New Belgium La Folie

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

Bottle @ the DCVAMD Gathering. Gettin on in the night. . .haha, my notes say "fruity", but fortunately I dont take long notes and do remember this one very well. It pours a dark amber with strong peachy/auburn tints throughout, small white head, good retention. Aroma leans more to some darker fruits, raisins, some sour blackberries, black cherries, pungent yeast. IMO, the American brewed flemish sour, proved the most funky of the day, though it hardly means much seeing as how the yeast strain was taken from Belgium (which I learned from Joris). I also never got to try the PP Le Woody. Moving on, the flavor is a mix of what I can best describe as ALMOST spoiled fruits: strawberries, tart cherries and pomegranate seeds. Deliciously yeasty and sour to the extreme, this one had a musty, earthy, woody feel to it as well, especially on the finish. Yes, I do believe I will be trading for some of these. A touch more body and this would be near perfect.

Uber thanks to BDR for sharing this mana. Murky brown color with a very tall head that quickly collapses to nothing. Outstanding aroma of sweet, sour and tart cherries. Some oak and yeast, as well as toasted pie crust. The cherries merge into a primarily tart flavor. Plenty of oak and vanilla. Lots of sugar (brown, candi) and caramel. Very heavily carbonated. Pure, unadulterated deliciousness.

Beer #713 (My Lucky Number):
2002 Bottle #3370
Reddish amber colour with dark brown highlights and a thin tan head. Trillions of small bubbles rise from the bottom if you look real close. Sweet, sour, pungent aroma which makes the mouth water. Some sour fruit smells mixed with nice fruit tastes and a maltiness which is fairly noticeable. Light-bodied; Very sour flavour that shows some character and complexity all the way through the finish. The beer coats the mouth and leaves a nice flavourful sourness at the end. Some of the flavours remind me of raspberries or pungent cherries. Some slight woody and peppery flavours finish out the beer, although they are a bit subtle. Overall, I really liked this beer, and I wish I could have it every day. I thought that this one would be my first 5.0, but the depth in the taste really just isn't there for me to declare this as perfect. This style is really growing on me, and this is a great example of the beer. I have to thank CaptainCougar for sending me this one...i'm really lucky to try it! Cheers Tom :-)

2002 botte # 0219. Clear light red very thin head and some lacing. Strong sweet flower/sour cherry aroma with some woodsy notes. Very acidic flavors with some woody slight ly chaulky notes. Of the La Folie bottlings I have tasted my favorite is the 2002. This should get even better with age. Thanks to my friend Doug for this one.!

Oh dear God. Can I please have this every day til I die? Dark brown and full of sour smells. I get lemon, peach and orange bursting through. So sour on the palate. I get every type of sour flavor I’ve ever had in a beer. Like beer and lemon juice combined. Tom, the trade was worth it for this beer alone. Thanks again.

2002 bottle. Golden red, brown color with nice head. Clear. The aroma is sweet/sour and fruity with acetic quite lively. Cherries and wood are also there. The flavor of the 2002 is more tart compared than the 2004, but it is balanced by the fruit, funk, and sweetness. There are apple flavors, wood, yeast, oranges and it is pretty dry. If Flemish sour ales are your thing, find a friend who can get you some or take a vacation to Fort Collins! It’s only for sale at the brewery! Great beer!!Thanks Doug!!

Bottle 2004 #1971. So, I have 4 bottles of this beer. 3 in the cellar, and one in the frig "just in case". I decide to pop my "just in case" bottle, drink it, and not rate it. Maybe save the rating for a milestone rating. F**K that. After one sip, I knew that to drink this beer and not rate it is a crime so heinous that I should be strung up! My God, what a wonderful beer! Tawny brown body with a lasting head of off white bubbles. Nose has elements of chocolate, antacids, and wet leaves. The real pleasure of this beer is not the nose-it is the taste. Notes of funky geuze, sourness, tannins, oak, wet old leaves (like the way a forest smells when you walk in it after a rain), acidity, tart black cherry, unsweet dry apples, and must. The finish is slightly sweet in a way that beautifully balances the sourness. Those that know me know that I am not a fan of the New Belgium brewery. I was expecting this beer to be a high 3, but I am more than surprised. Just an excellent beer experience all around. I can’t come close to describing the sublime genius of this beer. My first overall 20 ever. Wow.

Batch 05-3149 or maybe 05-3144. Poured lighter than the Panil, more of a pink burgundy color with haziness but no sedimentation. The head was present, more of a ring of head around the eges of the glass. The lacing was decent, not outstanding. On the thinner side of Flemish Sours in appearance. The aroma was solid, tart cherries and citric tartness came through most strongly. Tangerines after a few minutes. This thing got better in aroma and flavor as it warmed. The flavor was all of the aroma (tart cherries most prominent), vinegar was notably lacking, essentially absent relative to its peers (this came across more like a fruit lambic than a flemish sour, imo). Definitely sour and tart, but not incredibly gueuze funky (like the Panil). Light wood notes, but again subdued. The mouthfeel was light for its style, but carbonated and subsequently zingy with an additional acidic character. Re-rate, bottle 05-221 four year old beer as beer number two in a killer July 09 Super Secret Sour State Line Tasting (SSSSLT) featuring (first to last by my counts): Supplication, Consecration, La Folie, Dissident, Cuvee de Castleton, Red Poppy, Lambic de Hill, Festina Lente, Panil. Bottle popped on opening, man this thing held its ground, just beautiful. Full malty copper clear color. Funky for sure in the aroma with some wood notes. Flavor followed, nice tart bite, strong tart cherries, finishing with a firm sawdust touch. High carbonation in the mouth, lively, spritzy, red grapes alive with warmer temperatures. A beautiful brew and a big thanks to Robert who I believe originally gave this one to me anyway!!! Rock on, SSSSLT’s!!!! Re-rated in Sept of 09 as a "Lips of Faith" bottled brew, not nearly as impressive, perhaps I wasn’t in the zone for a sour, don’t know: extremely sour and tart, acetic, cherrie flavors were harsh (but the Avery Sui Generis was had right before it, which rocked). Holding the rating, but with this one, the 4.6 could be fairly challenged!