• The Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Back Issues
    • Features
      • Brewing
      • People
      • Culture
      • History
      • Food
      • Travel
      • Styles
      • Homebrewing
    • Departments
      • Coming Soon
      • Columns
        • Visiting the Pub
        • Behind the Bar
        • It’s My Round
        • The Beer Enthusiast
        • The Beer Curmudgeon
        • In The Brewhouse
        • Michael Jackson
        • The Taster
        • Beyond Beer
        • Your Next Beer
        • Industry Insights
      • What’s Brewing
      • Pull Up A Stool
      • Travel
        • Beer Travelers
        • A Closer Look
        • Beer Weekend
      • Stylistically Speaking
      • Home Brewing
      • Beer Talk
      • Beer Books
  • Events
    • World Beer Festival Raleigh – July 7, 2018
    • World Beer Festival Durham – Oct. 6, 2018
    • World Beer Festival Columbia – Feb. 17, 2018
    • Event Calendar
    • Brewery Tastings & Events
    • Beer Explorer
  • Reviews
    • Staff Reviews
    • Beer Talk
    • Flights
    • Book Reviews
  • Learn
    • What is Beer?
      • Water
      • Malt
      • Hops
      • Yeast
    • Styles
      • Lagers
      • British and North American Ales
      • Belgian and Continental Ales
      • Wheat Ales
      • Stouts and Porters
      • Seasonal and Specialty
    • Glossary
  • News
    • New on the Shelves
  • Web Only
    • Blogs
      • Daniel Bradford
      • John Holl
      • Acitelli on History
      • The Beer Bible Blog
      • Bryson
    • Video
    • Photos
    • Podcasts
Menu
logo
  • Advertise with Us
  • Subscriber Services
  • Retailer Services
Give a Gift Subscribe
Beer Talk

BPA Belgian-Style Pale Ale

All About Beer Magazine - Volume 34, Issue 2
May 1, 2013 By aab

Brewery Ommegang

Cooperstown, NY

This unique Belgian pale ale is bronze in color with citrusy, spicy, floral hop flavors and aromas coming from the liberal amount of Styrian Goldings in the brew kettle followed by dry hopping of Cascade in the conditioning tank.

ABV: 6.2

ABW: 4.9

COLOR: 7

BITTERNESS: 35

ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1056

AVAILABLE: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI

Dear Ommegang BPA, You’re a train wreck. Or you should be. You’ve got so much going for you—spicy, peppery Belgian yeast aromas, lemony-citrus Northwest hops, fruity alcohol warming, gorgeous body, a good head on your shoulders. You are an enigma. Are you a Belgian-style beer or a Northwest pale ale? It makes one wonder which is the real you. But the answer is right in the glass. You are all of that and more, and you manage to balance it all with the ease of Grace Kelly. Keep up the balancing act and you’ll go far. Love, Lisa.
- Lisa Morrison
Capturing the complexity and subtleties of a Belgian ale is no easy task, but the masters of the trade at Ommegang clearly know how it’s done. Their Belgian-style Pale Ale is a study in ester management, combining soft floral notes and hints of dried banana with toffee from the malt and a sherbet-lemon sharpness from the hops without sacrificing crispness or refreshment—no mean feat in a beer that tops 6 percent ABV. This being a pale ale, you want some hop in the finish, and here the leafy hops take over while never being too aggressive. Clean and enjoyable.
- Jeff Evans

Lisa Morrison
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever and wherever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.

Jeff Evans
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. More of his writing can be found at www.insidebeer.com.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow @allaboutbeer

Beer in your inbox

More Like This

  • Beer Event Brainstorm
  • The Wide World of Adjuncts
  • Today's Lambic Brewers and Blenders

Most Popular

  • A-B InBev Lays Off Employees as Part of New Sales Structure for The High End
  • Heineken Redesigns Bottle For U.S. Market

The Magazine

  • Advertise with Us
  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Staff
  • Subscriber Services
  • Retailer Services

Learn Beer

  • Reviews
  • Back Issues
  • Articles
  • Writer Guidelines
  • Internship Program

Events

  • World Beer Festival
  • Craft Beer Events
  • News

All About Beer

  • P.O. Box 110346
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • CONTACT