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Styles · Belgian Pale Ale

Beer style · BJCP 2021 24B

Belgian Pale Ale

Belgian Ale

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.048–1.054
Final gravity
1.010–1.014
Bitterness
20–30 IBU
Color
8–14 SRM (16–28 EBC)
Alcohol
4.8–5.5 % ABV

What it is

An amber everyday ale from the Antwerp region: toasty, slightly biscuity malt with restrained fruity-spicy yeast and a gentle hop finish. Far tamer than the strong abbey styles, it is built for a second glass and shows a drier, more balanced profile than a British bitter.

Flavor

What a Belgian Pale Ale should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Room for floral, spice, herbal or earthy/woody.

Malt

Grainy and bready/biscuit, with room for toasty, sweet/honey, caramel or nutty.

Fermentation

Clean and fruity esters, with room for pepper/spice.

Hops that suit it

The traditional choice

What Belgian Pale Ale has classically been brewed with.

Also right on character

Varieties whose loudest notes all sit on this style’s hop wheel, best fit first. How much to use is the recipe’s question; these are the ones that taste right.

And 10 more hops whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

And 3 more yeasts whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.