[chumley]

Yesterday I brewed 10 gallons of my first attempt to make a hoppy Belgian blond similar to Bink from Brouwerij Kerkom:

OG 1.057,  ~40 IBUs

10 lb. Avangard pilsner malt
10 lb. Malteurop two-row
6 oz. acid malt

Mash in at 140°F for 2 hours (my wife drug me to Lowe's). Slowly raise mash to 155°F, then a final 20 minute rest. Batch sparge.

2 oz. Saaz FWH
1 oz. Challenger 60 min
1 oz. Kent Goldings 60 min
2 oz. Styrian Goldings 5 min

Split into two carboys, one with WLP500 Trappist (Chimay), the one with WLP575 Belgian Blend. Now I need to find a warm spot in my house.

Bink was my favorite Belgian blond I tasted during our trip to Belgium last October. From conversation with the brewer, Marc Limet, I learned that he uses two different types of pilsner malt, step mashes ("to aid in the digestibility of the beer", Denny ), uses Challenger and Goldings for bittering that are both grown locally in Belgium, and their yeast is similar to Westmalle.   The Saaz and the Styrians are just my tweaks for what I thought I was tasting for finishing hops.  I probably will dry hop one of the kegs wth Styrian Goldings.

I will report back on how these come out when they are done.  Unfortunately, I am unable to get any Bink to do a side-by-side. Anyone else who has more knowledge of this beer please chime in.

As an aside.....I crushed the malt separately, and I have to say.....crushed Avangard pilsner smells way maltier than crushed Malteurop 2-row. I can't believe Germans have better malt than we Montanans.

[chumley]

This came out pretty good.  I took it to a conference last week, and served it at the company's hospitality suite. I got a lot of positive comments, no negatives.

I started fermenting in the low 60s, then ramped up to the 70s, using a brew belt and a blanket.  It got a little warm once, and the result was that I had a little more spicy phenolics than what would be expected in Bink - both in the Trappist Blend WLP575 and the Chimay WLP500 beers.

I fermented the beer in buckets for 3 weeks.  I dry hopped each fermentor for the last week with a half ounce each of Styrian and Kent Goldings, before kegging.  They were then cold conditioned for a couple of weeks.

I think next time I will use straight pilsner malt, ferment cooler, and maybe more dry hopping or late hop additions.  All and all, a good first attempt.

[denny]

Thanks for the update, chumley.  I may have to try that one.

[S. cerevisiae]

I really like the taste of Avangard pilsner malt.

[chumley]

....and after a couple of weeks cold conditioning, this is definitely a winner.  One of the top 20 beers I have ever brewed.

To wit, best Belgian blonde I have ever brewed.  Getting rid of the small spice additions, the small percentages of biscuit/amber/honey/whatever malts....this is a good thing.

The more I brew, the more I like the simplest beers.

[denny]

....and after a couple of weeks cold conditioning, this is definitely a winner.  One of the top 20 beers I have ever brewed.

To wit, best Belgian blonde I have ever brewed.  Getting rid of the small spice additions, the small percentages of biscuit/amber/honey/whatever malts....this is a good thing.

The more I brew, the more I like the simplest beers.

I'm gonna brew this as soon as I have a chance!

[chumley]

Yesterday's Belgian Blond recipe - minor tweaks to version from 3 years ago.

OG 1.055, 10 gallons

20 lbs. Avangard pilsner malt
0.5 lbs. Dingemann's biscuit malt
6 oz. Weyermann acid malt
1 lb. Simplicity candi syrup

Mash-in at 140°F for 60 min, 150°F for 30 min, batch sparge at 165°F

3 oz. EKGs FWH
1.5 oz. Challenger 60 min
2 oz. Saaz 5 min
2 oz. Saaz 0 min

Split between a 2 L starter of WLP Belgian blend, and 2 packets of Belle Saison.  This morning the blend is fermenting nicely....at 60°F!.  The dry yeast hasn't got started yet.  I will probably move the buckets upstairs tomorrow to warm them up a bit. 

It's been 3.5 years now since I have had a Bink blond, so I won't know if I am in the ball park.  I just know I should end up with a hoppy Belgian blond, which is a good thng.

[santoch]

Really interesting having all those English hops up front, then the Saaz late.

[narvin]

I love Challenger and EKG in a Belgian style blond.  I know they use both in Poperings Hommelbier.  Not sure about the Bink hops but it's also a great beer.