Feature Beer Friday! - New Belgium La Folie

And we're back... I ran out of new reviews right before the Beer Bloggers Conference, and just had the opportunity to get back on the radio with the Me And My Big Mouth radio show, which took over for Raise A Glass... so of course we did what I do best, drank some beers.  And we reviewed some beers, so Feature Beer Friday! is back!  

Up first is one that should be in Louisiana soon, the New Belgium La Folie, a sour brown ale that's part of their Lips Of Faith series. It was actually part of their initial Louisiana release, but supplies didn't last long at all.  The good news is that it should be on its way back, to replace the Pluot and Paardebloem in the Lips Of Faith lineup. The last I heard it was "in transit" so there's a good sign.  

Here's what they have to say about the 6.0% abv brew: "La Folie Wood Aged Beer is our original wood-conditioned beer, resting in French Oak barrels between one and three years before being bottled. Peter Bouckaert came to us from Rodenbach, home of the fabled sour red. Our La Folie emulates the spontaneous fermentation beers of Peter's beloved Flanders with sour apple notes, a dry effervescence, and earthy undertones.

Beginning in 2013 we'll do a single bottling of La Folie for the year. Collect the 22-oz. unique-to-2013 designed bottle and start a yearly wood-aged collection of goodness."

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), and Kevin Cowan.

Serving: 22 oz. bottle, labeled 2013.

Appearance: Brenton described it as a "beautiful ruby red."

Aroma: Sour, tart, rich with a strong malt base too.  Brenton picked up a hint of oak, as well as fruits like cranberries and cherries.   

Taste: Puckering, like a "plum that's gone sour" as Jay described it. The rich malt base is still here, no hops at all, but that's not what this beer is about.   

Mouthfeel: Puckering, that's all you need to know here.

Overall: An awesome beer, and maybe my favorite of the Lips Of Faith series.  This will be one of the go-to sour beers for the beer geeks out there once it arrives in Louisiana.  Jay said this beer "is as if Tinkerbell's pixie dust was a sour fun dip."  I don't think you want to miss out on that.


Overall Rating: 87.75
My Rating: 88

Grapes & Grain - August 23rd - Benefiting The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

If anyone is looking to support a good cause AND drink some good beer, I have found the perfect event for you!  The Louisiana chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be holding the Grapes & Grain fundraiser featuring craft beer, wines, and food from some of the best area residents.  The event takes place on August 23rd at Benedict's Plantation in Mandeville. 

Tickets are $50 for General admission and $100 for VIP, and can be purchased here:  http://louisiana.cff.org/grapesandgrain

You can get updates by liking the page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Grapes-and-Grain/372013589512372?ref=hl

And here’s the Times Picayune article about it:  http://www.nola.com/community/st-tammany/index.ssf/2013/08/grapes_grain_fundraiser_to_ben.html

The craft beer list looks to be as follows:

Chafunkta

New Belgium

SweetWater

Bayou Teche

Tin Roof

Covington Brewhouse

Gnarly Barley

Main Grain

So not only do you get to support a great cause and try some craft beers, but you'll get a sneak peak at Gnarly Barley and Main Grain, two breweries in planning on the North Shore. Plus some other great local breweries and you can't really go wrong with New Belgium or SweetWater either.  Plus there will be wine and food, but that's not really what I blog about.

If you're looking for something to do on August 23rd, check it out!   

Catching Up On Louisiana Beer News - NOLA - New Belgium - SweetWater - Ballast Point

Readers, I've been away at the 2013 Beer Bloggers Conference learning how to be a better beer blogger.  And drinking, doing a lot of drinking.  It turns out the Beer Bloggers Conference is almost as much about the drinking and meeting new people as it is about learning how to be a better bloggers.  Almost.  

While I've been gone, here are some of the goings-on in the Louisiana craft beer world.  One of the things I learned over the weekend is that regurgitation of information isn't the key to a good blog... putting out original content is.  I'm going to ignore that advice this once and throw out some links to the LA bloggers that couldn't make the conference.  Then I'll get back to that advice and tell you what I think!

NOLA Brewing is teaming up with New Belgium from Fort Collins, CO for a special Louisiana Craft Beer Brewer Week release!  As reported by The Beer Buddha, the beer will be a Belgian-style single (or Abbey Ale) brewed with local Muscadine grapes, and named Swamp Grape Escape.  The name throws me off, because I keep wanting there to be an "ape" in there by itself, but there isn't.  No Swamp Ape, no Grape Ape... it's making my head hurt!  The beer though, I'm excited for, as New Belgium makes some great Belgian-style (duh) ales and I love the use of a local ingredient. And I'm really thrilled to see another big brewery come into Louisiana for a collaboration with the local guys. Not too long ago it was Stone coming down and brewing with NOLA, now New Belgium. Having these collaborations can only be a good thing for the local beer scene.

