Center Ice Brewery releases Belgian IPA

November 24, 2020 Jordan Palmer New Releases, Uncategorized Comments Off

If you’re a fan of Belgian style beers, here’s some news for you. Center Ice Brewery is releasing a new Belgian IPA.

Center Ice Brewery releases Belgian inspired IPA

I have to admit, I had to look up Belgian IPA’s to make sure I hadn’t missed something, because as far as I knew, I have not knowingly tried one. I even double-checked my list on Untappd, and the fact is, I don’t even see a Belgian IPA category, so looks like I’m finding out about a new style.

To learn more, I reached out to Nick Toothman, of Center Ice Brewery to discover more about their new beer, Fast Forward.

What is a Belgian IPA?

According to Hopculture.com Belgian IPA is actually inspired by American brewers and double versions that have grown popular. What makes an IPA “Belgian” is that during the brewing process, the final yeast strain is Belgian, which gives the beer a crisper, more concluding bitterness and a much drier mouthfeel than other IPA styles.

The Backstory

Head Brewer Jim Wells is always looking for a new beer that Center Ice has not brewed before. Last month, Center Ice released Revolving Pale Ale 005, a Belgian-inspired, dry-hopped American Pale Ale. This beer has a subtle bite from the Tettnang and EKG hops. The Belgian yeast shines bright in this beer creating a smooth finish.

“After we brewed Revolving Pale Ale 005, the idea of a Belgian inspired IPA sounded unique and fun,” said Toothman. “We wanted to honor the tradition of Belgian style beers while also exploring our desire to make complex IPAs.

As we have learned, Belgian inspired IPAs aren’t very common, so this beer sticks out as a unique product.

“Jim loves to brew with ingredients he has never used before, so Thai lemongrass and grains of paradise spiced up the recipe,” said Toothman.

Tasting Notes

How does the beer pour and appear at first glance?
Hazy amber with an orange hue.

Describe this beer’s bouquet?
A sweet, citrus aroma

What flavors can we expect?
Lemon zest, Thai Lemongrass, and grains of paradise paired with Belgian yeast and American hops give this IPA citrus juiciness with a hint of pepper and spice.

The Name

Center Ice Brewing has made its mark with hockey inspired names for its beers, and technically one might think, that Fast Forward could be linked to hockey. But, that is not the case.

“We struggled with this name for a few weeks,” said Toothman. “We were all thinking of something different, but one of us came up with the name Fast Forward after a comment made about fast-forwarding through the year 2020. The year 2020 has been rough for everyone. We wish we could just… skip ahead.”

Label Art

The brewery makes most of the labels in house. Sales manager Kindle Barber, created the design and picked the fonts and colors. The design resembles the Fast Forward arrows seen on VCR or remote control. The orange colors used for the gradient align with the color of the beer when exposed to sunlight.