Yesterday I had Revolution A Little Crazy Ale. Wish it was year round. Revolution may have opened up my taste buds to the world of hop forward Belgian pale ales. I've had Leffe Blonde and New Belgium Loft, but this one is on a whole new level for me. I think probably because it has that hop presence that I so enjoy. Any other Belgian pales out there that border on being an IPA, or even Belgian IPA's themselves? I've had Bedlam (awesome Belgian IPA) and Raging Bitch (which I also enjoy).
Raging Bitch is excellent. Stone's Cali Belgique and Green Flash Le Freak are supposed to be great too. I've always thought of Ommegang Hennepin and Boulevard Tank 7 (both farmhouses) as noticeably hoppy. If you ever find yourself in the mid-Atlantic, order DC Brau's The Citizen. Very tasty Belgian PA.
I have some Tank 7 right now. It's excellent! I'll be on the lookout for the Stone and Green Flash offerings since those two breweries beers are available in my area. Thanks.
I am a big fan of American style Belgian IPAs (beers brewed with Belgian yeast strains and American hops). IMHO, these two elements complement each other. My favorites are Flying Dog Raging Bitch, Flying Dog Wildeman Farmhouse IPA, A Little Sumpin Sumpin Wild, Deschutes Chainbreaker, …. There are a number of hoppy Belgian brewed beers but they have a different character since they are hopped with European hops. Some example are: De Ranke XX Bitter, Poperings Hommel Bier, Piraat, etc. Cheers!
Thanks everyone for your suggestions so far. Hopefully I'll be able to locate some of them and try them out.
Stillwater's Why Can't IBU is my favorite representation of Belgian-style meets hops. Other favorites include: Green Flash Le Freak Clown Shoes Tramp Stamp Stone Cali-Beligique Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Wild Heavy Seas Dubbel Cannon (If you ever see Heavy Seas Riptide, it's practically the same beer) I also really liked the SN Snow Wit that was in the 4-Way IPA variety pack.
Was coming here to post this. I just had the Ithaca Belgian style IPA (Hopbloem) recently and it was excellent.
Not exactly an IPA but I was a big fan of the Ommegang Fleur de Houblon last year. Just about the perfect Summer beer. I hope they make it again this year.
If you can get Cambridge Brewing Co. Audacity of Hops, it's a really good, hop-forward Belgian (double) IPA. It's sold in bombers.
