Uncharted Belgian IPA
Lighthouse Brewing Company

Uncharted Belgian IPAUncharted Belgian IPA
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From:
Lighthouse Brewing Company
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Belgian IPA
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.12 | pDev: 7.77%
Reviews:
21
Ratings:
37
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 10, 2013
Added:
Sep 17, 2011
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  3
Uncharted Belgian IPA was fermented with two different yeast strains; a Belgian Abbey style that produces a nice ester flavour profile with spicy notes and a classic West Coast India Pale Ale strain that showcases the punchy and tropical fruit flavoured Riwaka hops from New Zealand. This is a lively and dynamic 7.5% alcohol beer that is presented to you in its purest form, cloudy and unfiltered. Uncharted Belgian IPA is a very unique style of beer that is best enjoyed well chilled and served in a stemmed tulip glass.
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Rated: 4.5 by rogerdandy from Canada (AB)

Dec 10, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Ivanhoes_Backpack from Canada (NB)

Sep 23, 2013
Photo of CalgaryFMC
Reviewed by CalgaryFMC from Canada (AB)

4.26/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
An IPA/tripel hybrid, pours a nice cloudy orange amber hue which, if poured correctly, creates a massive amount of froth, your glass will be overwhelmed initially but things will settle quickly. Aroma is spicy yeast, sweet malt, and tropical fruit. Taste is a complex array of fruits, a whole fruit bowl of pineapple, mango, guava, passion fruit, peach, apricot, and candied citrus. Once in a while there is a blast of aromatic alcohols but largely these are concealed by the aforementioned fruit flavors and a yeast that recalls sourdough bread and coriander. A cloying sweetness lingers, like fermented fruit, along with bitter melon rind and earthy yeast. The total package is that of a super fruity tripel with an added layer of hops, although there is little pine or herb. Both yeast and hops bring a fruity punch and although I am impressed, one per sitting seems appropriate.
Aug 30, 2013
Photo of tonyf55
Reviewed by tonyf55 from Canada (AB)

4.03/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From the bottle into a pilsner glass

Visual (4.5): Golden and unfiltered with small particles standing suspended in the beer. Pure white head lasted for a good while and disappeared as the beer disappeared. Decent lacing.

Aroma (4.0): Nice frontal fruity hop aroma that intermingles with the spice imparted by the Belgian yeast. Not a huge aroma, but definitely prominent and fragrant. Sticks in the nostrils.

Taste (4.0): Light sweetness and a bigger spicy/bitter lingering. Sweetness sticks to the front of the tounge, while light citrus flavours come through on the sides of the mouth, but disappear quickly.

Mouthfeel (4.0): Lighter than expected, with a light carbonation. It coats the pallet and lingers with a pleasent aftertaste and light numbness (likely from the alcohol). An impressive mouthfeel that would be a session beer, but with enough interest for a single sitting.

Overall (4.0): A unique Belgian IPA that tilts towards IPA more than Belgian. Fermented with both a Belgian yeast and a West Coast IPA yeast, but the bitter fruitiness of the hops and the Belgian spiciness come through and are nicely balanced. Easy to drink with a light body and a big taste. It is a Belgian IPA I would come back to.
Aug 11, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by jrohrbacher from North Carolina

Aug 04, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Kmat10 from Canada (AB)

Jul 15, 2013
Photo of dirtylou
Reviewed by dirtylou from Oklahoma

3.67/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
22oz bottle, split

Cool bottle design - served in hilliards can-pint. Sticky orange body, lots of lace - nice looking. This should have been better than it was - a grainy finish distracts from what seemed like a nice hop bouquet. Yeast strain was underplayed for my taste.
Jun 17, 2013
Photo of leaddog
Reviewed by leaddog from Canada (AB)

4.11/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Appearance - Pours a cloudy amber with a finger width of bubbly white head.

Smell - Spicy yeast, clove, light herbal/leafy hops, citrus.

Taste - Nice spicy Belgian yeast. Transitions to leafy hops with citrus fruit. Moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Dry finish.

Overall - An enjoyable Belgian IPA by Lighthouse. I liked that the Belgian yeast strain wasn't too overpowering. Hits all the right marks for the style. Glad to see more BC bottles heading into AB.
May 18, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by schnarr84 from Canada (AB)

May 04, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by 604growler from Canada (BC)

Apr 28, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by LongRoad from Canada (AB)

Apr 27, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by cbnz from Canada (BC)

Apr 14, 2013
Photo of joemcgrath27
Reviewed by joemcgrath27 from Canada (AB)

4.39/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
A - just slightly hazy copper golden, plenty of rising carbonation, thumb of head held at half a finger with pretty solid lacing
S - mandarin and grapefruit zest, some clove and pepper, grains, grass, and a touch of ginger
T - big grapefruit and mandarin up front with nice yeasty phenols, grains and leafy greens, light pepper to finish, this is a super tasty treat
M - light and nicely carbonated, minerally feel with a dry finish
O - SUPER impressed with this brew, it has big IPA character with the sweet and phenolic character of a mellow Belgian dubbel that makes for an outstanding example of the style ... extra impressed since a dozen mix pack from Lighthouse I had a while back was all sub par
Mar 27, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by IanSpindler from Canada (AB)

Mar 06, 2013
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.82/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
650ml bottle, a nicely offsetting find at my local guilty pleasure liquor store, where I choose to shamefully buy my Minhas rant-worthy materiel. Sufficiently salacious-looking sea-dragon depicted on this particular silkscreen label.

This beer pours a clear, though glassy medium golden amber hue, with two fingers of densely foamy, puffy off-white head, which leaves some specked concrete lace around the glass as it lazily settles down to the surface.

