I brewed the Belgian Blonde Ale from BCS in hopes of getting something similar to Leffe Blonde. It fermented nicely from 1.065 to 1.011 and I kegged it about 2 weeks ago, it’s been sitting on my cooler at about 33F under 10psi. When is it ready to drink? I’m unfamiliar with Belgian stuff aside from a yearly Wit batch. Normally I’d drink an American ale as soon as it’s carbonated (about 5 days in my system)…
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I wouldn’t age a blonde. Better when young. Treat it the way you’d treat your American ales.
so I could tap it today?
Caveat - I bottle my beers.
I find all my Belgians will change character quite a bit over the first couple of months and the darker ones even longer. First comp I ever won was with a Belgian blonde that was around 4 months old.
Bottom line - drink it when you think its ready.
+1 The character imparted by the yeast will change over time. It usually becomes more subdued in the case of saccharomyces and more prominent with brettanomyces.
No reason not too. Drink it slowly and you’ll see how it ages and you can determine where you like it best. Last glass from the keg usually tastes best.
I’ve got a dubbel on tap right now that I kegged maybe two weeks ago or so. It will go quickly.
I don’t find that my blondes and tripels necessarily improve with time, but they also don’t go bad.