21B Specialty IPA: Belgian IPA
Belgian Hoppy Blonde
ABV7.6% OG1.062 FG1.004 IBU52Grain bill
| Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner Malt | 4 kg | 65.6% |
| Dextrose | 0.75 kg | 12.3% |
| Flaked Rice | 0.6 kg | 9.8% |
| Gladfield Wheat Malt | 0.45 kg | 7.4% |
| Gladfield Munich Malt | 0.3 kg | 4.9% |
Adjuncts
| Whirlfloc | 1 tablet @ 15 min |
| Yeast Nutrient | 5 g @ 10 min |
| Zinc | 0.5 tablet |
Hop schedule
| Hop | 60 min | WP 75°C | DH#1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Saaz | 60g | · | · |
| Simcoe | · | 85g | 55g |
| Styrian Goldings (Celeia) | · | 65g | 45g |
Yeast
| Froth Tech Wildling FTW1 | 1 liquid pack (100 mL) |
Water additions
| Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) | 5 g |
| Calcium Chloride | 3 g |
| Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom) | 2 g |
| Lactic acid (88%) | — |
Tasting notes
2026-06-15
About This Beer
A Duvel-inspired Belgian hoppy blonde pushed into Belgian IPA territory. Starting point was brewing notes shared by Dimitry Staelens of Adept Brewery in Belgium: a very dry, effervescent, fruity pale gold base on pilsner malt and a healthy dose of sugar. The hopping is dialled well past Duvel’s restraint, with Simcoe and Celeia in the whirlpool and again as a dry hop, and Czech Saaz holding a soft Belgian bittering foundation.
Grist deliberately lean and pale. Dextrose and flaked rice lighten the body and push the finish bone dry, the texture this needs to stay drinkable at 8%. Wheat for head retention, a touch of Munich for backbone without darkening past pale gold.
Saaz stands in for Dimitry’s Polish Lublin, hard to source here and the closest landrace relative. Styrian Goldings is a Fuggle-derived Slovenian hop rather than an English Goldings; Celeia is the modern cultivar, earthy and lemony.
Brew day
Brewed 30 May 2026 in Lower Hutt. Step mash, long beta rest to drive the fermentability this style depends on. Lower Hutt tap water is very soft so it was built up sulfate-forward for hop lift.
One meaningful change from the recipe at the whirlpool: extended to 40 minutes and dropped to 75°C, favouring aroma and flavour over isomerised bitterness. The aroma coming off it was a big wave of pine, citrus and passionfruit from the Simcoe with the earthy-lemon Celeia underneath.
Fermentation
BE-256 is the recipe’s strain and was unavailable, so a single fresh pack of Froth Tech Wildling FTW1 went in on top at 18.5°C into the FermZilla. Wildling throws a white krausen rather than the tan head most ale strains give, which is normal for it and not a fault.
The 2024 Wildling batch had taken a full 48 hours to show life, but that pack was three months past its best-before where this one was fresh. This showed straight away: first specks and bubbles within about twelve hours of a 9pm pitch.
Temperature plan deliberately hands-off: hold the floor early so a cold night cannot stall it, then let it free-rise toward a ceiling under 23°C. The fridge target gets nudged up to track the actual rise rather than parked at the start, because a target left low while the wort climbs means any cooling event drags it all the way back and throws away every degree of free rise built up. Tracking up pulls back only to the last step.
| Date | Day | Gravity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 May | 0 | 1.062 | Pitched, 9pm |
| 4 Jun | 5 | 1.018 | Dry hop on the gravity trigger, valve closed 1–2 turns |
| 10 Jun | 11 | 1.004 | Terminal at 250 hours |
| 12 Jun | 13 | 1.004 | Held terminal 3 days, pressure peaked ~20 psi. Crash begun |
| 15 Jun | 16 | 1.004 | ~2.6 volumes banked. Kegged |
Dry hop went on gravity rather than the calendar, with the yeast still active to clean up after it, and the spunding valve closed at the same time to start trapping CO₂.
Kegging
Into a single 19 litre keg on 15 June, the earlier idea of splitting across keg and heavy Belgian bottles dropped. Last 600 mL into a PET for an early sample. Closed transfer, then topped up with forced CO₂ toward 3.5 volumes.
First taste
Off the PET sample, and promising. Yeast expression is really nice, clearly Belgian, almost leaning saison. Celeia flavour prominent and lovely, Simcoe aroma and flavour working well alongside it. Good body, great head, dry finish, well-balanced bitterness. Some alcohol aroma and flavour at this young stage, which should integrate with conditioning.