New Belgium La Folie

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

Bottled sample via (and shared with) oakbluff. Deep red in colour with medium carbonation. Strong aromas of sour cherry, wood, lemon, and some bready malts. Focused sour cherry flavors, along with notes of lemon, munich malts, a bit of earth, and vinegar. Medium bodied with a refreshing sourness. Excellent stuff.

750ml Caged/Corked Batch 07-1315 Got a big POP! when opened, I knew somthing was up. Poured into a chalice a medium mahongy color, highly carbonated, nice two-finger foamy off-white head, which leaves some small islands and lots of sticky lacing through out the drink. The nose is malty, tangy/sour, woodsy, figs, raisins, plums, and some caramel. The taste is malty, big dose of carbonation, tangy/sour, good dose of dark fruit, a slight sweetness on the lips, and caramel. The finish is slightly dry and tangy. Medium body, a well rounded brew. Drinkable, this Flanders is more soury than say a Duchness De Bourgne (sorry on the spelling), but still enjoyable. I’m glad I finally got a chance to try it out, thanks Bill.

Pours ruby red, mohogany head. Bottle# 7/684388 Aroma good woody / oaky aroma, yeasty and fruity (cherry). Taste, this is sour all over, if not a fan of the style you might want to overllook and really get into the complexity of the beer itself. Taste starts off with some sweetness and is followed by a wave of sourness. The oak gives the beer a light apple/cider note, but overtaken by some tart cherry. I am not a huge fan of sour beers, but I must give credit to New Belgium. This one is true to the style, and could be the US equivalent of Rodenbach

Pour is a dark reddish brown. This really is an incredible sour ale, quite intense. Sour apple, sweet black cherries, lemon grass, funk, various berries, and oak. It really is very good if you like sours. Great clean mouthfeel, huge flavor, and complex. Must try.

Bottle brought home from the Brewery: Let me start by saying WOW. This is a great beer. This is not a beer your going to want to drink everyday, but for a special occasion, this one takes the cake. I shared this with my buddy Mike who is a Sour fiend and he concurs, this beer Rocked. It poured a brown color with lots of thin head and carbonation. The aroma is dark fruits, sugary sweet, oak, sour, tart, raspberry, wood, wonderful. The flavor was very sour and very tart but a clean finish. This beer has made me want more. I’ve searched high and low all around home and cannot find it anywhere. I’ve been having dreams about this one. It’s a must try and an awesome beer. This beer qualifies as my first 5.0 beer.

Draught.l Low white and quickly disappearing head. Very dark brown almost black body. Tart sour crisp aroma. More lemon than grapefruit flavor. A lot of body. Low carbonation. Long sour but not too acidic aftertaste.

OMFG! Seriously?!? New Belgium??? On tap at Stone. WAY not what I expected when the glass was put before me. This was way too flavorful, way too sour, and way too "out there" for a big brewery like New Belgium. Smell is super sour, tart, tongue tingling. Serious salivation going on in anticipation. Twaang! Pungent taste. Not one of the sweet ones. It has a flat spot in the middle that added to the complexity in the mouth. Congratulations on breaking the stereotype of the big brewery always making safe beers. Other NB beers have been really good. This is awesome.

750 mL bottle shared by Alraomon. Thanks Sean! Bottle # 3/08 892. Pours a hazy brownish orange with a medium head that leaves specks of lacing. Aroma has lots of funk with notes of berry, citrus, butterscotch and vanilla. Sour funky taste with berry and melon notes. Almost burning sensation at the back of the throat, as if it were heat from the alcohol or overly spiced, though the taste suggests neither. Full bodied.