New Belgium Lips of Faith (Erics Sour Peach Ale)

Draft at Collins Pub. Pours a murky to opaque orange with a dense and creamy tannish head up top. Nice saurkraut and peaches nose. Creamy medium body with firm carb that still knows how to stay out of the way. Minerals come up on the mid-palate, but peaches and a nice lactic kick still hang out there in a huge way. Nice big sharp fruity lactic kick finishes things off. Great, great beer.

First beer of the new year, in a growler courtesy of BDR. Hazy gold color with no head. Very light aroma of peach skin. The taste turns a bit musty, like an old cellar. Some wheat and sweet malt. Peach is noticeable, but not dominant. Not really tart or sour at all.

Tap at Pizza Port Carlsbad. Very pale straw coloured beer with a bit of haziness. Very peachy nose with a soft wheaty spiciness as well. It’s lightly tart, but it comes across like a Jolly Rancher in both the sweetness and the artificial lactic tartness. In spite of this, it’s pretty refreshing and goes down pretty easily.

Draught at the Bistro. Golden-orange pour, with a thin white head. Sour, acidic aroma with distinct chardonnay character. The flavor has big fruity, peachy, vinous notes, with a biting acidity, though the fruit is not completely overcome with sourness. Quite refreshing, with a crisp, medium body. Just enough sourness, without pounding your palate.

20oz hand bottle. A rather thick and syrupy pour produces a bright, hazy copper/gold beer with a thin ring of white around the edge of the glass and little appearance of carbonation. Not to worry... a gentile swirl brings the beer to life. The aroma presents itself as a slightly funky Belgian Ale with a hint of musty fruit skin. Light notes of peach and apricots with some pear and tart yeast. A very pleasant Belgian style malt profile really hangs over any funkiness and acidity... although those characteristics are present. Acidity asserts itself more on the tongue than on the nose. Apple cider vinegar. Old and musty peaches. A nice, heavy malt profile mingles well with the tart yeast and fruit. Everything seems to be in balance here. Not overly tart, fruity, acidic or malty. All the elements are in check... which is fine, but I was hoping for a little more acidity and funk. A pleasant lacto creaminess throughout. Rich and creamy texture leads to incredible drinkability. Thanks Sebastian!

Pours a hazy gold with a thin white head. The nose is tart and funky with peach sweetness. The flavor is the same with a wonderful oak finish.

FoBAB 2008 offering: #814 - Clear golden hue, white head, aromas a little more subtle than the other NB wild offerings. Fresh peach and sourness dominate, with some other subtle fruity sweetness mixing in as well. Bretty funk and light wood notes are there, but aren’t in prominent roles. Quite sessionable, a nice funk and sourness stay on the palate lingering very nicely.

Tap @ PP-Carlsbad. Pours clear gold with a shortlived white head. Fresh peach aroma with a little wheat/grass aroma. Taste is tart peaches, but not overwhelming to the point of puckering. The peach flavor tastes fresh and real, not canned or dried. Dry, somewhat sweet finish. It was very close, but I liked this more than La Folie.