New Belgium La Folie

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

I’m really starting to enjoy this type of beer. Pours hazy yellow with creamy off white head. Aroma of citrus, light pine, and sourness. Big sourness flavor with hints of citrus throughout. To sum it up, sweet, sour, and refreshing.

75cl. thanks hopdog. Side by side comparison with Aardmonnikk-Earthmonk, Rodenbach Grand Cru, and NG Enigma. Clear light cherry red. Musty, slightly tart aroma, More gueze like aroma than Rodenbach or Aardmonnikk Taste musty, tart and not as sweet as the aardmonnikk or the rodenbach. Almost imperceptible difference between the La Folie and the Rodenbach Grand Cru except the La Folie had a little more mustiness and was slightly less sweet. Not quite as good as the Aardmonnikk but close. I’d drink it any day. Wish I had a Cuvee de Castleton to compare.

Oak aged barrel on tap at Belmont Station’s Pucker Fest. Nice, chestnut hue with a nose of candy and fruits but more oaky than other tastes I’ve had in the past. Authentic Belgian sour flavor with a sour patch kids finish. Great beer, though my tummy burned a little afterward.

Bottle 07-3215. Unfortunately my state’s antiquated laws on alcohol means I don’t always get to try some of the better beers. But luckily I was able to get a hold of this. I mainly got it because I’d never had a barrel aged beer but had always wanted to try one. Then I realized it was a Oud Bruin style. I’ve always been a big fan of lambics, in particular geueze. So I was pleasantly surprised with this beer. I can see that the tartness might be a bit much for some. But I really enjoy the tartness. One of my favorite wines is a tart raspy white wine called vihno verde. Very complex in taste, a nice sweetness mixed in with the very strong tartness, with an interesting woody finish.

Bottle CS 2532 from my first trade with Kevin. Thanks! Pours a beautiful garnet red with a thin dissipating off beige head. Aroma is quite nice- sourness, apple, cherries, oak. Ultra fine and lively carbonation. Medium bodied with a dry texture. Initial flavor is sweet with notes of cherry, vanilla, and plum. You immediately get whacked with a huge mouth puckering tartness, followed by dry oak. This has just the right amount of sweetness. The oak carries through to an somewhat overly acidic finish, creating a dry and peppery bite that lingers. The beer was very well done, but way too acidic and tart for my personal tastes. I am going to struggle finishing this 750, as this is too much beer for one person to drink.

Poured a garnet red when held up to the light. Large, but soft, foamy head resting on top that quickly dissolved to a spotted film. Nose is very sour and I love sour. I can’t quite place what the baseness of the sourness is without a taste but I know I like it. Flavor is a wallop full of sourness. Just a bucket full of sour cherries. I love ripe cherries but never really liked cherry flavored food stuffs but I am really digging this beer. Getting some tannins from wood too. Mouthfeel is full and vinuous. Puckeringly sour. The sourness actually creates a bit of deception and makes this beer feel lighter than it realy is. I would suggest serving it cold and drinking slowly to allow additonal cherry flavors come out as the beer warms.

On tap at the 2006 Portland International Beer Festival. I liked it so much, it was just about the only beer I drank at the festival. I haven’t done that since the 1993 Rogue Brewery festival in Newport where the only beer I drank was the first keg of Sierra Nevada Celebration available outside the brewery! I was disappointed that La Folie wasn’t at the 2007 PIB.

Draft, Stumblin Munk. Brown ruby, nice off white head. Aroma is sour cherries, oak, caramel. Has a very sweet taste, cherry, alcohol, sour, very oaky. Interesting for beer.