New Belgium Lips of Faith - Fall Wild Ale

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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NOTF 2010. Amber coloured muddy pour. The nose is a little bit fruity with a touch of lightly berryish character. Fairly sweet with a mix of yeasty spice and unusual fruitiness. A mixture of herbal and spicy character that reminds me of some heather ales - not all that wild-tasting per se, but it’s fresh and tasty nonetheless.

Draft. Murky brown color, scant white head. Aroma of dusty and sour prunes, dates, raisins. Taste is sour grapes, no pun intended! Moderate funk and dark fruits very nice.

Tap. Pours hazy, tawny brown with thin, fizzy off-white head; decent retention and minimal lacing. Aroma is toasted, caramel, and bread malt, figs, floral hops, and light leather. Flavor is malt dominate with some supporting dark fruit esters and faint hops; slight leather towards the end with a dry, breast finish. Medium/full body, low carbonation, medium warmth.

On tap at the airport. Pours a clear mahogany with off-white head. Disipates somewhat quickly with no real lacing. Flavor of malt. Crisp mouthfeel. The sour is in the background and very nice.

Wild yeast aroma. Deep copper in color. Funky wild yeast taste blending to a fantastic dubbel-like taste. This is probably the best New Belgium beer I’ve had! Notes: Brewery visit during ’09 GABF

Pour is deep red with white head, aroma brought notes of some biscuit, caramel, some bretty funk, hints of fruity lemon, some earth in there as well. Taste is a mix of funky brett, caramel, some spice, earthy notes in there, finishing fairly dry.

I remember back when the Lips of Faith series was limited to La Folie and the occasional release, like Eric’s Ale. Now every time I go to the local beer store, or even better, when I visit New Belgium, there’s a new selection of LoF beers, each a significant departure from the last. The Fall Wild is no exception - an iconic entry into the Lips of Faith line, with its characteristic dark, creeping flavors and grimacingly-good palate. The nose is simultaneously dark, husky and sweet, and accented with sour, almost vinegar notes. The flavor adds several more layers of complexity to the nose, featuring a coke sweetness, generous raisin and fig sugars, and a nice alcohol bite that incentivizes drinkers to sit and really mull the flavor. Plum abounds in the latter half of the taste, and gives the drinker all the flavorful benefit of an imperial stout without the deep charred or bitter flavors that come with almost-burnt malts. A long howling flavor of raisin set on a wave of sharp alcohol produces a long, relaxing aftertaste that leaves the tongue anesthetized almost as much as the drinker. Without the sharp bitterness of the stout, the Fall Wild makes an excellent Fall warmer, a modified version of the beloved Winter warmer.

Bottle on 12/11/2010 courtesy of BrewEngineer. Slightly hazy mahogany body with a small off-white head. Sweet fruit and light tart and funk aroma. Sweet fruit, spice, light cherry and banana with a slightly sour touch. Medium body with moderately high carbonation.

Draft at Red’s. Poured a clear ruddy dark brown color. The head was tall and tan with decent retention and lacing. Smelled of plum, cherry, raisin, cinnamon, and coriander. Light to medium bodied and slightly sweet with minimum bitterness. Tasted of fleshy fruit (ala pear) and a hint of Pez candy.