25A Belgian Blonde Ale
Belgian Blonde 25A
Grain bill
| Weyermann Barke Pilsner Malt | 4.6 kg | 77.3% |
| Weyermann Vienna Malt | 0.9 kg | 15.2% |
| D45 Candi Syrup | 0.45 kg | 7.5% |
Adjuncts
| Yeast Nutrient | 4 g @ 10 min |
| Whirlfloc | 1 tablet @ 10 min |
| Zinc | 0.5 tablet @ 10 min |
Hop schedule
| Hop | 60 min | 10 min |
|---|---|---|
| Czech Saaz | 65g | 20g |
Yeast
| LalBrew Abbaye | 2 packets |
Water additions
| Calcium Sulfate | 6 g |
| Calcium Chloride | 2 g |
| Magnesium Sulfate | 1 g |
About This Beer
Vallée D’Blonde is a 25A Belgian Blonde Ale brewed for Euroclash 2026, and the first batch I brewed on the BrewZilla 65L Gen 4.1. The recipe is a classic 25A build: Weyermann Barke Pilsner as the base, Vienna for body, and D45 Candi Syrup for warmth and colour. Czech Saaz is the single hop — understated, herbal, and appropriately European for the style.
LalBrew Abbaye was pitched at 18°C with a slow ramp to encourage full attenuation and ester development. I also captured yeast from this batch to repitch into the Dubbel, so it was pulling double duty as a yeast nursery.
Brew Day
The mash ran as planned on the new 65L system: 64°C for 60 minutes, ramped to 72°C for 10 minutes, then mashed out at 76°C. Sparge was 13L at 76°C. Both mash pH (5.3) and sparge pH (5.6) were exactly where I wanted them. Pre-boil was 28.5L, putting me in good shape for the 90-minute boil.
Czech Saaz went in at 65g for 60 minutes, then 20g at 10 minutes. The D45 Candi Syrup, yeast nutrient, Whirlfloc, and zinc all went in at 10 minutes as well. I topped up 1L post-boil and ended up with 21L into the FermZilla at OG 1.057, exactly on target. The 65L system handled this batch comfortably.
Fermentation
Two packets of LalBrew Abbaye pitched at 18°C. Fermentation moved steadily with a gradual temperature ramp to 24°C over 8 days to encourage full attenuation and let Abbaye express its ester profile. By day 14 I started cooling gradually down to 7°C for conditioning. FG landed at 1.010 for 6.2% ABV with solid attenuation. Clean fermentation throughout with no drama.
The Result
Kegged on 8 March 2026 via closed transfer, with additional volume into PET bottles for competition entries. Target carbonation was 3.0 vol CO₂, on the higher end and appropriate for the style. The appearance leans slightly darker than BJCP 25A expectations (4–7 SRM) — the D45 Candi Syrup and Vienna malt push it toward amber rather than pale golden. This will likely cost points on the judging sheet.
Flavour is where this beer earns its keep. Good malt character, well balanced, and Czech Saaz comes through subtly but clearly: herbal, slightly spicy, appropriately restrained. The D45 adds a soft warmth rather than overt sweetness. Nothing is out of place.
What’s Next
The colour is the main thing I want to address. I’ll either pull the Vienna malt back significantly or swap the D45 for a lighter candi syrup — D5 or clear Belgian candi would keep the fermentability and character without pushing toward amber. Head retention also deserves a look; a small addition of Carapils or flaked wheat might improve foam stability without changing flavour noticeably.