Delta IPA

 When I came to Belgium, I wasn’t expecting to drink a whole lot of IPAs, and certainly not many good ones, but one of the first beers that I tucked into was a Delta IPA from the Brussels Beer Project—though it certainly put a healthy Belgian spin on it. Called a “saison IPA”, the 6% brew is made with saison yeast and a quintet of Cascade, Challenger, Citra, Mosaic, and Smaragd hops. Sold in 33cL bottles, the beer pours a dull gold colour with a fluffy white head.

Delta has a bold aroma with notes of grapefruit, lemon, and a healthy dose of wild yeast. The flavour walks a similar path, intersecting farmyard funk and dry texture with classic IPA elements—a good marriage of yeast, citrus and tropical fruits, and bitterness.

Brussels Beer Project strikes me as an incredibly cool operation. They brew innovative and sometimes unusual beers each year and allow their community to vote between four prototypes—the annual winner is added to BBP’s all star roster and becomes a permanent member of their stable. Delta was apparently the first winner back in 2013 and it clearly struck a chord because it can be found all over Brussels. I’m no stranger to hybrid “Belgian-style IPAs”, but I found Delta to have its own unique charm—rooted in its saison pedigree.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.