Beer Style: Belgian Blond and Pale Ales
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 = 1.010IBU = 25 SRM = 4 ABV = 5.5% A blonde ale fermented like a lager. Nowaday
Allagash Brewing Co.’s River Trip clone
Allagash Brewing Co.’s River Trip clone (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.040 FG = 1.004IBU = 40 SRM = 2.5 ABV = 4.8% Good for any adventure, River Trip is a low-ABV,
Tafelbier
Similar to Trappist single, Tafelbier is a low-gravity session style beer with a nice Belgian character in the background that is a great beer to drink on brew days when you need to keep your wits about you but would also like to have a few beers. It also has a quick turnaround, so it’s perfect for brewing when you need a beer for a fast-approaching event.
Worth Brewing Co.’ Belgian Grand Cru clone
Iowa has a 5% alcohol by weight (ABW) limit — this works out to just over 6% alcohol by volume — for native brewers, so Belgian ales are a challenge. Here is a favorite that hits the limit but isn’t quite as strong as most Belgian ales. — Peter Ausenhus
Red Rock Brewing Co.’s Pecome Blonde clone
This beer has since been retired, but you can still brew up this Belgian blonde ale with this recipe. Feel free to allow fermentation temperature to rise if you would like the yeast to be more expressive.
The Lost Abbey: Devotion Ale clone
This Belgian-style blonde ale is light bodied and hop driven. It has a low level of yeast phenols and instead a lot of the spicy character comes from the aromatic hops.
Belgian Pale Ale
by the numbers OG: 1.048–1.054 (11.9–13.3 °P) FG: 1.010–1.014 (2.6–3.6 °P) SRM: 8–14 IBU: 20–30 ABV: 4.8–5.5% Mick, the bartender at the Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco, serves me a De Koninck.
Belgian Single
by the numbers OG: 1.044-1.054 FG:1.004-1.010 SRM:3-5 IBU:25-45 ABV:4.8-6.0% Trappist monasteries are rightfully known for their excellent beers. Brewed with devotion and service in mind, these beers are used to generate money
Brewing Better Belgians
Belgian ales are complex and elegant. They’re my favorites to homebrew and drink. One issue I’ve had, however, is finding a Belgian beer that’s less than six months old in the
Belgian Blond
I was recently in Belgium and, as always, beer was a significant part of the experience. One of the wonderful things about traveling in Belgium is experiencing the wide array of beers,
Jamil’s Belgian Blond
Jamil Zainasheff provides readers with a recipe to brew up an authentic Belgian-styled blonde ale.
