Belgian IPA
Angel City Brewery

Belgian IPABelgian IPA
Beer Geek Stats
From:
Angel City Brewery
 
California, United States
Style:
Belgian IPA
ABV:
6.8%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.32 | pDev: 13.25%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
9
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 18, 2012
Added:
Dec 02, 2008
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by DoubleJ:
Photo of DoubleJ
Reviewed by DoubleJ from Wisconsin

3.85/5  rDev +16%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On-tap at Downey Brewing. I was told this beer was just released by Angel City. On to the beer:

Deep hazy gold color, the body is right on the mark for the style. Too bad the head is a little lacking on retention. I can tell the yeast is doing its work, as the aroma was sweet and phenolic. The taste was also sweet and phenolic. Throw in some peppermint accents and spice, a pinch of hops, then hide the alcohol. Good overall balance doesn't hurt either. Finishes dry. The end result is a pleasant ale, and a suprise for me given what I've heard about this brewery.
Dec 02, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by t0rin0 from California

Aug 18, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by Jenray from Texas

Nov 20, 2011
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Peculiar hoppy amber ale.

Label claims 7.0 abv. Some nice malt comes through, it's quite attractive in appearance, color, and head. Not overly bitter and hops are not bad with some aromatics. The first sip says "dump me," but then it says "taste me some more." Maybe it really is better as it warms.

The label says "Belgian yeast," but that doesn't explain the hint of plastic in the nose. There is just something raw and off-center about this. Not exactly likable but weird enough to be interesting. I really like this style, and my favorite is Belgica by Great Divide in Colorado, so I hope these guys will keep trying.
Oct 13, 2010
Photo of billshmeinke
Reviewed by billshmeinke from California

2.85/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Poured into a Duvel tulip.

Pretty hard pour only produces a 1 finger white pillowy head. Quickly resides to a foam cap on top. Not much lacing left behind.

The nose is highly phenolic (banana) with a slight fruity ester (green apple) fragrance. Doughy belgian yeast and a hint of peppery spice. Where are the hops? Hopefully they will come through more in the flavor.

The taste is banana phenols, green apple fruity ester, doughy belgian yeast, some candi sugar, and a spicey white pepper note at the end. Apparently the hops are not hiding in the flavor after all.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, medium carbonation, and a slight hop bite at the end

The alcohol is well masked, and it goes down pretty easy.

Basically, this is not a Belgian IPA. Tons a phenols and some esters, not very much hop presence. It almost reminds me of a hefeweizen in some respects, but it still would not be a very good beer even if it were categorized as such. It's definitely drinkable, it just seems to be confused about what kind of beer it wanted to be.
Jul 22, 2010
Photo of HalfFull
Reviewed by HalfFull from California

3.5/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bomber served into a large wine glass. Pours a golden orange in color with a bit of haze. Half an inch of dense foam settles to a surface cap in short order, yet maintaining a light film for most of the glass.

Belgian yeast esters on the nose, lightly fruity and with a hint of sweetness yet not so much as make me fear its effect on the taste. Touch of light funk after some exposure and with a bit of citric hops though light in that regard for a self described 'IPA', Belgian or otherwise.

Flavor follows the nose with apple, apricot and a bit of lemon yet without the tartness. Sweetness, as measured by the viscosity of the beer, does increase as the carbonation reduces. A bit of coarse peppery spice throughout with a hint of alcohol revealing itself later on.

Smooth in feel and lacking any real hop bitterness. Rather spicy and bready in texture for the style and reminiscent of a Belgian Pale Ale given the lack of hop structure. Decent drink but I felt inclined to rush because the beer couldn't hold its effervescence long enough to sip it slowly. A decent brew though it seems miscategorized, or simply a style straddler. Think I'd call this a Dirty Belgian Blonde Pale Ale. Yeah, that's it.
Feb 17, 2010
Photo of chickencoop
Reviewed by chickencoop from California

3.35/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Picked this up at Whole Foods off Sunset, needed something local, by the way, I personaly think LA has one of the poorest beer selection as a whole available, Hieneken, Tecate, Sierra, that's it, so Whole Foods is a savior.
The beer is like a poor mans Belgian, but pretty good. Nothing really stood out from nose to taste, the only thing to really note was the finish, ended with a real earthy sweet flavor. If you see this, pick it up, usually cheaper than more of the over-hyped socal beers, and packs a bit of a punch at 7%.
Nov 17, 2009
Photo of callmescraps
Reviewed by callmescraps from Massachusetts

2.57/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
On a whim from Whole Foods. It was cheap.

Appearance - Cloudy apple cider color, sort of unexpected. Copper when held up to the light. Small head dissipates quickly. No lacing of any kind.

Smell - Definitely smell the Belgian yeast. Very strange and funky. Wet hay, sour apple. Smells more like a saison than an IPA. A little mellow, but not IPA-ish.

Taste - Follows the nose. Sour apple, a little funk. A hint of grassy hops. Not a lot of hop bite for an IPA.

Mouthfeel - Almost no carbonation. Flat as hell.

Drinkability - Well, it's inoffensive, but I don't want another.

This is a pretty poor beer. If Angel City is going to get things going in a bottling way, this beer isn't getting it done. Not only is it a strange and muddled style, but it's poorly executed.
Nov 08, 2009
Photo of GRG1313
Reviewed by GRG1313 from California

3.21/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
The bottle reflects 7.0% abv.

Pours a dark hazy orange amber with a thin white head that rapidly fades.

Nose is very assertive and full Belgian candi sugar and super sweet cooked peach/apricot nose.

Mouthfeel is thin and with little body.

Flavors are not at all well integrated. Starts with some sweet malt and quickly goes to thin grapefruit and then quickly fades to a finish of simple grapefruit. Sounds better than it is. Flavors are a bit off putting and likely not a good candidate with food.

Likely would not try again.
Aug 12, 2009
Belgian IPA from Angel City Brewery
Beer rating: 3.32 out of 5 with 9 ratings