New Belgium La Folie

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

Bottle sampled at the Ratebeer meet-up 01.27.08 at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse. Beer courtesy of lukin013.

Orange ruby, white head. Aroma is tangy, tart, peppery. Flavor is the same and has a really nice tart, sour, tangy bite. Top notch!

Pours a red ruddy brown with a two finger thick creamy light tan head. The aroma is sour, acidic, smells like muscadines, fruity and sweet, a little mellow. The flavor was tart, acidic, a little sweet, definitely sour grape, wonderful flavor and aroma. The palate was definitely tart to say in the least full with a sandy carbonation. Lasting tart finish with some grapes. This was a very complex brew. Had a lot more depth than most sours I’ve had. More levels and layers in the flavor and aroma, a lot more distinguishable parts.

The color was amber red. The head was thin, creamy, and fizzy. The aroma was sour, grape, and yeast. The flavor was sour, fruit, aged, and yeast. The palate was smooth. The finish was tart.

I tried this beer at the New Belgium tap room along with 3 other samplers of their ales. This was the ale I had been hearing about and wanted to give it an honest review. This was my first sour ale and I was warned by the staff there that you will either love it or hate it - so be prepared. My first sip was WOAH - that was sour! A sweet yet somewhat vinegary taste to it. This stuff woke up my mouth. After a 2nd and 3rd sip I had gotten more used to the sourness and felt compelled to finish the glass. I bought a bottle to take to Cincinnati to share with some beer geeks there. Word of warning, If you transport this stuff by airline and open it in a much lower altitude be warned - this stuff can explode once uncorked! I lost over 1/2 the bottle when I opened it in Cincinnati. Needless to say, my friends had never tried a sour beer before and they had a much stronger reaction to it than I did. They didn’t want more but simply said it was "interesting". A tad pricey to buy a big bottle of but if you want to try something different - try this.

the best beer i have ever had! thanks to Silphium for sharing this amazing beer! 2006 bottle #3538 pours reddish/ruddy brown with slight off-white head..aroma is very similar to Rodenbach’s Grand Cru...massive blackberry, vinous concord grape, vinegar, and sour must...flavor is massively sour/tart...begins with a punch of concord grape, vinegar (seems like it has been aged perhaps)..similar to a fine wine or champagne...very woodsey, acidic...puckering finish!! SUPERB!! enveloping mouthfeel, soft yet strong and sour as hell! almost a tear-jerker! almost perfect...

@San Diego Brewing [CA]-on tap-pours a foamy off white head and reddish brown color. Aroma is tart fruit-cherries. Taste is tart/fermented fruit-cherries, vinegar, some spicy.

An amber pouir with a gooey lace. W very sour cherrry aroma and a hint of cinnamon. A very sour flavor as well that is very black cherry. Slim palate but pretty good mouthfeel. Pretty good for the style, a style I like more everytime I try it.

750 ml(10/07)(courtesy of a shared bottle with RSRIZZO)-A huge off white head on a dark amber body. Aroma of sourness and tartness. Taste of the same. It fits the style perfectly. Interesting beer to try but not my style.