A well-made Belgian blonde is an illustration of balance: the malt smoothness, the fruity tickle of the yeast, the background bitterness of the hops.
Madocke’s take on the style hits this balance wonderfully, to which beer judges can attest: this is the beer that took out Champion European Style Ale at the 2022 Indies awards. It’s also an example of Madocke’s efforts to make the shift to using as many local ingredients as possible: 80 percent of the malt bill is Australian.
But you don’t drink this beer thinking about its awards or its sustainability. You drink it thinking about the soft sweetness that the malt carries along, and the subtle mashed banana character that’s not pungent enough for banana bread but is certainly flavoursome enough for this beer, and the light spice that rolls in after your first few sips have come and gone.
You drink it thinking, “That’s not a bad beer. Someone should give it an award.”
Mick Wüst
