#239 New Belgium » Lips Of Faith: Pluot

New Belgium » Lips Of Faith: Pluot (Tripel) | ABV: 10.0% | Rating: 9/10
This high ABV fruit beer is fermented with Brettanomyces and New Belgian's house Belgian ale yeast. The result is yeasty aromas, threaded with champagne, lemon, and pluot notes and mild spice. The transparent, golden body is wears a rapidly fading, effervescent white head.

I'm a sucker for anything from the Lips of Faith series and in my opinion, this is a damn good fruit beer. Spicy booze heat stacks up with wonderful note of plum & apricot. It's quite dry, with a robust mouthfeel, fully of wine-like qualities on the finish and in the body. There's a touch of white grape notes and brilliant Belgian yeast flavors throughout.

We pushed this one to the edge of the Enjoy-By date, but still scores well as a hefty fruit Tripel to toss into a tulip.

#226: New Belgium Brewing » Lips Of Faith: Paardebloem (Strong Ale)

Peach juice, dandelion greens, and grains of paradise, oh my...

The Brewery: New Belgium
The Brew: Lips Of Faith: Paardebloem (Strong Ale)
Availability: Draft and bottles (Limited, Brewed Once)
ABV: 9.0%
Rating: 9.2/10
Location: Home
Found: (New Orleans)

Since finally procuring a dedicated beer fridge, I've had a bit more visibility on what we still have hanging around. Paardebloem, from New Belgium's Lips of Faith series, is an ever-enticing brew, crafted with Peach Juice, Grains of Paradise, and Dandelion Greens, blended with just a touch of wood-aged beer.

Alluring aromas of fruit and yeast start the tasting off even before the pour is finished. Mild herbal notes are in there as well.

The big, juicy peach flavor is prefect for the first warm evening out back. Mild spice heat and prickly carbonation are excellent augmentors and the whole package wraps up in a lovely dry finish.

Further through, white-wine like flavors sneak in with more defined, though still light, pepper notes along with a hint of apple juice, pineapple, and that always enjoyable Belgian yeast character.

Overall, a wonderfully drinkable, experimental, Belgian-inspired brew.

#069: New Belgium Brewing » Lips of Faith: La Folie (Flanders Oud Bruin)

A gift of mouth******* tartness...

The Brewery: New Belgium Brewing (Ft. Collins, CO)
The Brew: Lips of Faith: La Folie (Flanders Oud Bruin)
Availability: Draft and bottles
ABV: 6.0%
Rating: 9.7/10
Location: Home

The Story? After a six-year hiatus, one of my favorite bands, Melt Banana put up their latest release for streaming last night. With a night in, I had a rare opportunity to just have a sit and listen to the new album straight through. I needed a brew wild enough to keep up with the sonic chaos and knew just the thing...

I picked this one up in Baltimore, after regretting to do so when I was in Chicago.  La Folie is New Belgium's original wood-conditioned beer, fermented in French Oak barrels between one and three years before being bottled and is the brainchild of Peter Bouckaert - formerly of Rodenbach. With inspiration from their fabled sour red ale, La Folie emulates the spontaneous fermentation beers of Peter's beloved Flanders.

The Beer? La Folie is presents itself in an ominously opaque shade of dark brown with a touch of ruby, topped with a touch of laceless head, and accompanied by a potent nose of big, tart black fruits - cherry, black currant, and grape - and green apple.

This is a full-force Flanders, packing an astringently sour punch to the face. Incredibly tart, but with a quenching mouthfeel and finish. Big, juicy sour with no funk, earth, or barnyard involved. There's a distinct red wine and acetic nature to it as well. Perfectly complimenting, mid-level carbonation.

The whole way through, it's huge green apple sour flavors, in the direction of sour candies and soda, with elements of cherry and raspberry and subtle oak in the background. One of those flavors that I want to keep tasting and tasting.

Overall, a must-have for any sour fan. I'd put this up there with Oude Gueuze Tilquin à L'Ancienne as one of my favorites and a perfect dark, sour brown counterpart to that master brew.

#015: New Belgium Lips of Faith Series: Peach Porch Lounger

The final Baltimore Beer stop...

The Brewery: New Belgium
The Brew: Lips of Faith: Peach Porch Lounger
Availability: Draft and bottles (limited)
ABV: 9.4%
Rating: 8.5/10
Location: Leinenkugel's Beer Garden (Baltimore)

The Story? New Belgium is another brewery that unfortunately does not grace us here in NYS. Their ever-growing "Lips of Faith" series of sours taunts me with every news post. Well, that's why we travel, right? To get beer we can get here. This being our final night in Baltimore, I was very pleased to stumble upon this as an option for my pallet.

My first foray into the series is on of their latest - the Peach Porch Lounger. A result of a musical collaboration with G-Love of G-Love and the Special Sauce.

The Beer? This brew is brewed with peach juice, molasses, hominy grits, lemon peel, pale and biscuit malts, and some Brettanomyces and I cannot wait to put it in my mouth.

Fruity, sour nose. Minimal head. Pleasant, juicy peach flavor, but not sweet. Subtle funk and sour notes throughout. I noticed late in that it's listed at 9.4%, which is absurd. Tasted like a 4% or so. Great job hiding that. This is a very unique and accessible beer. Deep and complex, but goes down without thinking. A must try for any sour fan or those curious to enter. The brett effect is quite mild, so calling it a "sour" might be extensive, but the notes are there. The peach balances it all out wonderfully.

High-gravity summer sour saison? Better believe it and better give it a try.