Who Has Brewed A Belgian IPA?

[GHBWNY]

Brewed my first and it tastes close enough to descriptions I have read about, although frankly, I'm not *exactly* sure what a Belgian IPA is supposed to taste like. Seems like the parameters for recipes I found online are fairly broad. Of the hundreds of different concoctions, it seems there could be many different tastes. Just wondered what others have experienced in their finished brew.

 

[xCSx]

I have.

In the end it was my least drank homebrew, ended up being too boring.

 

[GPP33]

Try the Belgium IPA that's stone does. Freaking delicious! They just take the stone IPA recepie and pitch a Belgium yeast.

 

[GHBWNY]

Being an IPA/Belgian hybrid (and having used T-58), it ended up on the hazy side. Curious if others would cold-crash/clear it to give it more the appearance of an IPA, or leave it hazier like a Belgian.

 

[Sadu]

I kegged my first one this week, was kinda disappointed. It seems to me that it's one of those styles where balance is very important.

American IPAs are pretty forgiving creatures and it really comes down to how much you want to spend on hops, but I'm yet to brew a bad one. Belgian IPAs have this whole extra yeast character that needs balancing. I just felt in my case that the hops were fighting the yeast a bit and while it's a perfectly drinkable beer, dollar for dollar I'd pick one of my American IPAs or a Belgian blond over this every time.

Probably something that will take a few goes to nail properly but I'm not sure I'll go there again.

 

[oceanic_brew]

Yeah I have a couple bad experiences brewing Belgian IPA. My first one with a lot of finishing citrus hops was with a 1st gen yeast starter of Ardennes yeast. The balance was great but the second two iterations were nearly undrinkable.

I would certainly like to have a go again but this time use some noble hops. It's a beer I can imagine working well but it really only did for me when the yeast character was subdued.

Just a thought but I actually got into makings BIPA's when brewing How To Disappear Completely by Brewdog. Their suggestion was to keep the Ardennes yeast at 19c throughout the entire fermentation.

The beer had a complex malt bill, very low OG and insane IBU level. They call it an imperial mild. We know that generally speaking Belgian beers like a little bit of sugar, and high finishing temps to get the beer to attenuate well. With this recipe the 19c constant temp allowed the beer to finish with a high gravity, more body, but retain some of the Belgian character.

 

[madscientist451]

Yes, one of the first brews I ever did. It was more of an Ale than an IPA. It came out with a harsh hop character and I thought is was a failure. I was bottling back then, so I put the bottles in the back of the closet and moved on. After a few months, I tried it again and I thought it was great. I was sorry to see the last one go, wish I had brewed more. Re-brewing that (and bottling it) has been on my list for a long time but I haven't got around to it.
A more direct answer to your question would be that there isn't really any real "right" way to brew Belgian beers, other than the yeast character.
And the yeast character doesn't suit everyone, some people can't stand it, some like it, sometimes it subdued and you hardly notice it, sometimes its very pronounced. The different levels of hop character and also fruit additions make Belgians even more complicated, so at some point you just have to focus on what you like to drink.

 

[JordanKnudson]

I think yeast choice has a lot to do with it. I see an awful lot of people use Wyeast 3787 in their Belgian IPAs, but I have always felt that the phenolic qualities of that yeast tend to fight with the hops. However, I love wlp500 in an IPA, especially one that uses fruit-forward hops. In fact, I routinely brew a red IPA with citra, nelson, and mosaic, wlp500, and dark candi syrup that comes out beautifully. I've even put a little tangerine zest in there before, which complements everything quite nicely. But that beer wouldn't work with a more spicy/phenolic yeast strain. So choose carefully!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I have, and enjoyed it.

I would go lighter on aroma/dry-hop than perhaps a typical American IPA. You are going to naturally have competition between the hop and the esters and you don't want the hops to just blow the Belgian character out of the water.

Also agree with Jordan above that you would like a more estery, fruity, bubblegum yeast than a spicy phenolic character. Phenolic might make your beer just taste like it's got off flavors. Fruity will accentuate the hops.

Finally, I'd probably focus on citrus-dominant hops than something like piney, or "dank". As much as I LOVE me some Columbus and Simcoe, I would prefer something more like a Cascade, Citra, etc.

