Aging Belgian Pale Ales vs. IPAs

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by ONovoMexicano, Jan 23, 2015.

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  1. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    I reviewed a couple pages of threads but didn't find much, aside from the Duvel thread which didn't seem to address my question.

    I'm curious as to what makes Belgian Pales good for aging, but not IPAs.

    Obviously, the hops in American IPAs fall off eventually, but I'm curious what the Belgians do differently.

    I had a convo with friends and I assumed that the Belgians were more yeast dependent and used less/cheaper/different hops, which allowed/justified aging. I also assumed that the yeast takes on a new life which creates a completely different beer than the fresh version. Am I on the right track?

    Can anyone explain the differences and why/what makes Belgian Pales better/more apt for aging?

    Thanks.
     
    #1 ONovoMexicano, Jan 23, 2015
  2. Heretic42

    Heretic42 Savant (1,118) Aug 31, 2011 Texas

    Primarily, it's that aromatic hops aren't as prevalent in Belgian Pales as compared to the current trend in IPAs. There's also a subset of Belgian pales that use brettanomyces which offer a different experience as they age (see also Stone's new "Enjoy After" IPA).

    I still would not age Belgian pales for any significant period of time.
     
    #2 Heretic42, Jan 24, 2015
  3. AugustusRex

    AugustusRex Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2013 Canada (ON)

    Saison Dupont (which is pale, an ale, and has relatively low abv) has a great yeast profile which comes to the front once the hops diminish.

    IPAs have a clean profile, so thats the main difference.
     
    #3 AugustusRex, Jan 24, 2015
  4. AndrewK

    AndrewK Savant (1,123) Oct 20, 2006 California

    Belgian Pale Ales should generally not be aged for any significant time. Most can withstand about two years before oxidative effects start to really show, but these effects are almost never positive. Orval is one of the only Belgian Pale Ales which uses Brett, so it shouldn't be assumed that you will have any likelihood of grabbing a BPA off the shelf and it having Brett in it.
     
    #4 AndrewK, Jan 26, 2015
  5. sjccmd

    sjccmd Initiate (0) Feb 11, 2008 Minnesota

    Belgian Pales are at their best when fresh, but do fair better than IPAs with age as hops are not the dominant character.
     
    #5 sjccmd, Jan 30, 2015
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