New Belgium Lips of Faith Transatlantique Kriek

I just like to say the name of this beer… Transatlantique Kriek… has a good ring to it.  I am very happy to say that the beer has a good taste to it, as well.    This one started off the night right with a lip puckering that we usually only reserve for the boss, but New Belgium gave us another reason.  A cherry red pour with a very clear, pink head, I thought I was pouring some of fruit punch but one whiff and I remembered I wasn’t 12 and fat and that this was a grown up drink (8.0% ABV)… anywho… the aroma is lite on the beer high on the vinegar and hints at the dry sourness that is to come.  This leads to a bitter, dry front, a mild middle, and a sour cherry finish with an overall balance across the taste from sour to cherry. . Overall a great beer that I would recommend any time.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

New Belgium Lips of Faith Biere de Mars

Another in the Lips of Faith line from New Belgium, Lips of Fatih Biere de Mars comes to us in a bright and pretty orange polka dotted bottle as is the want of the Lips of Faith series.  This tasting is courtesy of The Belly and I offer him my thanks!

The brew is touted as being brewed with spices and you can tell… light orange in color, nose is the most notable in the spice department but the body is where the spices play games with my taste buds.  At  6.2% ABV, there isn’t much kick in the alcohol department, but the spices mess with your throat and leave you a nice sweet finish.  Overall, it is a nice brew but in the end nothing really special like I was hoping for.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

New Belgium Lips of Faith Dark Kriek

One of the members of the New Belgium Lips of Faith program, New Belgium Lips of Faith Dark Kriek was highly anticipated by the neighborhood tasting panel.  Just look at the smile on Mrs. Heather’s face in the pic below…

So, for their Dark Kriek, we opened her up and dug right in… on the pour, you can see the redish brown tinge to the brew and on the nose, cherry for sure but not over the top on the tangy vinegar smell that some sours exude.  As we head into the body, you get a semi-sour, tart hit, somewhat “bingy”, noted Ms. Katrina, and overall it comes in like a lite version of our favorite New Belgium La Folie.  It is a tip of the tongue tingler at 8% but not over the top and as “The Belly” notes, it might be a good introduction to the sour cherry beer genre for those that are new to the game. 

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

New Belgium La Folie

I have saved this posting for a very special day (today of course)… the day that marks our 1 year anniversary on this blog.  That is one year and over 400 beers… hard to believe it has only been a year, to be honest.  In that year, we have seen the ups and downs of the economy, a new president elect, and of course the goings on of the area and folks that are close to us.  Through it all, the beer blog has been a constant and I think something that I truly am proud of.  It takes effort to keep something like this going with family (3 amazing kids + beautiful wife), a demanding full time  job, a photography business, and going back to school… but at the end of it, it has been worth it.  I can’t speak for Po, but I know he is in a similar place and I hope he has enjoyed the ride, as well.

So, with that all being said, it is time to present one of my favorite beers of all time… New Belgium La Folie.

I was first introduced to this fine little number at the 2008 Seattle International Beerfest (SIB).  “The Belly” and I spent more than half our tickets on this fine little number that amazed and dazzled us.  It was a bit stronger there, it hadn’t mellowed out, but boy was it heaven on earth… and so, when our friend Doug at Malt & Vine let “The Belly” know that he had a few in the back that he would be willing to part with, we both parted with the $25/bottle and considered ourselves lucky.  I am especially lucky considering my very giving friend let us open one of his bottles.

If you haven’t had this beer or style, you are missing out.  Both are fine examples of how beer can be exotic, complex, and heavenly all at the same time.  Out of the bottle (vs. the keg), this beer is extremely well balanced in its amber glow and headiness… in a nutshell, it just simply has an outstanding fit and finish to it that you can’t help but close your eyes and savor as you first take a deep sniff and then tip it back.  The nose is clean and easy and the sour body is smooth and tight, not overwhelming or off and it is complex as any beer I have had.  For example, when you drink this beer cold, the sour hits you on the tip and front-middle of the tongue, making it tingle just a bit.  As the brew warms up, though, the sour hits you hard at the back of the throat, releasing a sour apple sensation that gives you the goose bumps.

All in all, this is beer finery at its greatest and I thank New Belgium for it.  Thanks to you for brewing something so special.  We appreciate it!

JBB6 Rating: For the Win (Pending Hall of Fame)

 

New Belgium Abbey

New Belgium Abbey

I have been waiting a while to try this one on… mainly because it was at the back of the beer fridge, but also just needed to be in the mood… well, tonight was it and I am glad it struck me. This beer pours a nice dark brown with a yeasty nose and a moderate head. The head sticks with the beer, though, and even with only 1/4 left, it still has froth on top. The first taste is Belgian Style yeast with dark malts a close second. At 7% ABV, this is no lightweight Belgian Style, but it is a mild flavored brew… it makes it very easy to drink. All in all another good beer from one of my favorite breweries, New Belgium.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

New Belgium Frambozen

Had to take a drive by Malt & Vine in Redmond today to make sure I had the appropriate beverages for the 4 day weekend I am about to enjoy.  In doing so, I noticed a wonderful new brew from our friends at New Belgium… New Belgium Frambozen.

