Style: Belgian Blond Ale*
Batch size: 5 gallons
Brewed: December 15, 2012
Bottled: January 5, 2013
OG: 1.087  FG: 1.008
IBUs: 32  ABV: 10.35%

Grains
11 lbs Belgian Pilsner Malt
1 lb Belgian Wheat Malt
12 oz Honey Malt

Sugars
1 lb Sucrose

Hops
60 min: 1 oz Tettnang (4.5% AA)
30 min: 1 oz Hallertauer (4.5% AA)
20 min: 1 oz Styrian Celeia (3.1% AA)
10 min: 1 oz Saaz (3.1% AA)
14 days (dry hop): 1 oz East Kent Goldings  (5.6% AA)

Yeast
2 liter starter of Belgian Witbier (Wyeast #3944)

This beer finished a bit drier than anticipated, and is probably due to a lower mash temp. That said, even after one week in bottle, it’s just freakin’ fantastic! The complex hop profile is exactly what we had set out to do…and they all meld perfectly together. The inspiration came from Gouden Carolus’ Hopsinjoor.

* While the base style is a Belgian Blond Ale, this is most certainly out of style. The hops are kicked up a bit (mostly on the aroma/flavor, but bitter too), and the alcohol is increased to balance out the extra bitterness.