Inspired by my recent trip to Bruges on the Eurostar, I decided to get some homebrew on the go.   My previous IPAⁱ was almost out & I had a weekend with nothing much planned coming up.   A quick trip to The Brew Shop in Stockportⁱ & I had 50kg of pale malt & assorted other malts, Amarillo & Northern Brewer hops & a straightforward ale yeast.

Belgian Blonde - being that Belgian beers are usually ales (ie top fermented), it shouldn't be too much of a bastardisation to brew one in a bucket at home.   The BJCP style guide says that a Belgian Blonde should be moderately hopped with a spicy bitterness, yeasty & an orangey / lemony fruit ester flavour.   A sugar-like character too should be present.

Mash - 1 hour 15 mins, 20 litres, 67°c for 60 mins

1 teaspoon citric acid

Pale malt 4Kg

Crystal malt 250g

Boil - 1 hour

Zest of 1 lemon

3 heaped tablespoons of invert sugar syrup

1 level tablespoon of honey

40g of Amarillo hops all at the start of the boil

The result is a very yellow beer when bottled.   Tasting will be in a few weeks.

Verdict 2 weeks after bottling: Cleared perfectly within days of bottling.   Didn't gas up though.   Added a little priming sugar which added some fizz, but disturbed the yeast.   Tasted so-so.   A little musty-honey flavour & a little sugar sweet.   Will benefit from a longer maturation - maybe another 4 weeks.

Verdict 4 weeks after bottling: Still a little DMS-mustiness but this dissipates on standing in an open jug for twenty minutes.   Sweetness has gone.

Verdict 12 weeks after bottling: No traces of mustiness now, but not as good as my other beers.   This is probably due to the rather normal amount of hops used & having them all in at the start of the boil.