Brewery Lefebvre: Hopus Ale

Style: Belgian IPA

ABV: 8.3%

IBU: Unknown (but not nearly high enough)

Vessel: Tulip glass (poured from an 11.2 oz flip top bottle)

Appearance: Cloudy pale straw color. Tons of sediment floating in the glass. Beautiful fluffy white head with mild lacing. (4.5/5)

Aroma: Sour fruit notes with zero hop scent present (it is an IPA right?) Yeasty esters and mild malt similar to sour dough bread. I also detect a little bit of honey malt. No hop aroma at all (this is an IPA right?) (2.5/5)

Flavor: Reminds me more of a Trippel than an India Pale Ale. Strong sour ester notes. Almost no hop notes at all until a slight bitter finish washes down the back of your throat. Straw flavors that start moderately sweet but finish bitter and dry. Lingers on the palate. Not what I was expecting. (3/5)

Mouth Feel: Unexpectedly light bodied. Nice carbonation level for this perplexing style. Moderate alcohol presence that warms as it flows down the esophogus. (2/5)

Overall: Shes a pretty girl. I couldn't wait to taste her but upon the first sip I was confused. India Pale Ales are heavily hopped beers. Hopus has almost no detectable hop presence what so ever. So is she a Trippel then? No too sour and not enough body. Like most pretty ladies she left me perplexed, a bit disapointed and wanting for more.

I don't know a whole lot about the history of this particular style but it seems to me to be a bit of any oxymoron. I'm a huge fan of Belgian beers and of IPA and hopus set my hopes high yet failed to deliver much about what I enjoy about either style.

Was it a bad beer? Not by far. Would I seek it out again? Yes, because I need more time with this one to figure her out.

Give Hopus a try. If anything its different and won't leave you bored. (12/20) 60%

Cheers,

 - Jay