New Belgium Belgo IPA
When we set out to brew, we use imagination and salvation to guide us- not necessarily style guidelines. It’s the Belgian way. So, Ameri-Belgo and IPA both being styles, the branding begged for New Belgium whimsy to liven things up. Hmmm Belgo sounds like a Belgian disco. Hops like to party. Next thing you know, we bust out a disco-ball and brewers started groovin. Hops started hoppin. Add in an authentic Trappist yeast strain and the place brewed into a frenzy of citrus hoppy folly.
Note: Moved to the Explore Series in 2011, making it available year-round.
Note: Moved to the Explore Series in 2011, making it available year-round.
3.5
491 reviews
Fort Collins, United States
Community reviews
"especially next to a Ranger, the hops in here just aren’t up to par. that said it’s a decent beer. lots of yeast, and it’s tasty, but the hops are overshadowed. just some bitterness. Stone set the bar on the style and this one falls well short for the same coin."
Six pack at the local target, 12 oz bottles very good taste, flavor, and aroma...without much of the bitterness of American IPAs
Pours from 12 oz bottle a nice copper color with a sticky, fluffy white head. Aromas are a nice fruity Belgian yeastiness, bready malts, apples, pears, a touch of banana move into lemony citrus and floral field grass, bread dough, touch of yeasty spice, honey, vanilla. Flavour of floral hops bitterness with yeast, spices, and a slight tart apple. Medium body, smooth, almost creamy mouthfeel, and a very clean finish. Well made and likable, delicious.
Cellared 12 oz. bottle with "best by 4/2012", so more of an experiment, and didn’t expect much. Shared and poured to snifters with a hazed, orange color, a thin, white layer that quickly diminished to a ring & film, and left some spots of lacing. The nose was a touch vegetal, ripened to almost spoiled fruit, with a chemical whiff that reminded me of deep woods Off. Light bodied, the flavor retained a touch of citrus & tangerine, and low to moderate bitterness that lingered, and paired with some dryness for the finish. Can’t say as much for the aroma, but non offensive in the taste department.
Rated on 10-03-2011 (Bottle) This beer’s appearance is a medium sized frothy, fizzy white head with a long retention, hazy pale yellow body, slow rising, suspended carbonation, and a generous amount of lacing adorns my glass. The aroma is yeast, citrus, floral hops, and earthy. The flavor is lightly bitter, citrus, pine hops, and this beer has a semi-dry finish. The mouthfeel is smooth and this beer is light-medium bodied. Overall, for the style this beer is not overly hoppy or bitter tasting and that is not a negative for the style. It is a very easy drinking beer, worth trying, and a beer I would drink again.
12oz bottle 12/9/10 (Whole Foods-Lamar)-Pours a clear golden with a nice off white head. Aroma of Belgian yeast and hops. Taste of the same with more hops then more Belgian yeast. This medium bodied brew is nice but needs more Belgian.
Sweet Belgian yeast comes through, some fruity hops, grapefruit, citrus, a tad orange peel. Decent finish.
12/28/2013. On tap. Pale yellow with a white head. Yeast and citrus aromas, light body but with hoppy flavors. Not bad.
Best by 04APR12
Pours a nice golden ale with a finger of fine, white foam. Excellent clarity. Smells of classic belgian yeast with hint of funk and earthy hops. No citrus, or fruit in the nose for me, yeast and earthy, grassy hops.
The yeast is what takes me first, with a medicinal quality in it and an odd, obscure flavor I remember, but can’t finger. It reminds me of the aftertaste of some kind of medicine it seems I keep gravitating toward. I don’t really get any kind of hop presence, but my tongue is perplexed by the aforementioned flavor.
Medium on thin with moderate carb and some decent slick on the finish. This beer has the one flavor that kills it for me overall in this beer, wish I could pinpoint it, but nonetheless, it’s a no go for me.
Serving type: bottle
01-19-2012
A hazed golden amber ale with a thick frothy off white head. In aroma, sweet fruity and citrusy malt with nice floral hops, catty and resinous. In mouth, a smooth fruity malt with nice esters, citrus, floral hops, well restrained and quite quaffable.
