = 5/10
  • Stylistic Accuracy: low-medium
  • Technical Merit: low-medium
  • Intangibles: low-medium
• TOTAL = 29/50

Judge #2:

• Aroma = 8/12
  • Malt: low-medium
  • Hops: low
  • Esters: medium
  • Phenols: medium-high
  • Alcohol: medium
  • Sweetness: medium
  • Acidity: none
  • Comments: sweet maltiness
• Appearance = 3/3
  • Clarity: medium-high
  • Head Size: low
  • Head Retention: low
  • Beer Color: gold
  • Head Color: white
• Flavor = 9/20
  • Malt: low-medium & bready
  • Hops: low
  • Esters: low & banana
  • Phenols: high
  • Sweetness: medium
  • Bitterness: low
  • Alcohol: low
  • Other: vinous
  • Balance: malty
• Mouthfeel = 3/5
  • Body: medium
  • Carbonation: low-medium
  • Warmth: low
  • Creaminess: low
• Overall Impression = 6/10
  • Stylistic Accuracy: medium
  • Technical Merit: medium
  • Intangibles: medium
  • Drinkability: I would drink a pint of this beer
• TOTAL = 29/50

Assigned consensus score was 29/50.

I am not sure how to express my feelings on the result of this beer – fair? Whilst I knew it was a bit high on ABV compared to the BJCP standards and took a while to clear, the only real flaw I tasted was the slightly slick mouth-feel but perhaps it was a bit too two-dimensional with the domination of the banana in both the aroma and flavor.

Unfortunately the judges feedback was largely restricted to tick boxes and no suggestions for improvements so I would have to conclude recipe tweaks myself e.g. less wheat to produce a thinner body and ferment a bit higher (e.g. low 70’s deg F) to produce some spiciness?

Tasting notes:

A hazy body that is straw in color with a white head. A banana aroma with flavor that is banana dominated. The body is medium and is highly carbonated, a slightly slick mouth-feel and a slow lasting finish which is slightly spicy.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions then please feel free to add them below.