12 oz. Bottle
When I saw some of the descriptions on the beers featured in Ithaca Beer Co.'s "Box of Belgians", I was intrigued. This is the first of 4, an IPA brewed with Belgian yeast. I've been enjoying some good IPAs as of late, and I enjoy a nice Belgian on occasion, so I'm excited to see how this combination works out.
Pours a hazy yellow gold - the haziness is usually associated with Belgians yeast and wheat, but the lighter color I attribute to the IPA style. Carbonation is apparent on sight; slight white foam head, but not much. Smell is sweet banana and clove - smells like a Belgian. There's a bit of a piney/floral hop scent in there as well, but nowhere near as strong as the Belgian banana/clove scents. There's bits of peach and orange in there as well, and a tiny bit of lemon. A very pleasant smelling beer.
On taste, you get some nice sweet wheat/banana/clove flavors up top, followed by a bit of citrus/pine hop - both flavors linger for a while, but it still ends with a moderately strong citrus/pine hop bite (it seems like there's peppery notes in the bite as well, which I'm really enjoying) that is found in most IPAs. The citrus and hop, however, are not too overwhelming, and blend nicely with the Belgian flavors up front. I'm also getting some non-citrus, non-banana fruit in there as well: peach and white grape primarily. A really nicely balanced beer. Fairly high carbonation that works well with the IPA aspect, but a little higher than I'm used to for Belgians. Alcohol, at 8% ABV, is completely hidden.
I definitely haven't been disappointed by the "Box of Belgians" yet, and hope that this continues as I try the other 3 styles.
Overall Rating: 4.25/5
When I saw some of the descriptions on the beers featured in Ithaca Beer Co.'s "Box of Belgians", I was intrigued. This is the first of 4, an IPA brewed with Belgian yeast. I've been enjoying some good IPAs as of late, and I enjoy a nice Belgian on occasion, so I'm excited to see how this combination works out.
Pours a hazy yellow gold - the haziness is usually associated with Belgians yeast and wheat, but the lighter color I attribute to the IPA style. Carbonation is apparent on sight; slight white foam head, but not much. Smell is sweet banana and clove - smells like a Belgian. There's a bit of a piney/floral hop scent in there as well, but nowhere near as strong as the Belgian banana/clove scents. There's bits of peach and orange in there as well, and a tiny bit of lemon. A very pleasant smelling beer.
On taste, you get some nice sweet wheat/banana/clove flavors up top, followed by a bit of citrus/pine hop - both flavors linger for a while, but it still ends with a moderately strong citrus/pine hop bite (it seems like there's peppery notes in the bite as well, which I'm really enjoying) that is found in most IPAs. The citrus and hop, however, are not too overwhelming, and blend nicely with the Belgian flavors up front. I'm also getting some non-citrus, non-banana fruit in there as well: peach and white grape primarily. A really nicely balanced beer. Fairly high carbonation that works well with the IPA aspect, but a little higher than I'm used to for Belgians. Alcohol, at 8% ABV, is completely hidden.
I definitely haven't been disappointed by the "Box of Belgians" yet, and hope that this continues as I try the other 3 styles.
Overall Rating: 4.25/5
No comments:
Post a Comment