Name: Wunder Lager
Brewer: Brussels Beer Project (Belgium)
Style: Specialty IPA: India Pale Lager
ABV: 3.8%
Review Year: 2020
Brussels Beer Project delivers a vibrant and thirst-quenching India Pale Lager with Wunder Lager. This IPL was brewed with Cascade, Citra, Columbus, and Mosaic hops, Pilsner malt, and Diamond Lager yeast.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as an India Pale Lager (IPL). As of this writing, the IPL is not yet an official/ explicit style and, thus, lacks a comprehensive set of guidelines by the BJCP.
However, in Specialty IPA Clarifications and Q&A published in 2017, the BJCP noted that the IPL often describes a distinct variant of the IPA that has seen some commercial and homebrew popularity. In particular, this variant may be described as (1) a pale lager brewed to IPA strength and hopping rates or (2) an American IPA brewed with lager yeast. These beers can be entered as a Specialty IPA with the entrant providing a brief description of the style to the judges.
Recommended Reading: Specialty IPA Clarifications and Q&A (BJCP, 2017)
In the 2020 Beer Style Guidelines of the Brewers Association (BA), the closest match to the IPL appears to be the American-Style India Pale Lager.
TASTING NOTES
Wunder Lager pours a pale straw color with slight haziness and a persistent white head. The haziness remains as the beer warms which suggests a hop haze. The nose opens with bright citrus notes akin to Philippine lime (calamansi) and some passion fruit and is supported by light grainy malts.
This IPL is light-bodied, crisp, and is moderately carbonated as expected. In contrast to the hop-driven aroma, the flavor profile of Wunder Lager is driven largely by light, grainy malt presence with the bright citrus (e.g., lime) notes coming through secondarily and faintly. A moderately-low bitterness akin to pine is present in the backdrop, while fermentation character is clean and neutral. The finish lingers with lime citrus accentuated by slight herby and leafy bitterness.
THE VERDICT
Wunder Lager is, overall, a crisp, refreshing, and very drinkable IPL that showcases the bright hop and malt flavors ideal for summer in the tropics. This IPL also offers a rejuvenating alternative for drinkers fatigued by the New England IPA craze and for people looking for a similarly crisp but more aromatic and flavorful option to supermarket lagers. However, we think slightly more hop-derived flavors would make this beer more memorable.
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