The story of the Belgian Blonde Tart Part II

On Saturday, September 6th, I brewed my Belgian Blonde Ale under the shelter of the garage. It was raining off and on all day, but I was successful in my venture. It is raging right now in the fermenter. I know this because when I last checked on the fermenters, they were bubbling like crazy and had blown the little caps off the airlocks. I think it should be ready to bottle by next weekend.

I used the Wyeast Strong Belgian Ale yeast, instead of my original idea of mixing an ale yeast and a champagne yeast. I should still get a high attenuation and a nice dry finish, and I think it makes the Belgian Blonde a little more authentic.

The plans for this beer might be a little grand, but what is a home brewer if not experimental? As soon as the final gravity is reached, I will bottle half of the beer. This will be just a Belgian Blonde Ale. I believe the recipe I came up with is pretty standard for a Belgian Blonde, except for the use of Turbinado Sugar instead of Candi Sugar. Really, sugar is sugar as far as the yeast is concerned, but Turbinado sugar is better than table sugar for the purpose of brewing because it doesn't produce the off-flavors associated with the over processing of cane sugar.

In case you are wondering the identity of my beautiful assistant brewer, it's my fiance. She supports my brewing wholeheartedly, and loves to go with me to brew. It helps that we brew at the farmhouse, where we can wander through the orchard and gardens and find beautiful and sometimes delicious things. Saturday, I picked a few apples and ate them. Maybe next year I'll make a cider out of some of them. There are always tons of beautiful flowers everywhere, too. It's an amazing place to be able to visit, and the energy is fantastic. Brewing there is a great thing.

I expect the Belgian Blonde will be delicious and strong, at 7.3% abv. The color looks appropriately light, and the clarity looks fantastic.

The other half of this batch will then be siphoned into a secondary fermenter on top of 10 lbs of tart cherries picked on a farm in New Haven, Missouri. By the way, a special thanks must go out to Steve and Judy for their cherries, and for sponsoring the production of 10 gallons of pale ale for their event earlier this year. They are true patrons of the art of brewing. Steve's lessons in marketing my product to a crowd will be much appreciated if they give me the microphone again next year. (I'll remember that, in advertising my beer, I shouldn't refer to the other beer available as "swill." I should focus on the positive points of my beer, not the negative points of mass-produced domestic lager.)

Anyway, the other 5 gallons of blonde will sit on the ten pounds of cherries for about a week, or until I decide it's enough, whichever comes last. Then, I'll rack and bottle the cherry beer.

It should be pretty tart and flavorful, and I'm hoping the blonde will be subtle enough not to mask the cherries or try to mix with it. Hopefully, the cherries will take the forefront and we'll have ourselves a very good beer.

Check out the huge spider I saw while I was brewing. He hung out all day and never moved. Belgian brewers see spiders as good luck. I think I do, too. Especially one as big as this one. He's seen some action, too. He's missing a leg.

Until next week, I guess...

I almost forgot! The White Wedding Ale went over very well last week. It was delicious, and I received SEVERAL comments as to its high quality. Unfortunately, we didn't get to drink it all, and I still have 5 gallons in a keg at the farm for later consumption. (By unfortunately, I, of course, mean Awesomely.) I was also pleased with the results of the ale, and look forward to sharing the rest of it with whomever is around when we break it out again. I think it will age well in the keg, so I'm in no particular hurry to drink it. Maybe we'll have a White Christmas...