New Belgium La Folie

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

Pre-Great Taste sampling at 1FastSti’s house


Thanks to hezron for popping this one open late in the night. It made a fitting nightcap to a night of excellent, amazing beers. It also made a great finish because after this one, I couldn’t taste a thing for the next four hours. This definitely puts the Sour in Flemish Sour. The one opened at the tasting was bottle 98 of the 2002 batch.

Aroma / Appearance - Sour, funky cherries, sweaty socks and musty old books are the hallmark scents of this aroma. I almost imagined a cedar note hiding in there as well. The huge head settled down to a half-finger and then soon to nothing. Eventually all that was left was a murky cinnamon colored liquid.

Flavor / Palate - There is only one way to describe this beer. Sour. You either love it or you hate it but you can’t miss it. The first sip was not bad, the second intense and by the third it felt like I’d come down with either a serious case of strep or just consumed four pounds of Sour Patch Kids. If there was anything live in your throat beforehand, it is dead now. I fall in the camp of those who love it for that intensity. A very one of a kind beer as far as I know, it is worth experiencing at least once.

Bottle, thanks to Eugene. Deep brown pour with red tint. Foamy beige head. Nose of cherries and wood. A little must and dust in a good way. Sour lemon notes as well and some metallic aromas. Bright, with a tingly mouthfeel. Crisp dry finish. Great beer.

bottle. dark hazy brown pour with two fingers of off white head. very perfumy aroma, dark fruits and holy sourness. very tart and fruity. cherry burns the chest. good for style but this is a tough one to drink.

750ml. bottle 2004(#5182) thanks to Joeec5 for sharing. Auburn color with a thick tan head. Amazing aroma of tart cherries and cedar. Reminds me of Rodenbach Grand Cru a bit. Flavor was sweet and sour cherries(mostly sour), with some wine like qualities. Heavily carbonated with an extremely dry finish that makes you want to keep taking sips. Slight burning sensation in my throat as it goes down. Damn fine beer.

I adore this beer. It poured a hazy, medium copper color with a small, creamy, off-white, mostly lasting head. The aroma was tart, inviting and complex. It contained a light malty note of toasted grain; light hop notes of herbs, chamomile and lemon; a moderate yeast note of cellar funk; and tons of fruity, bright miscellaneous esters—wood, peach, cherry, white grape juice, green apple, balsamic vinegar and a trace of copper. The flavor was moderatly sweet and grippingly acidic with an average-length, moderately sweet, heavily acidic finish that sends a tingle down the spine. The body was medium, the texture was creamy and the carbonation was lively. This is a beautiful, complex and colorful beer. Definitely not to be missed!

Thanks to Sprinkle for this in a Rater to Rater trade earlier this year. After a loud pop of the cork,with no spillage, I poured this into a large goblet.It is a honey/caramel color with no foam to speak of. But really,who gives a shit what this brew looks like??? It has a wonderful sour cherry fruit aroma with just enough of the oak to give it yet more complexity. As if it needed it. A year ago I wpuld have hated this brew but now I have a huge respect for it. The sour apple,cherry notes are insane with a strong sour blast on the tonsils.

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!

Thanks to shuajw for this beer in trade. Pours amber-brown with an off-white head. Nose is tart cherry, vinegar, dark fruit, and some funk. Fruity and slight vinegar come through most. Flavor is a brett blast with a definitive exploration of the areas of the tongue that sense sour. Next comes vinegar, more brett, barrel, tart vinuous notes, and some fruit. Some fruit is there, but the brett and vinegar guard it. Interesting beer, but the nose is much better than the flavor. Medium-bodied and not bad.