Belgian /White IPA

Reads 2144 • Replies 31 • Started Friday, August 15, 2014 8:32:33 PM CT

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Message Frank beers 4561 º places 92 º 08:42 Mon 8/18/2014 Originally posted by 77ships Aren’t Belgian IPA’s & White IPA’s different things? I suppose but there is so much overlap, it seems fair to lump them together. In any case, having two new IPA styles for these styles seems excessive to me.
Message wchesser beers 2435 º places 44 º 12:51 Mon 8/18/2014 Originally posted by Frank Originally posted by 77ships Aren’t Belgian IPA’s & White IPA’s different things? I suppose but there is so much overlap, it seems fair to lump them together. In any case, having two new IPA styles for these styles seems excessive to me. ^I think of them as totally different. To me, when I see Belgian IPA I expect an IPA base beer and hoping regime fermented with Belgian yeast (like Knee Deeps Belgian Hoptologist). When I hear White IPA I’m expecting a witte/white, base beer, probably with coriander/orange peel, etc. (a-la Hoegaarden, or Avery White Rascal) with IPA like hoping regime, fermented with a more standard IPA or witte yeast.
Message Frank beers 4561 º places 92 º 13:08 Mon 8/18/2014 Either way you have IPA like hopping and are using a fruity/spicy Belgian yeast. Belgian ales other than wit use corriander and other spices. Most white IPAs are considerably stronger than a standard wit as well so it is hard to argue they are really using a wibier base anyway.

Message andrepintado beers 3998 º places 125 º 13:40 Mon 8/18/2014 For all the pro guys, do you really want to make White IPA as a style? So what about Brown IPA, Red IPA, Rye IPA, Belgian IPA, etc? And the other 50 styles that are present on BJCP styleguide and not on RB? Come on guys...
Message Frank beers 4561 º places 92 º 14:49 Mon 8/18/2014 Yes, I really want to make white/Belgian IPA a style. There are lots of commercial examples and the style seems to be gaining momentum. Furthermore, I just don’t think there’s an existing category that fits beers brewed in that style. Unless we want to call them all saisons...
Message cheap P beers 8841 º places 328 º 16:38 Mon 8/18/2014 Should this be a style? NO! FORGETTAHBOUTTIT!
Message HonkeyBra beers 4044 º places 13 º 17:15 Mon 8/18/2014 Why not just keep them IPAs or make them belgian ales or wits and be done with it?

Message nuplastikk P beers 9841 º places 73 º 21:06 Mon 8/18/2014 Originally posted by HonkeyBra Why not just keep them IPAs or make them belgian ales or wits and be done with it? Because not adding White IPA, which is being made left and right and has rather clear style guidelines, is completely neglecting a massive trend in the beer world. The voices against it are quite similar to the crotchety loudmouths who couldn’t stand the idea of Black IPA being a style. Besides, you guys made Session IPA a style, which really is nothing more than a Golden Ale with a respectable hop bill. Not a new style. White IPA actually is a new style. I’m pretty sure there are thousands of hoppy Amber Lagers made around the world, but Polotmavy is a style now. Not a unique style. I really grow tired of having to defend White IPA as a style, but it should have been added two years ago, and it is ridiculous that it hasn’t been added in August of 2014.
Message HonkeyBra beers 4044 º places 13 º 21:17 Mon 8/18/2014 Originally posted by nuplastikk Originally posted by HonkeyBra Why not just keep them IPAs or make them belgian ales or wits and be done with it? Because not adding White IPA, which is being made left and right and has rather clear style guidelines, is completely neglecting a massive trend in the beer world. The voices against it are quite similar to the crotchety loudmouths who couldn’t stand the idea of Black IPA being a style. Besides, you guys made Session IPA a style, which really is nothing more than a Golden Ale with a respectable hop bill. Not a new style. White IPA actually is a new style. I’m pretty sure there are thousands of hoppy Amber Lagers made around the world, but Polotmavy is a style now. Not a unique style. I really grow tired of having to defend White IPA as a style, but it should have been added two years ago, and it is ridiculous that it hasn’t been added in August of 2014. Session IPA is one of the most popular styles in the US. Several major craft breweries have session IPAs that dominate in sales in their portfolio. Further, it is clearly a different style of beer from existing styles. Low alcohol with aggressive hop presence is an american style similar to english bitters. "White IPA" is a hoppy wit beer. It is a hopped up version of an existing style. We do not have Double Wit Beer or Imperial Wit Beer as a style even though those styles are somewhat popular. Creating a White IPA style invariably requires us to create other IPA styles. For example, a Red IPA style. That style has even more presence in craft beer production, but we decide whether or not it is an Amber or an IPA. White IPA should be the same. It’s either a wit or an IPA.
Message nuplastikk P beers 9841 º places 73 º 21:57 Mon 8/18/2014 A Golden Ale would be perfectly acceptable to style if brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe or whatever. As members from the UK have attested to, hoppy Golden Ales are and have been commonplace there for years. A traditional Belgian Wit would not be suitable to style if it had a bold citra, mosaic, simcoe hop tone...that is not part of the style. Being "hopped up" can justify a new style under the right circumstances. Beers are rarely labeled Red IPA. Ambers are commonly well hopped, so anything with amber malt fits pretty comfortably under that style umbrella. If they become an international trend with huge amounts of breweries brewing and selling them under that distinct monicker, I guess it will have to be discusssed.