Belgian blonde ended up too strong, competition advice

[jmcquesten]

Ok, so I brewed a Belgian blonde along the lines of the Leffe recipe. I guess my efficiency was a little better than planned for and I mashed at around 153-154, instead of 156-158, which gave me a pretty fermentable wort. My abv ended up closer to the 8.4% range which is out of style. In my (untrained) opinion, the beer came out really good and I would like to enter it in competition. It tastes exactly like the blonde I was going for, just about an abv point above style guidelines.

So, to get to my question. Do I still enter it in the Belgian blonde category? Will a judge know the difference in one point abv? It doesn't seem like a golden strong to me, and at 8.4% it's on the low end for that style.

 

[Sippin37]

I say enter it into the Belgian Blonde category if you don't think the extra point in ABV makes it taste any different. And in the future add some sterile water to your fermenter before pitching the yeast to nail your OG dead on. Sounds like your OG was high due to better than expected mash efficiency.

 

[phug]

I had the reverse problem and ended with a sub6% Belgian blonde.