Belgian Blonde Ale (May 2025)

About This Beer

Second captured Belgian Blonde. Direct re-brew of batch 55 (Belgian Blonde Ale, January 2025) with one deliberate change — Pacifica replaces Wakatu gram for gram. Kegged output.

What Changed vs Batch 55

Just one thing:

Both Wakatu and Pacifica are NZ Hallertau-derived hops:

• Wakatu — NZ Hallertau Aroma derivative; tropical fruit + lime
• Pacifica — NZ Hallertau Mittelfrüh cross; orange/citrus + floral

The swap keeps the beer in the same hop family but shifts character.

Grain Bill — Same as Batch 55

6.8 kg total:

• 3.00 kg Gladfield Light Lager Malt
• 1.10 kg Gladfield Pilsner Malt
• 0.80 kg Gladfield Vienna Malt
• 1.00 kg Gladfield Wheat Malt
• 0.75 kg Harraways Flaked Wheat
• 0.15 kg Gladfield Rye Malt

Hop Schedule

100 g total. Same schedule as batch 55, Pacifica swapped in for Wakatu.

Fermentation

2 packets of Mangrove Jack’s M31 Belgian Tripel pitched. Zero pressure until Day 9, then closed spunding valve for CO2 capture (same template as batch 55).

FG hit 1.005 vs 1.004 target — 91.1 % apparent attenuation. OG fell 4 points short of target (1.056 vs 1.060), pulling ABV to 6.7 % vs 7.37 % target.

90-minute boil consistent with Belgian Blonde tradition for pilsner-malt-driven beers.

Packaging

Kegged. Natural CO2 captured via closed spunding from Day 9. 21.9 L kegged.

Numbers

Cost

$55.90 / 21.9 L = $2.55/L — among the cheapest in the captured collection.

Lineage

• Belgian Blonde Ale (January 2025) — first captured; Wakatu + Riwaka
• This brew — Belgian Blonde Ale (May 2025) — Pacifica replaces Wakatu
• Belgian Blonde (February 2026) — next iteration