New Belgium Old Cherry

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

Bottled. A pale amber beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet with strong notes of cherries and light notes of almonds. The flavor is sweet with notes of bread and caramel as well as lighter notes of cherries, leading to a dry bready finish.

12 fl oz bottle. Pours clear golden orange with a small white head. Aroma is mild malty, a bit oldish and a vague cherry aroma. Creamy malty flavour and texture. Mild berry fruity note, yet distinct malt flavoured. Ends mild sweet and roasted malty with a vague cherry citric touch into the finish.

Draught at the brewery. Clear orange coloured with a red gleam and a small white head. Sweet aroma of caramel and cherry stones. Fruity flavour of cherry and cheery stones with notes of marzipan. Fruity finish.

Bottle thanks to 5000: Pours a transparent copper ruby with a thin, wispy-lacing off-white head. Aroma of lightly sweet sugary cherries and a hint of grainy pale malt. Body starts with average fullness and decent sweetness and fruity cherries before a slightly doughy semi-sweet finish. Hides it’s alcohol pretty well, but could be a little fuller or have some tart balance.

12 oz bottle-pours a thin rich off white head and copper color. Aroma is initially dirty barnyard/cat. Then alternates with medium malt-caramel, medium fruit. Taste is cherry, some tart/sweet, medium malt, some herbal. Thanks to jwc215 for sharing.

Draft at New Belgium. Clear medium dark red/purple colored body with a white head. Good lacing. Flavor is aged and mild dried plum slices, some doughy, dry hops, a small bite that builds over time, noticed most in mid-palate... but there’s just this terrible manure smell that is wafting out of the glass, very earthy, heavy with soil and manure, difficult to get past. Flavor is cracker barley grains and mild, dried plums and apricots. Thankfully not sweet, but the smell ruins what would have otherwise been a decent beer.

Bottle out of Folly Pack (they know how to lure me in, bastards): Pours a ruby amber color with a decent head. The nose is lightly fruity with a solid caramel malt base. The flavor isn’t tart nor sweet nor fruity. A delicately hopped, balanced amber ale with a shy malt base and a light cherry essence which wafts over everything like it doesn’t want anything to do with the party. I’m seeing a lot of references to Fat Tire+cherry and I’ll have to say I agree, although there IS a significantly more malty base.

Bottle. Head is initially small, fizzy, white, fully diminishing. Body is clear medium amber. Aroma is lightly malty (grain), lightly to moderately yeasty (sweat, cheese, dough), with a note of detergent, hint of cherry. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter, unclean. Medium body, syrupy/watery texture, soft/lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Good grief. Highly unpleasant. I was kinda hoping this would be a passable, if overly sweet and fruity, fruit beer. It’s certainly syrupy sweet, but replace "fruity" with "cheesy and sweaty". Throw in some soap and that’s Old Cherry. I don’t understand how they could mess up a beer like this so badly. This is amazing, really.