Tag Archives: New Belgium

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October 1, 2012

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New Belgium Peach Porch Lounger

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New Belgium Brewing Co.

Fort Colins, Co

Peach Porch Lounger

9.4% ABV

New Belgium‘s Lips of Faith is one of those series that continually cranks of consistently solid and creative. Every batch is something new and inventive and generally a big divergence from the previous brew. Peach Porch Rocker, their collaboration with G. Love – he of Special Sauce fame – continues that trend.

Marketed as a saison, PPL is brewed using grits – something that makes this Southerner smile – molasses, lemon peel and, of course, peaches. It clocks in at just north of 9%, aiding to the idea that this is a beer best enjoyed slowly whilst relaxing on your porch.

The pour is a slightly hazy golden sunset orange. There’s about two fingers of a really foamy, bubbly head topping it off, along with some really strong lacing and mild alcohol legs.

The funk from the Brett is the most noticeable thing on the nose. You definitely get the bite of lemon peel and the tartness of peaches there as well. Good bit of tropical fruits, too, with mango, papaya and a slight pineapple. There’s a very slight bready malt note, expected in a New Belgium brew. Just a t touch of sweetness to it as well but more funk over it

Best way to describe the taste? Like biting into a big ripe juicy peach. It’s incredibly rich and flavorful with big sweet and tart characteristics. Just a mild carbonation on the palate. On the back of the tongue, the citrus and bread notes are big. It develops into a sweeter note on the finish with a definite molasses character and flavorful peaches. A bit syrupy sweet, but the tartness cuts it nicely.

Like G. Love’s music – or at least the couple of songs I’ve heard – PPL is a funky but smooth. The sweetness of the peaches works well cutting the funk, but the tartness also works to compliment the Brett. And true to its name, it’s certainly a porch beer, even more so now that it’s starting to feel fantastic outside.

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September 12, 2012

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New Belgium/Alpine Beer Company Super India Pale Ale

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New Belgium Brewing Co. – Fort Collins, CO

Alpine Beer Co. – Alpine, CA

Super India Pale Ale

9% ABV

I’m no stranger to New Belgium‘s Lips of Faith series. Every beer that’s been released under that label this year has been stellar, and I’m quick to run to the store to pick up the newest entries.

I’m also a total hophead, so I know the lure of the Alpine Beer Co., a California nanobrewery that folks outside of the state have little chance of ever enjoying. So when New Belgium and Alpine teamed up to create a triple dry-hopped imperial IPA (TRIPA?), I scoured three local beer stores in hopes of finding it.

The pour is a very clear orange witha slight copperish tone. There’s finger of a really fluffy head that does stick around. That gives way to some really nice lacing and some good alcohol legs

The nose on this thing is incredible. There’s a gigantic pungent hop note on the nose with a big resinous note. You get huge pine straw, orange, lemon, citrus, grass. Every smell you’d want in a great DIPA is magnified x3 with this thing. (Looking back at my notes, I wrote “incredible” four times, so that should tell you something.)

There’s surprisingly just a slight hop bitterness on the front of the tongue followed with a medium body mouthfeel. It seems simple enough, but there’s a huge contrast in tastes on the end. It starts with big, wet pine straw that’s very resinous and sticky. That’s followed by the sweet and bready maltiness you get from most New Belgium beers. And it all settles into this slightly tart but big, juicy orange juice flavor. It seems like it might start off a bit too strong, but as it settles it gives way to a really luscious, juicy bouquet of flavors that’s very unique.

This is a DIPA that steps up the game a bit. The nose is phenomenal, like no IPA I’ve smelled before. And the taste is incredibly unique. You get those big pine, resin and balanced malt notes on the front and a refreshing and cleansing fruit juice taste on the back. If this is any indication of what Alpine does – and I’ve heard this is only the tip of the iceberg – I’m definitely going to have to seek out more of their stuff.

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August 1, 2012

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New Belgium/The Lost Abbey Brett Beer

New Belgium Brewing Co. – Fort Collins, CO

The Lost Abbey (Port Brewing Co.) – San Marcos, CA

Lips of Faith: Brett Beer American Wild Ale

7.5% ABV

In my recent review of Brux I talked about collaboration beers and how they give drinkers a chance to sample something from a brewery they might not otherwise get to try. One of those beers was the Lips of Faith Brett Beer, an American wild ale cooked up by New Belgium in Colorado and The Lost Abbey in California. (The version brewed by Lost Abbey is called Mo’ Betta Bretta.)

Brett Beer is – surprise, surprise – brewed with Brettanomyces, a yeast strain any beer geek worth their salt knows all too well. For a brewery with “Belgium” in its name, it’s not surprising they decided to give the finicky Belgian yeast a chance to shine, along with Sorachi Ace, Target and Centennial hops for added pop. The result is a bready, Brett-y and juicy beer.

The pour is a really nice deep golden yellow color. It’s a bit hazy as a beer of the style would look. Topped with a finger of a head, though it dissipates quickly, and some really nice lacing and alcohol legs.

The nose is unmistakable. There’s definitely a strong Brett funk that hits first. It’s that classic wet hay kind of smell backed with a bit of tartness. You definitely get a good bread character to it, as well a sort of a sweeter green grape and citrus note as well.

