With winter on the way, it’s the perfect time to start planning for spring. That gives you months to get a crisp lager cold-conditioned, or to nail that golden ale you’ve been meaning to perfect, ready for the brighter days.

So, for this competition: brew any style of beer with a recipe-calculated colour of 20 EBC or less. That’s anything from pale straw to deep gold. “Light” refers to colour only, so strength is up to you. A delicate 3.5% session blonde is just as welcome as a 9% Belgian tripel.

There’s a huge range of styles to choose from: Pilsner, Helles, Kölsch, golden ale, blonde, saison, witbier, hefeweizen, Berliner weisse, West Coast or hazy IPA, cream ale, tripel and more. The main thing to keep in mind is that pale beers leave nowhere to hide. With no roast or crystal malt to cover them, any off-flavours, oxidation or haze where it shouldn’t be will show up straight away. Clean fermentation, good water and fresh ingredients will make all the difference, and the best entries will taste as good as they look.

So dust off your pilsner malt and show us how much flavour you can pack into a pale pint. Bring on the next great light beer!