New Belgium Lips of Faith (Dark Kriek)

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Courtesy of sebletitje. Pours deep clear copper with thin off white head. The aroma is berry fruitiness to go along with some berry and Brett-like tartness. The taste begins tart and Brett-y like followed by a pulse of berry sweetness, mild funk and berry skin tartness. It gets mild and berry tart into the finish with a sense of balance between the sweet notes and tartness.

Bottle from Bevmo. Light reddish brown with a mild sour cherry aroma and taste. I wanted something a little more exciting for the price.

22 oz bottle
Thanks go to beernbourbon for sending this wantlist beer about a month ago in a trade. It was not quite as solid as I though it was going to be but nonetheless I enjoyed it. This one needs more tartness and intensity to be more than slightly average.

Aroma / Appearance - A minimal head and clear sheen of lacing melded with the opaque cherry red body. Cherry laffy taffy, charred wood, and Tang give it a profile somewhere between a Lindeman’s sugar pop and New Glarus Belgian Red. The closest thing that springs to mind is a poor man’s Rodenbach Grand Cru.

Flavor / Palate - Tart ripe cherries give it more kick than your average fruit infused beer. A medicinal aftertaste knocks it down a peg or two. The oak comes through at times then recedes into the background. Hopefully the next release in the series has more to set it apart; this one is somewhere just above average.

Bottle at Naja’s Place. Pours a clear amber with a small off white head. Aroma is tart cherries, malt, slight oakiness. Flavor is tart cherry, malt, bread, caramel, earthy, funky, oakiness in the finish. This one seems to have a lot in common with Fat Tire, kind of like it’s a tart version of FT with cherries aged in oak. Nice, but not overly exciting.

Sampled during BA Feb Gathering at Stub & Herbs and shared by Natasha. From 22-oz bomber pours a clear reddish amber brew with an average off-white head that quickly dissipates to a thing ring. Aroma of tart cherries, a touch of oak, bread dough and some apple. Taste has a little carbonation, with flavors of golden grain bread dough, tart cherries, plums, oak and some mild yeast that is not too funky. Finish is semi-sweet at first and then turns into a tart cherry and bread dough aftertaste.

Reddish hue with an off white head. Good nose of fruit, malt and tart cherries. Smooth on the palate. Good deep dark cherry flavor with some solid oakiness. Mild sourness. Good finish. Very enjoyable beer.

Bottle. Pours a clear red with a small beige head. Lots of bubbles. Tart cherries and oak dominate the aroma. Flavor starts out malty then ends with a hint of oak and tart cherries. Very nice. I (and suprisingly) my wife really liked this one.

Pours a mostly clear, mahogany color with a fairly small, fizzy, pillowy, off-white head which is mostly diminishing and leaves minimal lace. Nose is a bit faint and simple but pleasant; notes of canned cherries, light caramel, faint yeast funk, and faint vanilla. Flavor is better with more depth; cherries are tart, more vinous, and jammy, sweet malts are more apparent and richer with caramel, vanilla, and a bit toasty, the oak is earthy and apparent slightly, the yeast funk is still underlying, the tannins and acidity are moderate. The palate is lively to fizzy, prickly, silky, and more than medium. Finishes fairly long with more oak notes and vanilla coming into play with the yeast funk still in the background and the cherries slowly diminishing into nothing. This was a curious beer; the nose and appearance were nothing but every aspect after that was solid. The tartness is great, the vinous tannins are intriguing, and the palate has a great feel. Overall, it was enjoyable and worth the try; not nearly as warm as others have, but it has been set aside for some months now. Solid NB brew.