July Belgian beers competition

[samale]

Sorry didn't realise you were judging on the weekend. Posted last Wednesday

Judging was to start on Friday, I ended up away with the family. I started judging last night and will continue on tonight

 

[Agentgonzo]

I expect judging strong Belgian beers will take longer than other styles, lest gravity changes direction on you mid-judging.

 

[samale]

I expect judging strong Belgian beers will take longer than other styles, lest gravity changes direction on you mid-judging.

I am judging 3 beers each night, so all going well judging will be finished tomorrow night

 

[pilgrimhudd]

I am judging 3 beers each night, so all going well judging will be finished tomorrow night

It's a marathon not a sprint.

 

[samale]

Results are in, thanks to everyone who sent me beers. Really enjoyable experience

 

[samale]

In 3rd place with a score of 38, @Corbières with his Belgian strong ale. This was a surprise as it contained Brett, really nice beer.

 

[samale]

In 2nd place with a score of 39 is @dave_77 with his Belgian pale. Really nice beer, fantastic colour and clarity. Well crafted and well balanced

 

[samale]

With a score of 41, 1st place goes to @Agentgonzo with his Belgian strong. This beer is packed full of flavour and aroma. Excellent colour and clarity. Carbonation is spot on and helps cut the sweetness of the malt. Really impressed with this, job well done

 

[Fazzer]

Well done @Agentgonzo on the win.
Thanks to @samale for judging.

 

[dave_77]

With a score of 41, 1st place goes to @Agentgonzo with his Belgian strong. This beer is packed full of flavour and aroma. Excellent colour and clarity. Carbonation is spot on and helps cut the sweetness of the malt. Really impressed with this, job well done

Well done @Agentgonzo & @Corbières ..great scoresthanks for judging @samale hope your not done with Belgians for a while

 

[samale]

Well done @Agentgonzo & @Corbières ..great scoresthanks for judging @samale hope your not done with Belgians for a while

I think I will enter next year's competition.

 

[clyne]

Thanks for judging @dave_77 - appreciate your time and effort. Will you be sending notes to each submitter on their beers? Love getting feedback to help me with future beers

 

[samale]

@clyne I plan to have all the feedback completed by the weekend.

 

[Corbières]

In 3rd place with a score of 38, @Corbières with his Belgian strong ale. This was a surprise as it contained Brett, really nice beer.

Thanks !
Can I ask why you think my beer contained Brett ? It didn’t btw

 

[samale]

Thanks !
Can I ask why you think my beer contained Brett ? It didn’t btw

I picked Brett of it, what yeast did you use

 

[samale]

Thanks !
Can I ask why you think my beer contained Brett ? It didn’t btw

I would love someone else to try your beer. Maybe you could send a bottle to an experienced member. Just as a comparison to my notes on the beer. I really enjoyed it by the way so don't take it as a criticism. I have used Brett in the past, your beer shared similar characteristics in aroma and flavour

 

[Agentgonzo]

Thank you @samale for judging! Well done everyone!

Mine was a clone of Leffe Radieuse which is one of our favourite Belgian ales.

I'd love to say that it was my recipe, but it's not. Full credit goes to the OP of this thread for the recipe.
My recipe is attached if you don't want to trawl through that thread. Belgian candi sugar was home-made by caramelising sucrose/water mixture with a pinch of citric acid until it 'looked about right' (dark brown/90L I think). Carbonation was at 21 degrees for 3 weeks, then conditioned in the garage at variable temperatures over winter/spring/summer.

Vital stats:

• OG 1.082
• FG 1.021
• ABV: 8.0%
• EBC: 40
• IBU: 20
• Fermented for 21 days.
• Conditioned for at least 6 months. This was actually brewed in September last year, so the bottle that Samale got had conditioned for 10 months.

No water chemistry. My water profile (taken from Bournemouth water report) is:

pH	Ca2+	Mg2+	CaCO3	SO4-	Cl-	Na+
7.64	23	15	274	21	21	10

It's definitely one of the top 3 beers I've ever brewed. Straight out of the fermenter, it was bursting with flavour, and only got better over the next 4 months of conditioning.

 

[samale]

Thank you @samale for judging! Well done everyone!

Mine was a clone of Leffe Radieuse which is one of our favourite Belgian ales.
View attachment 72639

I'd love to say that it was my recipe, but it's not. Full credit goes to the OP of this thread for the recipe.
My recipe is attached if you don't want to trawl through that thread. Belgian candi sugar was home-made by caramelising sucrose/water mixture with a pinch of citric acid until it 'looked about right' (dark brown/90L I think). Carbonation was at 21 degrees for 3 weeks, then conditioned in the garage at variable temperatures over winter/spring/summer.

Vital stats:

• OG 1.082
• FG 1.021
• ABV: 8.0%
• EBC: 40
• IBU: 20
• Fermented for 21 days.
• Conditioned for at least 6 months. This was actually brewed in September last year, so the bottle that Samale got had conditioned for 10 months.

It's definitely one of the top 3 beers I've ever brewed. Straight out of the fermenter, it was bursting with flavour, and only got better over the next 4 months of conditioning.

Thank you for sharing your recipe, I will definitely be giving this a go. Well deserved winner

 

[Agentgonzo]

Thank you for sharing your recipe, I will definitely be giving this a go. Well deserved winner

It's well worth brewing this if you like Belgian Abbey Ales, and not a hard recipe. We did a side-by-side comparison between the original and this clone: There's not a lot to tell between them!

 

[Corbières]

I would love someone else to try your beer. Maybe you could send a bottle to an experienced member. Just as a comparison to my notes on the beer. I really enjoyed it by the way so don't take it as a criticism. I have used Brett in the past, your beer shared similar characteristics in aroma and flavour

No problem - was just checking I didn’t steal someone else’s 3rd place if there was a mix up.
I brewed this in February and a few forum members have reviewed it - all positive - no Brett mentioned.
The yeast was Flushed Nun from CML.
Thanks for the judging - I look forward to receiving your feedback