#3 Belgian Blonde 29Oct08

My third beer was an attempt to make something akin to Affligem Blonde, a favorite of mine in that style. One method technique I changed here was to "mash out" (adding water to the grains left behind from the initial mash) by adding 180F (instead of 170F) water. Supposedly the grain bed will cool the water enough upon addition that the water will still be below 170F (to avoid extraction of undesireable tannins, etc) and this will allow for better extraction of sugars from the grains. In reality, my mash efficiency improved about 10% with the higher mash out temp being the only major change, so I gotta give props to my LHBS (local homebrew shop) for the advice.

4 lb. Belgian (Dingemans) pilsner
1.0 lb Dingemans Cara-pils
1 lb Weyermann Vienna
4 oz Aromatic
10 oz oats
4 lb Briess pilsen light DME
1 oz E. Kent Goldings @ 45 min (plugs, 5%)
0.5 oz E. Kent Goldings @ 5 min (plug, 5%)
White Labs 575 (Ale blend), fermented @ 70F
6 oz corn sugar at bottling
6 gallon batch

Notes: Initial mash temp: 157 F; final temp 150 F after 60 min. Original gravity: 1.055 for a 63% mash efficiency. Fermented 10 days to a final gravity of 1.010. Rack to secondary and condition 1 week @ 70F. Bottle w/6 oz corn sugar and condition @ 70F 1 week.

Taste: Improved after ~1month in bottle. Flavors not as smooth. Disappointed with poor head retention. The increased oats definitely enhance a creamy mouthfeel. Consensus is the #2 Saison is much better, but head to head against Affligem blonde, my blonde was actually pretty comparable in character. But #3 Blonde is getting neglected due to the option of the #2 Saison. It's just that good.