In terms of American craft breweries, New Belgium was one of the first to make beer on a grand scale. And even then, they only shipped to a certain number of states. Today they have (along with folks like Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams) become a staple amongst beer lovers and proven that with some diligence you can make a great living selling good beer. Though I have not had the luxury of going myself, I have also heard they have one of the cleanest and most well put together breweries in America. You can see a snippet here put together by Draft Magazine. For me personally, I began my journey with craft beer through New Belgium years ago. I was very fond of their Sunshine Wheat and used to travel over in to Kansas to buy it specifically. I still think it’s pretty phenomenal to be honest with you. The La Folie, however, is a completely different beer experience altogether. It is part of their Lips of Faith series which is a small lineup of beers that have traditionally been brewed for in-house consumption only. More recently, though, these have been made available to the public. La Folie represents a style of beer that is relatively new here in the United States: the Sour Ale. Much similar to the Duchess de Bourgogne (which I reviewed way back in session #7), this beer takes sour seriously. I say in the video they should call this a tart ale and that’s the truth. You can really feel your mouth pucker the second you take a drink. A friend even described it as tasting like sour cherry Nerds candy – which is not too far off track. In the end, this one finishes a bit too tart for me. And though I paired this with some amazing cheeses (Fourme d’Ambert and Humboldt Fog), perhaps it will go with something else better. Any ideas? Shoot me an e-mail…
For a larger HD experience click here.
This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Cocteau Twins
Brewery: New Belgium
Beer: La Folie
Style: Sour Ale (Flanders)
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
ABV: 6%
Rating: 84/100
Posted by Dave on December 14, 2009 at 8:40 PM
Good stuff, this is the first one I’ve watched. Good info and I enjoy the addition of the cheese pairing in there. La Folie is an intense beer. At first I didn’t think I liked it, but as soon as the bottle was gone I found myself craving another drink. That said, I don’t know if there is a difference, but I enjoy the La Folie from the corked and caged bottles more.
Posted by Drunk-Monkey on December 14, 2009 at 10:46 PM
OK, now I really want cheese.
Posted by thehopry on December 14, 2009 at 11:39 PM
Yeah, I really love good cheese. I hate to admit it but most of the time I just eat it by itself.