It smells of musty back roads yeast, a blend of subtle orchard and tropical fruit notes - flat orange juice, grapefruit rind, overripe pineapple, and under-ripe Anjou pears - a bready, almost rye-like malt, and soft wet pine needles. The taste is still held tightly via the gonads by the omnipresent earthy yeast, only letting in a measured amount of understated bready pale malt and muddled fruit - orange, pear, and aged lemon the most discernible - before clamping back down again. Ok, maybe a bit of pine/spruce astringency has the chutzpah to make anything close to a dent thereafter.

The carbonation is neither here nor here, which is the best kind, really, the body a hefty medium weight, and mostly smooth, the niggly yeast and heretofore purported hops having a late conversation epiphany. It finishes off-dry, the pale malt and neutered hoppy fruitiness contending well with the persistently lingering yeast.

A somewhat strange Belgian IPA, as usually the Belgian yeast pricks at, but does not quite invade the domain of the dominant bitter (often, as here, West Coast USA) hops. Here, the roles seem to be switched, and lo, it's the hops trying to curry favour, and only modestly succeeding. I guess that mindfucks, be they underwhelming or overtly gob-smacking, are all indeed uncharted. That aside, this is actually weirdly drinkable - huh.
Mar 03, 2013
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Reviewed by wordemupg from Canada (AB)

4.23/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
650ml bomber poured into tulip 26/2/13

A clear light copper with just the slightest haze and a few bubbles struggling to make it up to the thumbs width of cream colored foam that has great retention and leaves some random lace

S the yeast profiles strong, almost a farmhouse yeast with some very faint bubblegum, lots of tropical notes, passion fruit, pineapple, grapefruit rind, lychee and mango, some faint cereal and spruce

T thankfully it mimics the smell quite well, the yeasts strong and hides some of the wonderful hop characteristics, don't get me wrong there's still plenty of hops to enjoy

M medium bodied with a nice bitter bite, slightly sweet on the finish with a lingering yeast and green leafy thing going on

O I rather like this beer and will probably grab another bottle next time I see it. Nice blend of yeast and hops and the booze is well concealed

If anything I'd say the yeast has to much to say in this beer, that being said I suppose having a Belgian yeast profile in a Belgian IPA is on par for the style. I'd like to see this hop showcased in a brew with a yeast profile that can highlight the hop itself but I sound like I'm being hard on this great beer
Feb 26, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by ZiggyPop from Canada (AB)

Feb 22, 2013
Photo of papat444
Reviewed by papat444 from Canada (QC)

4.02/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to Rutager for this one.

Poured from a 650ml. bottle, no freshness info.

Appearance: A nice hazy honey colored body, good white head that clings to the glass.

Smell: Belgian yeast is prominent with it's spicy notes but there are also tropical fruit, pineapple, pear and maybe rye(?).

Taste: Biscuity, candied malt, pears with some cloves, lingering herb finish but mixed with some hops.

Mouthfeel: Lively, medium-low bitterness.

Overall: I think the Belgian influence is stronger here but this is a solid brew worth trying.
Jan 24, 2013
Photo of andrenaline
Reviewed by andrenaline from Canada (ON)

4.2/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Huge props to my bro for including this in our Christmas beer exchange.

A - Pours a nice copper colour, thumb of head with solid retention and some sporadic lacing.

S - Nice earthy pine and citrus hop notes, hints of cotton candy, and a touch of cloves.

T - This brew shines through on the palette boasting an incredible hop profile with the earthy pine and citrus notes, hints of fruity yeast esthers, a touch of cloves and a butter caramel finish.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and a touch of dryness.

O - This brew nails the style offering a great balance and a complementary fruity hop profile. Highly recommends to any fan of the style. I wish this were accessible in town, because this is a go-to brew that is dangerously drinkable at 7.5%.
Dec 30, 2012
Photo of smekermann
Reviewed by smekermann from Canada (BC)

4.03/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This is Lighthouse's IPA/tripel hybrid, brewed with New Zealand hops and two different yeast strains: a Belgian Abbey one and a West Coast IPA one (at least that's what the bottle blurb says). The result is a pretty impressive beer, with a cloudy dark orange/amber appearance and a modest off-white head that doesn't last very long. The smell is of faint hops and Belgian yeast. Not the most impressive thing I've smelled, especially given that earlier on I'd just cracked open a Russell Hop Therapy, which probably skewed my expectations of how hoppy beers should smell like.

Regardless, it's the taste that matters most, and this beer definitely delivers on its promise in my opinion. It's similar in style to Hoperation Tripel Cross, yet where that felt like an IPA with Belgian yeast, this feels more like a hoppy Belgian tripel. The initial mouthfeel is dry and very hoppy, with the tropical fruit character specific to the New Zealand hops used. The aftertaste is all Belgian malt/yeast, with almost no beta acid bitterness. What that means is that it's a really sessionable beer, which might prove unfortunate for the folks who can't handle the 7.5% abv found within.

Again, the closest beer I've had that could be compared to this is the Hoperation Tripel Cross. I can't really choose which is better, as they're both really awesome Belgian/IPA hybrids, full of up-front hops, no bitterness in the aftertaste and with some pretty punchy abv to back them up. I will say, though, that I'm quite enjoying the New Zealand hops in this beer. They add a really nice, almost exotic character to it.

It's safe to say that if you've enjoyed Hoperation Tripel Cross, you will like this beer, as well. It's a similar take on the style, but different enough to have its own style and identity. I'm also hoping to see more beers from Lighthouse brewed with New Zealand/Australian hops, hopefully something that isn't a one-off.
Dec 25, 2012
Uncharted Belgian IPA from Lighthouse Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 37 ratings