Belgian IPAs are a great variation of the standard American IPA, assuming that the drinker enjoys Belgian Yeast. Personally I have enjoyed Belgian IPAs brewed with a wide variety of Belgian Yeast strains (Saison, Trappist, etc.) I first read about Belgian IPAs in the BYO's October 2012 issue which brings up some challenges with trying to fuse these two styles.
- Balance: In general, Belgian beers have levels of IBUs, while American IPAs are at the opposite end of the spectrum.
- The other issue is that Belgian yeast produces a lot of metabolic by products, that require cold conditioning to subdue. American IPAs are best fresh.
To combat these variables I decided to brew a low IBU IPA, ferment it for two weeks, cold crash the primary for two weeks, and then dry hop for an additional week at room temperature. The grain bill was simple: Almost all US Pale Malt and then a full pound of Caravienne. I hopped with bravo at 90 minutes for firm backbone and then used up the last of my Zeus hop, straight from the bine. After fermenting with White Labs 575 (Belgian Style Ale Yeast Blend), the beer was conditioned at 36 degrees F for two weeks, transferred to a santized carboy, and dry hopped with 2 oz Citra and 2 oz Mosiac.
