Since New Belgium unveiled their “new” line of specialty beers and packaged then in their own special bottle/lables I have been spending more of my time and effort thatn I should, trying to determine if each one is a new beer, or just froofed up version of something existing. This “Lips of Faith” thing is a case in point. No I don’t know the story behind it, well, I do now as I just popped over to NBs site and read up on it. They are taking there somewhat more experimental offereings and putting them in consistent labels/packaging and marketing them that way. Fine, but the Bierre de Mars and the La Folie are not new, even though they are part of this “new” series.
I picked up the “Eric’s Ale” tonight after I saw it was a Sour and a few seconds after I realized that La Folie was a Sour as well.. Already this little item was on my good side. It pours a very nice lively copper-orange with a spritely off white head that quickly evaporates under several lines of streaming microscopic bubbles. Sour but fruity aroma of soft spices, apples, peaches, bubblegum and bananas. Very nice actually. The flavors it delivers is not so dry and tart as I expected. Sour, sure, but still a little sweet and flavorful. Barely peach, but other mild soft fruit notes are here. Pear, apple, banana, and a modest, even faint musty barnyard note. The oak aged character is very subtle, which I love. At 7% ABV, it is disguised well. Even though the purists out there would want to lynch me for even suggesting it, I am a little surprised that NB didn’t drop the “L” word on any references to this sour, fruit, oak aged beer. (Lindemann’s, I’m talking to you)
This a very drinkable example of the “Sour” style.
I would reluctantly agree with the cheesy marketing dribble on their site… “A sour beer for those who don’t like sour beers and a fruit beer for those who don’t like fruit beers” I see what they are trying to say and I agree.
