Affligem Blonde, Bruegel Amber Ale, Leffe Blonde, Petrus Special.

In his book Belgian Ales, Pierre Rajoute states:

Trying to classify Belgian beers in well-defined styles is like attempting to impose guidelines on the Belgian brewmaster's creativity. There are always beers that at one time or another probably started a trend which might be defined as a style. But if you look at the beers included in a so-called style, you will see that a narrow definition is impossible.

For present purposes, I am going to condier five main styles for discussion: wittes, blondes, dubbles, triples, old browns and lambics. Any number of unique ales like Orval or styles like Scotch ale from Belgium may be added to this list but, even though it is very general and addmittedly partial, this listing should serve as a good start.

I have already compared some wittes. As with the witte post, I have been collecting blondes and thought it was time to let them out of the cupboard. The funny thing about Belgian ale is that you are facing such a face full of flavour that you have to wonder how anyone makes a buck selling this stuff. There are hundreds of brewers in Belgium, that freak of the brewing nations, and when you do buy one of their brews you want to sit on a glass for hours. Elegant, full of flavour and rewarding - five bucks worth makes for an evening well spent.

How the head holds up:
Affligem Blonde, Bruegel Amber Ale, Leffe Blonde, Petrus Special.

In this experiment I picked up four brews over a few shopping trips and poured them side by side to see what a blonde could do for me. Can I provide you with any more references to blondes as if...well, ok, I'll stop. You can see from the above that there are differences in the way the ales pour. The Leffe, second from the right, is tight, white and and long lasting. Its neighbour to the right, the Petrus Special, faded to a certain point quickly.

Not so blonde sometimes:
Affligem Blonde, Bruegel Amber Ale, Leffe Blonde, Petrus Special.

Here is how I see them:

• Petrus Special (5.5%): tiny 250 ml bottle, this beer is clear light amber and light, fine white head. Aroma is lighty autumn floral, straw bale. Mouthfeels is light to medium and fruity, old hop bitter, a little musty, some spice. Not far off a english pale ale but the malt is richer, notes of apple, not grainy. Some grass like a NZ sauvignon blanc in both aroma and flavour. Low carbonation. Yeast is creamy underneath. Michael Jackson in his Great Beer Book describes it follows:

  ...an assertive ale, with an earthy aroma; a textured malt background; corriander in the palate (this spice is added); and a root, hoppy finish.

  This would be a great beer with an old cheddar and a Northern Spy apple. A fairly modest ale but well balanced and fresh even with the musty notes. The glass was left laced but less than the others, even the Bruegel. It is not a round oaky ale like the Leffe or Affligen but a lighter fresher beer. This is not far off a Canadian pale ale with its edge of bitter hops in the background. A bit sour in the yeast as well, not unlike a Big Rock tone. The lightest of the four. Beer Advocatonisn say this about it.
• Leffe Blonde (6.6%): this brew is always at the LCBO and I overlook it in favour of its sibling the Brown. This and the Affligem are very close. This one is a little less musty and more creamy but definitely they are the two stars of these four. Smokey, orange, creamy more than the Affligem's buttery. It has the best lacing and is crystal clear. Nice and rich but, like the style, not an everyday brew perhaps...though for Belgians who knows. Here are the Beer Advocate's reviews of Leffe Blonde.
• Bruegel Amber (5.2%): this beer is just caramel, a little smoke, a little brown sugar. It may have darker Belgian brewers sugar and really not be a blonde but at the same time it is not a dubble or any other Belgian style. It is a uni-tone and not as interesting as the other three - of the four it is the least and therefore not worth much comment. At the end there may be a sort of orange peel thing but it is left as a sort of burned thing given the other flavours. No real hops to speak of. It is not an off beer, however - just not interesting. One Beer Advocatonian compares it to raisin bran - just what I like in a beer.
• Affligem Blonde (6.8%): after a hit of orange and corrianger and the first this is somewhat musty...but in a good way. Drinking the smell of Grannie's attic, oaken and sweet. There are German dessert wines or Ontario Select Late Harvest Reisings which have this kind of mushroomy thing happening. Some heat of the alcohol, but, as it should be it is placed behind the Belgian brewers candy, a sort of candy floss flavour in the middle of the mouth. It is medium in body and buttery. It is not clear while the Leffe is - not as cloudy as a witte but real yeast on the bottom of the bottle. All the others have no evidence of a real ale. Like Leffe, whiskyish at the end. The Beer Advocatonians generally approve.

Other than the Bruegel, these are interesting ales and worth trying if you want to know what beer was like when brewers cared and made sure there was something in your glass. I will add more blondes to this post as I come across them. Soon I will add a post on dubbles, triples, and, at some later point when I have collected enough, old browns and lambics.