Ommegang BPA - Brewery Ommegang

    Ommegang BPA is a Belgian Pale Ale created by Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York. Ommegang has a penchant for mixing traditional Belgian flavors and styles with American ingredients, creating a unique marriage between the two.

    BPA pours an orange-brass color with a massive off-white head. The head leaves some of the biggest bubbles I've ever seen as lacing on the glass. There is a lot of sediment floating around the glass, constantly being bounced around by the bubbly carbonation.

    Aromas of citrus, flowers, and astringent pine resin make up the majority of beer's hop profile. Spicy Belgian yeast and sweet malts round out the beer's scent.

    The Belgian Pale feels almost...fluffy in the mouth. The liquid itself is medium bodied, but the medium-high carbonation level really turns the beer into more of a light fluff on the tongue, not to be confused with an unpleasant foaminess. A slight bit of  the beer's hops oils coat the mouth and an alcohol content of 6.2% ABV slightly warms it.

Picking hops is apparently a joyful profession!

    Ommegang BPA actually tastes much less Belgian than I had expected. Hops are the main focus here, with ripe fruits, pine, and citrus flavors. The Belgian yeast is definitely there, but it is subtle and just adds a small bit of spice to the brew which is very nice against the sweet malts. The yeast flavors almost acts as a transition between the hops and malts, impressing me with the balance struck.

    I've had a few "Belgian" Pale Ales lately and I have to say that I'm becoming a real fan. I absolutely am a fan of brewers mixing old and new styles and ingredients. America's brewing seems to be more "what can we make that's fresh and new" rather than sticking to the tried and true which other breweries follow as law. Ommegang definitely gets a lot of my respect for their experimentation with combining the two ideas.

    I can't describe Ommegang BPA as just a Belgian, nor can I say that it's just a Pale Ale. The mix of these two styles of beer really creates its own genre. Anyone looking to try something new should definitely look for this beer. Its light body and fresh flavor really make for an enjoyable quaff.

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Loft - New Belgium Brewing

    Loft is a hard beer to categorize. Conservatively, the closest style to which Loft is most similar would be a Belgian Pale Ale. This style confusion comes from the fact that Loft is brewed using multiple ingredients which are rarely seen together. Both barley and wheat malts go into the mix as well as a decent amount of hops. New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, CO) really worked to defy genres with this one.

    Loft pours a light gold color with a half-finger of white head. The foam leaves a good bit of lacing on the glass. Lots of bubbles are visible in the beer.

    The beer's aroma is mainly hoppy, though the wheat and barley malts can both be smelled as well. The strange mix of barley and wheat creates a sort of confusing scent which makes me wonder what I'm in for as far as taste.

    Loft is medium bodied with a medium-high level of carbonation. The beer finishes lightly, and almost watery.

Talk about a light beer!

    Loft's flavor begins with slightly bitter orange peel hops changing to sweet biscuit malts and finally a grainy, sweet wheat flavor. The aftertaste is that of wheat. The beer's flavor is very light, making for a nice hot-weather drinking beer. I really find the strange mix of malts and hops off-putting, but not disgusting.

    I find myself somewhat torn between my love for ingenuity and a respect for the tried and true. I definitely applaud New Belgium for attempting to make a genre-bending beer, but at the same time I just find the beer to be strange tasting. I don't want to become the sort of person who automatically hates anything different from the norm, so I worry that differences from the traditional styles in the beer's recipe are causing me to dislike it more than the flavors themselves. This is just a beer that you will have to try for yourself to see what you think of it.

    While I don't hate this beer, I definitely wouldn't choose to drink it regularly. Loft is a very easy to drink beer, but the barley and wheat just seem to be at odds with each other when I taste it. This isn't enough to make the beer taste horrible, but it certainly isn't entirely pleasant to drink either.

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