One bottle I’ve been letting condition in my fridge is the Hopus Ale from Brasserie Lefèbvre SA, directly out of Belgium. This is an interesting twist on the typical IPA I’m used to, generally that of the English or American variety. True to their roots, this bottle conditioned blonde is considered a Belgian IPA and is packaged inside a suctioned rubber release cap.

The Hopus Ale pours with a tremendous amount of foamy white head, so much in fact, I had to wait pour after pour for it to settle each time. The body is urine yellow (sorry) with a slight copper glaze and just a touch away from being pretty clear. Due to the incredibly prominent head, there is a drastic overkill of lacing on the glass.

The funky yeast strains come out first in the nose and are then surrounded by a crisp, sweet grain with some confused citrus qualities. It smells like it wants to have a white-grape dryness like you’d find in some white wines but there are some noticeable apricot qualities. Nonetheless, the nose is still well balanced but poor in complexity.

The yeast qualities of the nose follow through in the taste as well, being dominant upfront on your palate. The yeast is coupled with a bready mouthful surrounded by some odd fizzle and finishing with a dry, bitter linger. Though, overall it feels extremely clean and crisp with a nice slow burn of the alcohol, one that’s tolerable and not obnoxious. The linger also finishes with a nice dash of Belgian spice.

The Hopus Ale isn’t like other IPAs you’d expect to find in the category, in color, smell or taste. The Belgian twist on the style is nice and is a great step away from the normal IPA offerings you can find. I will admit, this is far from my favorite. I’d prefer this way more hop-infused and a bit, well much, less grainy than it is. However, for the style, it seems to be on par with the other Belgian IPAs I’ve tried.

Overall: 8.8/10