Belgian Blond Ale

Tier B · BJCP 25A · Ale, fermented warm with a Belgian abbey yeast

ABV

6.0-7.5%

IBU

15-30

SRM

4-6

Serve

45-50F

Glass

Chalice

Identify

Deep yellow to deep gold, and usually very clear. A large, dense, creamy white head that holds and leaves rings of foam down the glass. The smell is soft bread and cracker malt first, then orange and lemon, then a light pepper note behind both. Nothing in it is loud. Medium bodied and smooth, with a lot of carbonation that fills your mouth without stinging. A grainy sweetness arrives first, then a suggestion of honey, then a medium dry finish. A gentle warmth spreads afterwards, which is the only clue that you are drinking something near 7%.

Place

Belgium, after the Second World War. Built to win over Pilsner drinkers, and popularised by Leffe.

Cause

The grain bill is Belgian Pilsner malt with a little aromatic malt on top. No dark malt, no roast, no cooked syrup. That single choice is the whole difference between this beer and a Dubbel of exactly the same strength. What you get instead of dried fruit is bread crust and cracker, plus a faint honey impression. The honey is not honey.

Confused with

Belgian Tripel, which is stronger, drier and more bitter. Belgian Golden Strong Ale, which is paler, crisper and stronger again. Belgian Dubbel, which is the same strength and the same yeast in a dark beer. Belgian Pale Ale, which is amber, weaker and more hop led.

Numbers

A Belgian Blond Ale is the softest way into this module. It has the fruit and the pepper of a Belgian yeast, turned down far enough that a lager drinker recognises the beer underneath. Hold a mouthful for two seconds. The carbonation is high enough to fill your whole mouth, and yet it does not prickle or sting.

Will you like it, Order and Try

A good Pilsner, and you have started wondering what else is out there. This is the shortest possible step sideways. Orange marmalade on toast, or lemon in a glass of water. Both of those notes are here, made by the yeast rather than added. Fresh bread and brioche. The malt underneath the fruit is doing exactly this.

Pair, Judge, Myth and Remember

What does not work: heavy roasted or smoked meat, and very sweet puddings. The first buries the beer. The second makes the finish taste sharp and thin by comparison. Deep gold and clear, with a big white head that holds and leaves rings. Bread and cracker malt first, then orange and lemon, then a hint of pepper.