June 2013 Tasting: Belgian Blond & Water Adjustments
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:01 am
Style: Belgian Blond Ale
Technique: Making water adjustments in Lawrence and KCMO
Date: June 13, 2013
The June 2013 tasting is two-fold, we will be trying some “classic” examples of Belgian Blond Ales while scratching the surface of making adjustments to your brewing water.
In Brew Like a Monk, Stan Hieronymous notes that the Belgian Blond is a relatively recent innovation in that it is not a historic style that has been brewed for centuries at monasteries. Rather, it is a sub-style that was borne out of a desire to make a more mainstream Belgian-style ale, but it is classic in the sense of the word that it uses high-quality continental malts and showcases those distinctive funky-fruity flavors and aromas of Belgian yeast strains, albeit to a somewhat restrained extent to achieve broader appeal.
Belgian blonds are light to golden in color, moderate in strength, and low in bitterness for a clean, almost lager-like experience. Those unmistakable Belgian yeast esters are still present, making for a more interesting flavor profile, similar in character to a Golden Strong or Tripel, though slightly sweeter and not as strong.
A unique aspect of June’s tasting is that the homebrewed examples were made using different source water and either making water adjustments or not. We have a KCMO brewer (me) and a Lawrence brewer (Bowe - 'bneuen'),and each brewed two batches of Belgian Blond: one without any adjustments (i.e. using tap water and no pH adjustments) and one with, i.e., monitoring the mash pH and adjusting as necessary, and manipulating the chemistry and mineral contents of the water to achieve a particular profile by adding brewing “salts” such as calcium-chloride, gypsum (calcium-sulfate), and Epsom salt (magnesium-sulfate). We will attempt to distinguish between these beers and try to demystify the process of making water adjustments.
For a good primer on this discussion, go to John Palmer’s chapter 15 of howtobrew.com:
Using Salts for Brewing Water Adjustment,
Residual Alkalinity and Mash pH, and
Understanding the Mash pH.
Hope to see you in June!
Pröst,
Duane
LBG Biermeister
Technique: Making water adjustments in Lawrence and KCMO
Date: June 13, 2013
The June 2013 tasting is two-fold, we will be trying some “classic” examples of Belgian Blond Ales while scratching the surface of making adjustments to your brewing water.
In Brew Like a Monk, Stan Hieronymous notes that the Belgian Blond is a relatively recent innovation in that it is not a historic style that has been brewed for centuries at monasteries. Rather, it is a sub-style that was borne out of a desire to make a more mainstream Belgian-style ale, but it is classic in the sense of the word that it uses high-quality continental malts and showcases those distinctive funky-fruity flavors and aromas of Belgian yeast strains, albeit to a somewhat restrained extent to achieve broader appeal.
Belgian blonds are light to golden in color, moderate in strength, and low in bitterness for a clean, almost lager-like experience. Those unmistakable Belgian yeast esters are still present, making for a more interesting flavor profile, similar in character to a Golden Strong or Tripel, though slightly sweeter and not as strong.
A unique aspect of June’s tasting is that the homebrewed examples were made using different source water and either making water adjustments or not. We have a KCMO brewer (me) and a Lawrence brewer (Bowe - 'bneuen'),and each brewed two batches of Belgian Blond: one without any adjustments (i.e. using tap water and no pH adjustments) and one with, i.e., monitoring the mash pH and adjusting as necessary, and manipulating the chemistry and mineral contents of the water to achieve a particular profile by adding brewing “salts” such as calcium-chloride, gypsum (calcium-sulfate), and Epsom salt (magnesium-sulfate). We will attempt to distinguish between these beers and try to demystify the process of making water adjustments.
For a good primer on this discussion, go to John Palmer’s chapter 15 of howtobrew.com:
Using Salts for Brewing Water Adjustment,
Residual Alkalinity and Mash pH, and
Understanding the Mash pH.
Hope to see you in June!
Pröst,
Duane
LBG Biermeister