There’s a nice wash of carbonation over the front of the palate first, followed with just a very mild tartness that pinches the front of the tongue and back of the throat. The taste buds really open up, and the flavors really pop on the end. Big juicy fruits – orange, a bit of apricot, some papaya – are the most prevalent. There’s also a nice lemon note to it as well. The sour notes aren’t around too long, and the solid mouthfeel mellows into a juicy aftertaste.

I was expecting a bit more funk or sourness, so it was kind of a letdown that it didn’t have that bite to it, and it sort of falls flat on the end. But those are minor inconveniences compared with the rest of the beer. The nose is great, the juicy tropical fruit flavors are delicious and it’s an all-around solid beer that really shows what Brett can do.

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July 2, 2012

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New Belgium Tart Lychee

New Belgium Brewing Co.

Fort Collins, CO

Tart Lychee American Wild Ale

6% ABV

I’ve talked before about how New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series is what makes the brewery really stand out. While Fat Tire is a great gateway beer, the unique and inventive brews they concoct through Lips of Faith are generally stellar, and – as the name entails – a bit of a leap (or lip) of faith when it comes to trying something new.

I had heard rave reviews fo Tart Lychee, a twist on a sour ale with part of the batch brewed with cinnamon and the other brewed with the lychee fruit and aged in oak barrels. Lychee is a sweet but tart tropical berry that imparts a smacking flavor but not too overly sour for the slightly developed palate. After trying it a few times, it’s lived up to all the hype.

It pours a hazy opaque lighter orange with yellow around the sides. It’s topped with two fingers of tight a white head that settles quickly. For a 6% beer, there was some surprisingly strong lacing.

On the nose are these amazing sweet and tart fruit notes. Big hints of grapes, star fruit, muscadine and a slight hint of the oak. There’s a very strong tartness also present but with the coating of those tropical fruit notes.

On first taste, there’s a strong tart bite on tip of the tongue. A luscious juicy fruit flavor floods through the mouth after that. Coats. There’s that bit sourness on the back of the tongue that blooms into this tart but sweet fruit taste, which I guess is from the lychee. The cinnamon is strongly noticeable, and there’s definitely a kind of musk from the oak.

I can see Tart Lychee being a bit of a hurdle for a lot of people. The oak and the tart fruits are a bit of a contrast, but after your palate settles a bit, they blend together in a surprisingly great way. 

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April 11, 2012

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New Belgium Shift

New Belgium Brewing Co.

Fort Collins, CO

Shift Pale Lager

5.0% ABV

I’ve talked before about how New Belgium has a pretty good track record with me, and that continued with Shift, their new and much-hyped pale lager. With Saturday being National Session Beer Day, I figured it would be a good time to try out something on the lighter side.

Shift pours a gorgeous crystal clear straw yellow color. There was tons of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass, where the nucleation site is on the New Belgium goblet. There was a thick, creamy head on top, about two fingers worth and it lingered for a while. A really nice looking beer.

On the nose is grass with a little bit of banana and some spice. It’s kind of a richer, thicker scent to it. A bit malty on the nose but a slight hint of hops too.

The taste is very clean and smooth. There’s a little bit of hop on the front. It’s smooth throughout the mouth, with that characteristic biscuity malt taste New Belgium has in all its beers. A bit floral, and there’s kind of a grassy flavor it. Slight bitterness on the back from the malts.

I’m not the biggest fan of lagers, but this is a step up for the style. It’s crisp and clean, but has a lot of depth to it, and would be a perfect lawnmower beer.

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March 12, 2012

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New Belgium Dig

New Belgium Brewing Co.

Fort Collins, CO

Dig American Pale Ale

5.6% ABV

Fat Tire is a gateway beer for a lot of future beer geeks. Along with Sam Adams’ Boston Lager, it’s usually found on most draft lineups at restaurants. While it’s a solid yet ultimately unimpressive beer – brown ales are just boring to me – it’s not a very good indicator of the rest of New Belgium’s catalog.

In addition to their great Lips of Faith series, New Belgium’s seasonal beers are quite good for their respective release windows. Dig, an American pale ale, is their newest spring seasonal, replacing Mighty Arrow. Brewed with a nice selection of hops, including Sorachi Ace, Nelson Sauvin and Nugget, Dig is a really well-rounded and well-balanced beer that would easily suit a cooler evening as much as a warmer day.

The beer pours a deep, almost brownish orange, with a loose bubbly head. Maybe it was because I was using a New Belgium goblet, which has a nucleation site on the bottom, but the head lingered for a long time. Not much lacing, though.

There are a lot of different scents on the nose. Lemon, melon, orange, passion fruit and other tropical fruits. The melon flavors are very prominent with slight wisps of other citrus.

I really liked the taste on it. There’s a night malt taste on the front that’s pretty strong, but the fruit flavors wash over everything. It’s a very full, flavorful beer. The hops give it the rich flavors and bite, but the malt give it a thicker taste and mouthfeel.

Dig is surprisingly well-balanced for a spring beer, which I usually expect to be lighter, more effervescent beers like Alpine Spring. It’s flavorful and malty, but not so rich that it’s not a porch-appropriate beer. Definitely worth checking out.