Brewing Belgian blonde at home

Name: Brewing Belgian blonde at home
Yield: 20 L
Ingredients: 4.37 kg Pilsner malt; 0.95 kg Light Munich malt; 0.26 kg Light candi sugar; 33 g Styrian Golding; 21 g Saazer; SafAle BE-256: 10–16 g (0.35–0.56 oz) for 20 L (about 5.3 gal) (50–80 g/hl)

Golden, fruity and spicy with Belgian yeast.

Base recipe for 20 litres (5.3 gal), calculated with the Brauwerkstatt beer creator. With one click you can adapt it to your batch size, bitterness, colour or alcohol content.

Adapt in the beer creator

Typical figures

Alcohol	6.0–7.5 %
Bitterness	15–30 IBU
Colour	8–14 EBC (4–7 SRM)
Carbonation	6.5 g/l (3.3 vol)
Yeast	SafAle BE-256 (Belgian yeast)
Fermentation temperature	18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
Brewing water	soft, for pale beers

Recipe for 20 litres (5.3 gal)

Original gravity: 13.9 °P (SG 1.056)
6.5 % vol
22 IBU
10 EBC (5.1 SRM)
Final gravity: 2.0 °P (SG 1.008)

Grain bill

Pilsner malt	4.37 kg (9.63 lb)	78 %
Light Munich malt	948 g (33.4 oz)	17 %
Light candi sugar	258 g (9.1 oz)	5 %

Hops

Styrian Golding 4.5 % α	33 g (1.16 oz)	60 min
Saazer 3.5 % α	21 g (0.74 oz)	15 min

Yeast

SafAle BE-256: 10–16 g (0.35–0.56 oz) for 20 L (about 5.3 gal) (50–80 g/hl)

Mash schedule

64 °C (147 °F) · 75 min

Brewing water

Mash water	18.5 L (4.89 gal)
Sparge water	13.0 L (3.43 gal)
Total water	31.5 L (8.32 gal)

Brewing steps

Clean and sanitise everything that touches the wort after the boil.
Measure out 31.5 L (about 8.3 gal) of water and treat it with the brewing-water calculator. For a pale beer: soft water, mash pH 5.4–5.5.
Split the water: mash water 18.5 L (about 4.9 gal), sparge water 13 L (about 3.4 gal).
Heat the mash water to 67 °C (153 °F) and mash in 4.37 kg (9.6 lb) Pilsner malt and 0.95 kg (2.1 lb) Light Munich malt (gives about 64 °C / 147 °F).
Rest: 64 °C (147 °F), 75 min. Iodine test at the end: no blue colour = starch converted.
Measure mash pH 10–15 min after mashing in (cool the sample to 20 °C / 68 °F). Target 5.4–5.5.
Mash out: heat to 78 °C (172 °F) and hold for 10 min.
Rest 10–20 min, lauter slowly and sparge with 13 L (about 3.4 gal) water at 78 °C (172 °F).
Boil the wort for 90 min.
60 min before the end of the boil add 33 g (1.2 oz) Styrian Golding.
15 min before the end of the boil add 21 g (0.74 oz) Saazer.
10 min before the end of the boil add Irish moss (about 2 g / 0.07 oz, soaked beforehand).
5 min before the end of the boil stir in 0.26 kg (0.57 lb) Light candi sugar.
After the boil stir a whirlpool and let it rest for 15 min.
Chill to 18 °C (64 °F), measure original gravity (target 13.9 °P), run 20 L (about 5.3 gal) into the fermenter, aerate well and pitch the SafAle BE-256 (amount see yeast).
Start fermentation at 18 °C (64 °F) and let it rise to 22–24 °C (72–75 °F), about 10–14 days in total.
Measure final gravity (target about 2 °P). Priming sugar per bottle from the carbonation calculator (target 6.5 g/l), then bottle.
Bottle-condition for 2 weeks at room temperature, then keep cool.

Notes

Created with the beer creator (brewhouse efficiency 70 %, final gravity about 2 °P).