Tag Archives: belgian india pale ale

HopAnomaly – Nebraska Brewing

by Mike

From Nebraska Brewing in Papillion Nebraska comes their “HopAnomaly” an Ale aged in Chardonnay Barrels.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of candi sugar, citrus, Chardonnay, oak, some spice and Belgian yeast.  The flavour is of Chardonnay, citrus, tropical fruit, candi sugar, toffee, oak, sweetness, spices, Belgian yeast, hops bitterness and some alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 10.6% with an IBU of 87.  While I am not a fan of Chardonnay at all this beer really worked well with the wine barrel and was an absolute treat.  I wish I had the ability to get more of this beer or more from the brewery but that is the nature of trading beers.

Commercial Description:  An artful creation which began with our HopAnomaly Belgian-Style IPA, enhanced by a 6 month maturation in French Oak Chardonnay Barrels. This version of Hop God is a fascinating, big, bold Belgian-style Tripel hopped in very high amounts to concentrate citrus, grapefruit and floral aromatics in the nose. The addition of Chardonnay barrel aging adds further dimension and oak tannins to an already wonderfully complex Ale – bringing to mind tropical fruits and peach. We know of nothing that compares – enjoy!

Food pairing as per brewery:  Hors d’ oeuvres = Mushroom Risotto, Cheese = Bleu Cheeses, Gouda, Entrée = Pizza, Gourmet Grilled Burgers, Chimchurri, Roasted Chicken, Desert = Pecan Pie, Lemon Mergane Pie

Wrath of Brooks-Kahn Belgian IPA – Big Ridge Brewing

by Mike

From Big Ridge Brewing in Surrey comes their “Wrath of Brooks-Kahn Belgian IPA” a collaboration between the brewmaster at Big Ridge Ashley Brooks and the former brewmaster Tariq Kahn who is now the head distiller at The Distillery.  When this beer was originally made it was called the Wrath of Kahn as a play on Tariq’s name.  The beer pours a copper colour with an off white head.  The aroma consists of Belgian yeast, citrus fruits and floral hops.  The flavour is of Belgian yeast, spices, huge citrus rind, lemon, resin, caramel, good levels of bitterness and a dry finish.  The alcohol content comes in at 7.4% with an IBU of 76.  I really enjoyed the glass of this that I had and I would go for me if I found it on tap.

big ridge wrath of brooks kahn

Hound Dog – Belgian IPA (Brews Brothers) – Parallel 49 Brewing (Yellow Dog Brewing)

by Mike

Brews Brothers

From Parallel 49 Brewing’s Brews Brothers Collaboration mixer pack comes the “Hound Dog” Belgian IPA.  This beer has been produced in Collaboration with Yellow Dog Brewing in Port Moody.  The beer pours an orange copper colour with a white head.  The aroma consist of Belgian yeast, tropical fruits, resin and some floral hops.  The flavour is of Belgian yeast, tropical fruits, orange, pine, resin, earth and hops bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6%.  I would not kick this hound dog out of my fridge for sure (well only to hit my glass that is!).

Brews Brothers Collaboration mixer pack

Beers namesake

dogwoodbrewing-005

Dead Ringer Belgian IPA – Half Pints Brewing

by Mike

Manitoba has just recently aloud growlers to be sold in the province.  The laws are a little different than in BC though as you have to get the fills at Manitoba Government Liquor Stores or the brewery.  One of the first beer that Winnipeg’s Half Pints Brewing released as part of their new growler lineup is the “Dead Ringer” a Belgian IPA.  Half Pints Brewing is making one off beers as part of this growler series and this is one of them.  The beer pours a golden orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of Belgian yeast, citrus and floral hops although it was mild.  The flavour is of Belgian yeast, citrus, malts, sweetness and hops bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.9% with an IBU of 45.  Much like every beer made by Half Pints this was a very solid release.  I think that this would be a great candidate to be bottled down the road.

half pints dead ringer