Planning on brewing this as well. I'm adjusting the amount of malt to bring down the FG as suggested, however, my IBU's are pretty high. Is it just my aa% or was the original recipe supposed to have a lot of hop character? My SRM is also low, but I'm guessing that's normal. Below is my recipe build. Any suggestions welcome!
I'm brewing a Belgian Blonde right now (using WY3522 Ardennes) and was also concerned about super low SRM, so I added some 28L Victory (also for flavor). I'm not going for an exact La Chouffe clone, but I've brewed this one before and find it to be an excellent Blonde. Maybe this can be somewhat helpful for you as you tweak recipe design:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/748993/whistling-gnome-belgian-blonde-ale
SRM is right where I want it to be: 6.5. I'm not sure why my efficiency was so low on this batch, but I adjusted it to reflect my actual numbers post-brewday.
With such a low lovibond base malt being your only grain, you're more along the lines of a Golden Strong or a Tripel (except for the gravity). If you wanted to brew one of those, you could up your grain weight or sugar adjuncts to 2 or more pounds (don't exceed 15-20% by weight, though!).
Brewing this as my first Belgian brew, and have more a general brewing question about fermentation schedules. For this beer Wyeast 3522 at 75F:23.8C looks to be the move. After your have reached your final gravity are your keeping it at the 75F or letting it fall back down for conditioning then packing? Thanks for the help!
Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.
The BLAM guide states that temperatures in excess of 75F for 3522 will throw fusels, clove, spice, phenols in quantities proportionate to temperature. It can become harsh and undrinkable if it goes too high. The exothermic ability of this yeast for me on my first brew with it (a tripel) was through the roof (66F attic, 78F beer temperature, before I got a chest freezer with an inkbird). That tripel was HOT and harsh but mellowed out a little over time. The second attempt at the tripel was with the chest freezer--it came out much softer. If you push the upper end of the recommended temp range for this yeast, make sure you're going off of liquid temp as best as possible rather than ambient.
When working with other strains (3787) and higher gravity worts (Tripels, Quads), I usually start LOW around 62-64F and raise by a degree or two per day for 7 days, then hold until fermentation is complete. This is the method generally recommended by candisyrup.com on their recipes page (definitely check them out if you haven't yet, and are interested in brewing Belgians with some regularity). Some yeasts, like this one, have the tendency to give up if you try to reign them in too much--my last 3787 Tripel did just that and finished 6 points higher than it should've based on previous batch attenuation percentages.
I personally think you could let it sit at your room temp for a week or two post-fermentation and prior to packaging with no ill effects. You could do the traditional cool/cold conditioning for weeks on-end, like Westvleteren does, but 3522 drops clear and fast, so your conditioning could alternatively take place in bottles/keg, barring the arguments of bulk aging being more efficient.
Good luck! This is my favorite Belgian yeast strain.
edit: I should add that I am fermenting this one at 67F for the first 3 days, with a free rise afterward. When I was building my starter, I tasted some of the wort and was punched in the mouth with a clove bomb (probably 70F in my pantry, where my stir plate is--and 75F wort temp is my guess). My goal with this initially lower-end fermentation temperature/schedule is to limit fusels, create a clean and malty flavor profile and encourage complete attenuation. It'll be kegged and carbed to 3.0 volumes.