The story goes that Flemish brewer, Hildegard, visited the United States in early 2005 and was so intrigued by the American Craft Brewer’s IPAs that upon her return to Belgium, she ventured to brew her own. What was born was the Urthel Hop-It, a Belgian IPA at 9.5% ABV.

This 12 oz bottle features a friendly looking cartoon centered around a very cool and creative label. But, as true beer drinkers know, looks aren’t everything. The pour, however, was gorgeous. The clear golden-orange brew filled my pint glass and left me with a generous two-finger, fluffy white head.

The waft was very pungent on the nose, initially. I was immediately hit with an immense aroma of bitter European hops and shredded grain. A really nice Pilsner malt, with a musky citrus scent finished off. The musky citrus had a nice spicy linger to it. So far, this brewer has hit her mark on delivering a powerful and balanced scent to the brew.

I’m happy to say the taste delivered very well overall. The mouthful on this was medium-bodied and filled with carbonation. Initially, I got a big bitter splash of the hops, which kind of made my face contort a bit. This, however, was quickly nullified by the sweet malty backbone of the beer. Filled with apricots, pears and a hint of lemon, the sweetness finished this with an on-cue appearance. The lasting linger did have sticky hints of alcohol. At 9.5% ABV, this could have been hidden much better, though it didn’t spoil the quality.

It seems Hildegard took some quality notes from our craft brewers here in America during her trip. Urthel has created a solid Belgian-style IPA that they can be proud of. While I prefer my beer to not travel long distances, this has kept it’s luster and is a nice addition to the IPA lineup.

Overall: 7.5/10