What’s that you say? A Belgian witbier made in the Thai style? I’ve had a few of these now and I can say wholeheartedly-it works! The first was Westbrook White Thai from the brewery of the same name in South Carolina. Tonight, I’m trying my second, Upslope Thai Style White IPA.

Basically, the idea is to replace or supplant the traditional Belgian witbier spices of coriander and orange peel with Thai spices. Both the Westbrook beer and Upslope's example use wheat malt, spice with ginger, replace the Curacao orange peel with lemongrass, and ferment with a witbier yeast strain. They differ in that Upslope Thai Style White IPA tries to be a White IPA rather than just a traditional witbier, uses coriander rather than replaces it, and is IPA-strength at 6.5% alcohol content by volume with 33 IBUs.

Upslope says of this beer on their website:

Drawing inspiration from all over the globe, our Thai Style White IPA is an artful combination of uncommon, yet carefully chosen ingredients. Brewed using Belgian Wit yeast, hopped like an American IPA and infused with seven Asian-inspired spices, this beer is far from traditional. The sharp, juicy citrus notes of the hops interplay with the unique Thai spice blend to create an unexpected, one of a kind refreshment.

Upslope, based in Colorado, does no distribute in Georgia, but I received a can in a beer trade with the always generous Dale Roberts. My can is stamped best by January 25^th of 2015, and I drank is perhaps a few week after that. It had been safely stored in DBR Prime since I received it.

Upslope Thai Style White IPA pours to a cloudy yellow white color with a light fluffy head formation and a very spicy nose indeed, mostly of coriander I think but also with noticeable citrusy lemongrass. Taking a sip, the beer has a tart, crackery wheat body up front followed by the vegetal, zesty citric lemongrass, pungent coriander, fragrant Thai basil and some spicy ginger to round it out. The beer finishes tart and crisp but not really all that bitter, although the spices really dry this one out and you get the citrusy hop punch here.

A very, very nice beer here folks and I really like the way the spices complement the more traditional coriander rather than drown it out. Comparing it to the Westbrook beer, I like them both very much, but if I were choosing a favorite it would be the Upslope, simply because I think the coriander here makes all the difference. It should be noted though that I am judging this more as a Thai-inspired witbier than a White IPA.

Try it, if you can find it.

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