Having not heard of this beer before, Doug at Malt & Vine noted it was a seasonal that is pretty damn good and so I knew I had to check it out.  From the bottle:

“Flemish for “raspberry”, is our big, luscious celebration of the ruby red fruit found in Belgium’;s Framboise ales.  Our version is brewed with real northwestern raspberries.  Gaze upon Frambozen’s deep warming color and infuse your senses with berry goodness.  This Colorado holiday tradition should be served cool in a worthy glass for the best sensory experience.”

So, tonight sounded like as good a night as any to try this wonderful sounding beverage and I brought one in from the beer fridge just a while ago.  The folks at New Belgium suggest the right glass, so I have a big tulip drinking glass that does the trick (as pictured).  The first pour shows a dark, dark ruby color… darker than I expected.  As it pours, it doesn’t look like it will have much of a head, but it catches up as the bottle reaches about 1/2 left and then hits hard with a mountain of foam at the top.  The dark ruby red color is nearly to dark to see through without a strong light behind it.

The first smells, at ~40 degrees Fahrenheit, don’t offer much.  A bit of the raspberry comes through, but not really that much.  As the beer warms up, though, the raspberry really starts to open up and you notice it as the dominant fragrance.  The taste wasn’t nearly as sour as I thought it would be.  I had Flemish sour on the brain, so when this hit my tongue, I wasn’t prepared for it to be so smooth and subtle.  It definitely isn’t a bad thing… just something I wasn’t necessarily expecting.  The body is sour, but just not overwhelming and the raspberry is much more subtle on the body than the nose.  The finish is short but impactful and leaves you satisfied, although wanting for more.

Overall, this is a great beer that everyone should try out for its unique and subtle fruity and sour flavors.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

New Belgium 2 Below Ale

I have to start by saying I am generally a huge, huge fan of our friends over at New Belgium.  That being said, the New Belgium 2 Below Ale I had the other night has to fall in one of those one-off anomoly situations that really shouldn’t have happened, but it did, so we move on.

This beer is much lighter than expected.  In fact, it may be one of the lightest winter beers yet.  It is also one of the least complex and least stimulating beers I have tasted on this wonderful winter beer tasting journey.  It has an average head and the body was honestly a bit off… not sure what happened, but it simply didn’t taste as though it should have been opened.  There were some spice undertones, but not nearly enough to make this interesting or consumable.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

New Belgium Giddy Up!

This little tasting story starts with “The Belly” and his nose for news… I get a text the other day noting New Belgium Giddy Up! in their Folly Pack at Fred Meyer!  So I stop there after work and sure enough, a new beer from what of our favorite little breweries in CO. 

I still think the New Belgium Folly Pack is one of the best deals around, especially if you are looking for variety and I am guessing they are doing pretty good with it since they keep selling it…   So here you are with a review:

Giddy Up! has a mild espresso nose that might make a standard, run of the mill coffee beer, but the lemon gets in there and messes with it, creating a refreshing and less bitter beer than you might expect.  In fact, I would through this in the realm of very smooth with just a tinge of bitter.  You can taste the espresso right in the middle where it leads to a quick and clean finish.  The lemon has its final revenge in the back corners and sides of the mouth where you can’t help but savor it.

Overall a great little showing from New Belgium and potentially the most balanced of the coffee beers I have had this year.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

New Belgium Old Cherry

Had a New Belgium Old Cherry tonight.  Had very high hopes going in, to be honest.  I was dissappointed.  After having the likes of Kasteel Rouge or even Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat, I think I have potentially unrealistic expectations for the cherry beer genre. 

I believe the only way you can get this beer right now is in their Folly Pack, but to be honest, I am not sad.

The beer was very blah.  Smelled of cherry, has cherry on the label, but just fell short of giving me a good chery flavor.  Very mild and does not blend well.  Feels like the underlying beer is potentially Fat Tire, and then they threw in a dash of cherry for good measure.  Doesn’t feel like it was truly brewed with cherry flavored goodness in mind. 

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

New Belgium Springboard Ale

With a Hokusai-inspired label and New Belgium’s reputation for inspired brewing, I was looking forward to an intriguing beer when I picked this up in QFC over the weekend. Promising a combination of “oats, ancient Chinese herbs, and Mt. Hood hops to maintain a balanced equilibirum” this blonde ale certainly hits the spot.

Like the label claims, this is a pretty refreshing brew – unfiltered, so there’s a certain creamy cloudiness to the pour that charms the eye. There’s a definete herbal bent to it, too. Not as far along the weird white wheat spectrum as a Hoegaarden, but a definite tang that adds to the complexity of the flavour. Peaches and coriander are what it reminds me of, though they’re not on the ingredients list.

Not overly hoppy, this beer found me in a relaxed and generous mood as I watched the kids bounce on the trampoline with the sun going down in the background. This was a decent ale to round off the late afternoon and get the evening started… definitely recommended for the summer drinking season.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again