New Belgium La Folie

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

On tap at Papago. Very approachable for a brown sour. Pours a deep shade of plum with a trim beige head. Smells of tart cherries and oak. Builds in flavor with notes of baker’s cocoa, caramel, cherry juice, figs, and lemons. Well done.

Consumed at 50 degrees. Smells of oak and fruity sour notes. Then the first drink of lemony, citrus, with a slight hanging oakey bitterness. Unfortunately, I feel this is a little overhyped. It has a complex palate with quite a bit going on, but ultimately unbalanced. To each his own.

On tap at Papago. It pours far darker than I ever would have expected. Absolutely no head. Aroma is of a deep, nice sour reminiscent of Rodenbach with lots of figgy and chocolate notes. Taste is much less sour than I thought it would be, but really clean and nice, again much like Rodenbach, and with some of those chocolatey notes. A really nice sour beer, but I think I built it up in my mind more than I should have.

On tap at Firkin Fest. Hazy red pour, pleasant tart aroma. Flavor was excellent, tart cherry, woody and finished with a little good sour lingering funk. Very good stuff.

2002 bottle courtesy of Hophead22 and also shared with DuffmanSW at Hangar 24. Cloudy reddish copper color with a thin white film. Aroma is very tart with layers of compllexity underneath. Earthy and woody, tart fruits like green apple and sour cherries, Brown sugar and caramel. Flavor reflects all of this and the age creates a touch of oxidation which actually makes it better I think. Medium bodied with lower than expected carbonation. A really great sour

Lots of pressure behind the cork when opening. Big well formed foamy head that doesn’t diminish at all. Fantastic aroma that leaves no doubt as to what type of ale this is. Nice dark amber body with fair amount of carbonation. Fantastically sour flavor of green apples and citrus, with a more subdued earth flavor that’s noticeable and perhaps a rounded finish of a hint of wood. There is an ever so slight sourness that lingers on the palate after drinking. Just enough to remind you of what you had been drinking. I could get used to drinking this on a regular basis, which may be a bad thing considering that I know I can pick this up in the SF Bay Area at several locales. It lost appearence points due to the head being a little too volatile upon pouring into the glass.

C&PLYFOTD: 2008 bottle. Dark brass copper pour, thin sheets of lacing and a nice head. Nose is tart, with dark fruits, caramel, some oats, and a dry smooth base. Flavor has thick tart notes, with cherries, rich brown sugar, heavy notes of plum. Rich, balanced, very good.

On tap at Papago Brewing. Pours a nice reddish brown color with a small off white head. Aroma is sour, acidic, vinegary, cherries and oak. Flavor is a very acidic sour cherry taste with hints of oak and a little funk. Very drinkable and the sourness is mouth watering, I love this stuff it’s great. Really impressed.