I personally don’t care for the overly hoppy beers, this like most IPAd is pretty hoppy but not overpowering. The ABC level helps out though.
12oz bottle. Rich amber color with a frothy three finger head with good retention. Aroma opens with some burnt dust, apricot, malt, and mild yeast scents. Taste opens with sweet malt, flowery hops, and apricot hops. Transitions to spicy flavors, coriander, grapefruit, and Belgian yeast complexities. Aftertaste is of mildly bready malt flavors combined with hop bitterness. Medium body, moderate carbonation.
Interesting, unusual light hazy orange pour with a white head. Aroma is sweet citrus, pine and yeast. Taste is what it is called. Belgian ipa. Ipa, but a refreshing Belgian back. Not an every day choice, but good.
One of my favorite beers! I love the combination of hops and yeast used. Found this on tap at a local bar.
Poured from a bottle, San Diego. Strong piney hop aroma. A sweet, hoppy beer of the pine variety.
Bottle, six pack, BevMo, thanks for a great ipa that has lots of hints of that belgian mix, sweet, very good
I just did not like this beer. I thought it tasted really weird. It stood out from the others but in a very negative way. I can’t really describe it, just strange.
Poured from a 12oz bottle into a tulip. Cloudy orange with a thick head. Smells like sweet citrus with some yeast. Taste is sweet, piney, mixed with a yeast/funk with a bitter, hoppy aftertaste. I can see what NB is going for here - and it is very, very good. Even though these are some of my favorite styles of beer (IPAs and Belgians), the combination is somehow not the best of both worlds.
Pours a hazy golden with lots of white head. Aroma is yeast and citrus with a touch of coriander. Taste follows the nose but the Belgian notes are not as pronounced as in the aroma. There is some sweetness but the main theme here is bitter citrus. Medium bodied and very crisp. I am not a huge fan of this style but this isn’t bad at all. It is very easy drinking and refreshing.
Not bad. But I am not a fan of the Belgian notes added into the IPA style. Not the best combo...
Bottle->SA. Pours golden with large frothy white head leaving tons of lace. Aroma: yeast, bread, funk, touch of fruit. Flavor: hops and yeast in poor muddy balance. Eh.
Aroma of citrusy hops, with a slight yeast smell. Tastes mostly of citrus with a little alive from the Belgian yeast
2012 bottle to snifter. Pours a hazy golden yellow with foamy white head. Aroma is grapefruit, lemon and piney hops with some bread. Taste is citrus and a biting bitter hops with a nice yeasty, breast quality. Mouthfeel is thin with lots of carbonation. Bitterness is lingering and unpleasant to my taste.
12 oz bottle. Pours a golden-copper color and hazy with a big, frothy white head that lingers and sticks. The aroma is floral, tropical fruit, bananas, yeast/spices, perfume and candy. Hopped up flavor is fruity, woody, floral and black pepper balanced by the Trappist yeast strain and mild caramel malts. Smooth and crisp flavor.
. Pours a hazy gold with a white foamy head. Good lacing. Lots of carbonation. Aroma of citrus, banana, and bubble gum. Sweet on the nose but not on the palate. Taste of citrus rinds, hints of bread malts, and leaves.
A well done Belgium style IPA. The Belgian yeast gives it a unique flavor. Taste of citrus and earthiness.
From a 12 oz bottle shared at home. Pours a clear gold with a white head. Yeast and citrus hop nose. Quite mellow with some grass and floral notes. Bitter finish.
Just a step behind the Ranger IPA from this same brewery. Hops aren’t as crazy as some IPAs.
Poured from a bottle at market. Bright orange and clear pour. Thin white head. Citrus a peach fresh smelll. Yum. Grapefruit grass bitter hoppy taste. Has tiny Belgium style flavor. Overall a solid IPA. Would have again
Nice color. Kinda old smelling for so much hops. Same balance issues. Not great but not bad really.