New Belgium has introduced several new beers to the Lips of Faith series. One you may remember I mentioned tasting at the Iowa City Brewfest was a sour brown ale, Clutch. I had the chance to try it in a more controlled environment over the weekend.
With the first taste, Clutch has a nice roasted chocolate and coffee flavor, and leaves a slightly sour, not over-the-top, taste in the back of your tongue. The finish also has a slight coffee flavor. I thought it was a great beer that’s very drinkable, and reminds me of New Belgium’s 1554 with slight sourness.
Another beer that is new to Iowa this year is New Belgium Brewing La Folie. I had a chance to have some of this the other day.
All I can say is “Wow”. It started off with an extreme sour punch, then the finish left a nice sweetness. My recommendation is to make sure you have more than just one drink, and it definitely becomes less intense. It is a great beer that is very complex.
Have you tried La Folie? Can you put the complex taste into words? Tell me what you think!
A few days ago I had the chance to sample one of the new sour beers from New Belgium, Le Terroir. It is a dry-hopped (with peach/mango flavored Amarillo hops) sour ale that changes from batch to batch (sounds like homebrewing).
The beer had a nice citrus aroma, similar to a grapefruit or a lime. The taste had a hint of sour on the front of the tongue that became more pronounced toward the back of the tongue. It left a nice refreshing finish with a bit of lingering sweetness. The beer reminded me of grapefruit juice, and I thought there was a nice amount of sourness without being too overwhelming. I enjoyed this beer very much.
The other day, a couple friends and I cracked open the bottles of Wisconsin Belgian Red we had brought home.
First, the review: initially, it smells strongly like cherries. The taste is a full cherry flavor. It continues with the cherry flavor. It is a great beer, and, dare I say it, it almost was too intense. It left a great cherry flavor in my mouth.
After we enjoyed a bottle of the Wisconsin Belgian Red, we decided to try something new: a layered chocolate-cherry beer. As you can see in the photo, we used my favorite beer, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout (the can that has the Nitrogen releasing widget inside). It was a hit!
The smooth chocolate flavor played very well with the strong cherry flavor, and the entire layered drink was great! I had previously tried a different chocolate-cherry layered beer with Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat with the Double Chocolate Stout, but the use of the Belgian Red was a great choice.
Have you had the Wisconsin Belgian Red? What was your take on this flavorful beer?
From our trip to New Glarus Brewing Co., I brought back a couple of the special beers, including the Raspberry Tart. I had the Wisconsin Belgian Red at the brewery, and if this was anything like that, I would be in for a treat.
Initially, the raspberry smell is very intense. With the first taste, it overwhelms you with raspberry flavor. It tastes a bit sour then finishes with a strong, sweet raspberry flavor. It was like a blend between a beer and raspberry wine.
It was a great beer! If only they distributed around here…
Have you had the Raspberry Tart? What was your experience?