New Belgium Bottleworks 10th Anniversary Wild Ale

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

Pours a cloudy brown, thin tan head. Obviously, sour notes are most predominate in the nose. But also some tangy sour fruit as well. The flavor certainly follows through with sour fruits, a bit of vinegar, and even a touch of sweet browned sugar as well.

This was one of many rare wild/sour/lambic/gueuze I drank over the weekend and while this was not the best it was one of the most sour. The color seemed a lot lighter than La Folie and a little closer to Le Terroir. It smells super sour but without the hint of glue and lemons I get from la Folie. The flavor is puckery green apples and gives me sour gueuze face. I prefer Le Terroir but this was a nice blend and certainly quite sour. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 09-22-2009 01:08:21

Stone Sour Fest 2009 Poured pale amber. Light nose, citrus, cherries. Taste was a great blend of sourness with funk. light fruitiness and vinegar balance out quite nicely.

Pours deep copper with no head. Very effervescent and lively on the palate. Tart with citrus and other fruits with decent lactic acidity. Excellent oak finish.

On tap at stone sour fest 09. Cloudy dark orange color. fruity malt, strawberries, citrus, sourness, herbal notes, and some funk. Tasty sour.

Stone Sour Fest 09. Didn’t take detailed notes, but the few I have suggest I enjoyed this one. General sour qualities, nicely done.

On tap and from a 750mL Bottle. Moderately transparent, ruddy copper color with a thin head of wispy white. Acidic fruity esters abound in the aroma, suggesting strawberry, papaya, and hints of musty lemon. Supporting layers of rustic funk add a mild cheesy note and depth to the sourness. Mild-moderately acetic, but balanced nicely by a dryer, gueuze-like funk. Medium light bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a moderate acidity and cleansing dryness. The tongue puckering induced by the acid helps add a pleasant perception of body. Crisp and acidic up front on the palate, with a nice balance between puckering lactic tartness and some sweeter, fruitier, acetic sourness. The acids work well with the malt base to enhance the perception of red berry flavors. The flavors are outstanding initially, but begin to fall off a bit more quickly than I’d like, forcing my to keep sipping in order to appreciate the sour red berries that come out right away on the palate. Having this back-to-back with Love doesn’t help, as it really highlights the lack-of-finish by comparison. Clean finish, with a mild, fruity tartness left lingering on the palate.

Tap at Stone Sour 09. I will admit to being unimpressed with this one. Nose is an unappealing Colorado graininess with a very generic sour quality - like Cable Car. Quite sour, but generically so, to reiterate. Yeasty, lemony, only mild fruitiness. I will say in print that after reading DaSilky’s rating, I feel like I missed something. But as it happens, this is what I’ve got.