 

[MHBT]

I brewed a Belgian IPA once..personally did not care for it

 

[GHBWNY]

I would go lighter on aroma/dry-hop than perhaps a typical American IPA. ...As much as I LOVE me some Columbus and Simcoe, I would prefer something more like a Cascade, Citra, etc.

I used 1 oz. Cascade @ 60; 1/2 oz. Citra @ 60 and 30; 1/3 oz. Sovereign @ 60, 30, 15. Initially, it's a little bitter. Bottled 2 days ago, so we'll see...

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

I have. It was not good. Not because I brewed it badly. It just didn't taste good.

I also worked at a local craft brewery who contracted brewed for "Monk In the Trunk" out of FL. They had a Belgian IPA. It was also repulsive.
Which made me feel better about my own skills and the resulting Belg IPA flavor.

 

[GHBWNY]

Getting the feeling from what I've read both online and here that a BIPA is a brew to be approached with caution, i.e., your chances of a successful "something" in the end seem to 50/50. Maybe it's a "style" that should not really be a style simply for the sake of something new or trendy. That said, I hope mine turns out to be the most awesome BIPA ever.

 

[GHBWNY]

Well, my fears of having a 50/50 shot at being a great beer have been assuaged. Cracked one last night after only 4 days in the bottle, and... wow. I still don't know how true-to-style this is for a BIPA, but the balance between the T-58 and the hops is superb, and that's all I was hoping for. Cheers!

 

[JohnSand]

Beautiful.
I have yet to brew one, and have been a little skeptical. But I had a Belgian Pale and an AIPA on tap one day, so I blended them. It was quite good. I have an IPA recipe with a sort of Belgian grist, next time I'll brew a double batch and ferment half with WLP530.

 

[GHBWNY]

Beautiful.
I have yet to brew one, and have been a little skeptical. But I had a Belgian Pale and an AIPA on tap one day, so I blended them. It was quite good. I have an IPA recipe with a sort of Belgian grist, next time I'll brew a double batch and ferment half with WLP530.

I was skeptical, too, which is probably why I am as much pleased with the outcome of this brew as I am surprised. The Belgian yeast and malt definitely show up, while the hops add a really nice slightly bitter, slightly grapefruit-y quality. It's style-wise probably closer to an APA than an IPA, but I think I could have pushed the hops a bit further with no harm done. The color is spot-on, beautiful white creamy head. My daughter and her husband tried one with me yesterday (7 days in the bottle - I normally wait 3 weeks) and both really liked it (he's a homebrewer and she's picky about what she likes), so that was a nice endorsement.

 

[mattdee1]

I brewed one with a basic grain bill and dry hopped with citra/amarillo/simcoe/Columbus. Yeast was T-58. I thought it was pretty outstanding, actually. I called it "Juicy Fruit" because the aroma reminded me of Juicy Fruit gum.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

Well, my fears of having a 50/50 shot at being a great beer have been assuaged. Cracked one last night after only 4 days in the bottle, and... wow. I still don't know how true-to-style this is for a BIPA, but the balance between the T-58 and the hops is superb, and that's all I was hoping for. Cheers!

Great! I saw this thread just now and was going to chime in that I've done a BIPA several times, using WY565 (belgian saison), and it's been fantastic.

Cheers!

 

[GHBWNY]

BIPA update: turns out it's less IPA and more APA. T-58 and malt hits you up front and you think, wow, this is a nice Belgian! and then a split second later, it distinctly morphs APA-ishly. But no complaints and I'd brew it again. Thick creamy head, great aroma and color, lots of character tho' not overly-complex. Thinking it will pair well with some Christmas dinner hors d'oeuvres. Speaking of which, Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[JohnSand]

I'm glad you brought this up. I did brew my IPA and split it. Five gallons got US05, five got WLP530. The grist was Pilsner Munich Melanoidin, the hops Chinook Horizon Cascade. The AIPA, which is very good got a Cascade dry hop, the Belgian none. Belgian is on tap now, pretty good with fruit and spice from the yeast. I am planning to dry hop it in the keg, maybe test hop some bottles first. Any suggestions?