New Belgium La Folie

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

My immediate reaction to the La Folie was something like "Oh no! I do not like this!" Of course, as things usually go with great beers, I started warming up to the stuff and, eventually, began not only to like it, but love it. Once I got used to the weird champagne and wine qualities and the lip-puckering taste, I realized that La Folie was just a damn fine brew.

Thanks to theisti for the bottle. Clear ruby/brown color with a large head. Good lacing and retention. Aroma is balsamic vinegar and tart cherries. Taste is beyond funky tart with cherries, dust and wood. Great beer.

Very vinegar acidic initial aroma to the beer. Leaves little to no head in the glass. Taste is initially sour acidity, but develops under tones of vinegar, oak, a very, very slight malt, and cherry. Not overly complex, as I think the acidity overwhelms the other aspects of the beer for the most part, but its intensity and challenging nature make the beer fun to try. 636315 ---re-rate--- May 08 bottle: Aroma is sour, red fruit, lactic. Fruity and fizzy. Lots of cherry and dull fruit in the nose (probably cereal malt) that is still somehow vibrant. Taste is very oaky, red fruit, malty and some cereal. Very tart. Finish is slick and a bit buttery, but a lot of tartness, some abrasive sourness, and finally some crispness. This is awesome. What was I thinking in my first rating? 848517

Bottle tasted at Saarlander’s SoCal tasting with saarlander, cquiroga, dirty_martini & kittiesandbeer, JohnC and others. Small fine bubble head, cloudy amber color. Wow, the funky sour aroma hits your nose with the first sniff. You would wonder if your just about to try a gueze if it weren’t for the color.= Great over-the-top sour flavor. 8,4,8,4,17:4.1 1/24/07: Tried again at the new Liars Club. Amber red color. Small microbubble head. Sour lacto aroma. Slick mouthfeel. Lightly sour, not as sour as I remembered it. Malty aroma. 8,3,8,4,17:4.0

On tap. Medium brown in color with ruby highlights and a thin tan head. Aroma of sour cherries, oak, and funk. Hard to explain the taste, it’s sour with hints of fruit, mostly cherries, and a nice oak finish that ended very crisp. Excellent beer that I would recommend to anyone.

Murkiesh red/brown color with no head. Aroma is quite sour and woody. Flavor is very sour with strong hints of wood. Very well balanced.

WOW! WOW! WOW! I had the pleasure of trying this on draft at Falling Rock Tap House in Denver. AWESOME!!!!! I love this beer. Sour and tart, very Rodenbach-like. Deep red color and aroma of sour fruit. I could have drank this all night, but at Falling Rock - so many great beers and never enough time.

On tap at the Tap Room in Denver, Co. This was my first Sour Ale. I was blown away. Although I could drink only one. The flavor got to me right away. I don’t have much to compare it to but the uniqueness is how it earned a high ranking. I will keep my eyes open for more.