New Belgium La Folie

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

A Mes rate: Sampled at ZBF, thanks Jim! What a cracker! A superb Flemish sour. Medium red/brown colour with a swift tan head that is attractive while it lasts. Sourish aroma full with plenty oakyness and malt. Flavour is just what I had expected from the nose but very good indeed. Acidic and sweet, fruity and sour with plenty of barnyard character and some cherry and other dark fruit. it bounces around all over the mouth and is a real wake up call for the taste buds. Lovely mouth feel. Expected dry finish. Very drinkable. Great beer.

(750ml bottle, courtesy of Kevin) Pours a cloudy reddish-brown body with a moderate beige head. Aroma of cherry, wood, vinegar, and earthiness. Flavor of tart cherry with a dry, woody finish. Excellent! Thanks again Kevin!

’02 vintage. Poured a medium to dark and clear orangish/amber color with a small sized off white head. Aromas and tastes of sour and tart cherries, light yeast, and some wood. Nice and puckering. I have a bottle at home that I will definitely spend more detailed time analyzing.

@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.

Amber-copper body is darker than I expected. Honest off-white head with above average retention for the style. Aroma explodes with oak wood character. Lova at first sniff you’ll call it. Cedar, vinegar, wood chunks, it’s an obsession. I feel like walking in a forest right now. This is more than I can handle. All kinds of little red fruits provide these admirable fruit acids to marry the balsamic. Farmy taste, nostalgic, elegant, very fruity, cherry and raspberry reminding. And that oak, marvellous oak, wood among the wood. Blue cheese hints, cider-like dryness is explosive in the finish and adds just a bit more class to a drink that really didn’t needed anymore. Perfect level of acidity for the style. Perfect medium-full body with tongue-cleaning carbonation. Great stuff, mind stimulating. Kudos to an american brewer (not that he didn’t work with the best belgians before) to reproduce such a rare and beautiful style with such elegance. And kudos to hopsrus for providing this envigorating experience.

Bottle huge massive thanks to secret santa. Aroma is tart sour fruit, loads of acidity, wood and a massive lactic acid note. Taste is similar but the acid is over powering, far too much acidity, i still drank the 750 in a mtter of minutes, but trying its hardest to be rodenback but missing the mark. Carbonation is too heavy also.

How about Flemish Super Sour? Hazy/murky rust colored beer with a small off-white fizzy head. Mostly diminishing, but leaves very nice lacing. Interesting aroma to say the very least. Cherries, basement must, cobwebs, earth, dark fruits and French or American white oak. The flavor is strictly of cherries, citric acid and wood. Medium-bodied with a watery mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Long, very acrid, dry finish. Excellent brew. Pulls up just shy of being world-class for the style. Thanks to jskendzel for this wonderful brew!

Special 10th Anniversary edition sampled on 10/13/07: Pours a clear orange amber with a well-lacing ring of white head. Sweet tart cherry and oaky nose has some slight earthy notes. Very well balanced flavor has a slightly sweet caramel malt character with a big, fresh tart acetic oaky presence toward a drier, puckering finish. A great blend (8,4,9,4,17).

Rerated alongside Panil Barriquee and Zoetzuur 10/10/05: Deep copper ruby color reveals a sweet, sugary tart cherry aroma with some vinegar. Body has lots of acidity and sugary cherry sweetness, but compared to the other two just seemed more crude and not as well balanced. Still a fine beer, but it’s tough to compete with more authentic versions.

Original rating 1/13/03: Dark copper with a thick off-white head. Strong tart, oaky aroma with sweet fruity notes. The flavor is very tart but smooth with a nice woody character. This is an amazing American replication of the Flemish style (8,4,8,4,16).