SweetWater Brewing out of Atlanta, GA is coming... I wrote about them being on their way back in April, but the official release date has been announced as August 19th!  I imagine that they will start at Avenue Pub, but Mockler Beverage in Baton Rouge has their local distribution rights and they have announced that the SweetWater team will be in town on August 21st to promote the new beers.  So worst case we're looking at August 21st in Baton Rouge.  They will most likely be starting with the core styles similar to New Belgium's market entry, with beers like the 420 Extra Pale Ale, SweetWater Blue, and their flagship IPA.  Honestly of all these, the Blue interests me the most because it would instantly be the best blueberry beer available in Louisiana.  There is a lot of competition for best pale ale or best IPA, but SweetWater would have blueberry on lock down. Hopefully more styles will follow!

Brenton over at TheAleRunner reported that Ballast Point Brewing out of San Diego, CA is planning on making an early 2014 entrance into the Louisiana market.  He even went so far as to confirm this with their VP of Sales/Marketing!  One of the other big points at the conference was to confirm with your sources and not just post rumors, looks like Brenton didn't need the conference to know that.  As he said, the popular and highly rated Sculpin IPA will probably be the biggest score, and we'll just have to see which other Ballast Point beers make it our way.

Feature Beer Friday! - New Belgium Rampant Imperial IPA

Picture taken from
www.brewbound.com

And finally, after appearing in the Louisiana market in early April, it's our first Feature Beer Friday! to feature New Belgium Brewing.  Most people think about Fat Tire when they think New Belgium, but they are about far more than just their signature amber ale. They have put several other year-round releases into the local market, as well as seasonals and several of the Lips Of Faith series.  The Rampant Imperial IPA is one of their year-round offerings, and probably the "biggest" of the year-round beers.

Their take on the 85 IBU, 8.5% abv beer: "A burly and bitter Imperial IPA, Rampant pours a pure copper and carries the sheen of a rightly hopped beer. The Mosaic and Calypso hops bring stonefruit to the front seat, and the addition of Centennials nod towards citrus for a well-rounded aroma. The taste expands these hops with heavy peach tones and a profoundly bitter bite. There is some malt sweetness to stand this beer up, and Rampant's finish is bone-dry."  

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (TheAleRunner.com), and Dustin Davis.

Serving: 12 oz. brown bottle.

Appearance: Deep gold to amber color, thin white head.

Aroma: I just wrote "hoppy and delicious." Brenton thought it was "citrusy, a touch of cat piss." Dustin thought it was piney more than citrusy.   

Taste: I was let down by the taste... the nice hoppiness on the nose turned into a more harsh bitterness on the tongue without a strong malt backbone to support it.  Dustin agreed, writing, "not as flavorful as I hoped.  Just bitterness." 

Mouthfeel: Too harsh on the bitterness for me.  I like hoppy beers but this one was too out of balance even for me. 
 
Overall: I want to give this one a chance to redeem itself, but this tasting wasn't impressive at all.  We all agreed that it was a little TOO far on the bitter side, and enough so that we didn't want to drink any more of the Rampant.  I feel like it's deserving of another shot though, as taste buds change and sometimes get really distorted when we're sitting down reviewing multiple brews. 


Overall Rating: 63.67
My Rating: 59

New Brewery News! - New Belgium, Southern Tier, Founder's

Hey everyone, I'm sure you all know by now that New Belgium from Fort Collins, CO is officially out in Louisiana.  They arrived yesterday at Calandro's, Matherne's, Cuban Liquors, and The Beverage Store, and other area stores (the national chains) should be seeing their allotments any day now.  All the perennial releases were represented and Louisiana was lucky enough to get some cases of the Lips of Faith series as well.  I know Fat Tire is the real moneymaker for New Belgium, but their Lips of Faith series features some outstanding brews.  This first round of Lips of Faith might be going, going, gone, but there will plenty more to come! 

In other news, I'm late to the party on this one, but I've heard from multiple sources
including Nora's Beer Blog and The Ale Runner that Southern Tier from Lakewood, NY will be coming to Louisiana in May!  They are rolling out in Texas this month and I'm glad they chose Louisiana to follow.  Some of the hits here include the 2xIPA, 2xStout, Unearthly IIPA, Imperial Pumking, Imperial Choklat Stout, and the Imperial Creme Brulee Stout.  And that's leaving off many of their year-round beers, most of which I haven't had the chance to try.  I don't know yet what the Louisiana roll out will look like or an exact date, but I'll be passing it on.
 
Lastly, it's not quite to Louisiana, but beer hauls to Texas are about to get a lot better as I saw on The Petrol Station's FB page that Founder's Brewing from Grand Rapids, MI will be there this month as well!  April Fool's joke?  Nah, I checked the Founder's Brewing site and it's indeed true, that on April 8th they will be available across the state line. Their big claim to fame is the KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) but the rest of the lineup is solid as well.  Hopefully this means that like Southern Tier, they are thinking about moving a little east from Texas and coming to Louisiana.  Hopefully.

So, to recap... New Belgium is here, Southern Tier is coming, and Founder's is coming to TX.  

Review: New Belgium Somersault Ale

Alright, time for a quick review of a perfect hot-weather beer before it gets too cold to enjoy!  Yeah, here in Baton Rouge that's probably a few months off, so if you get a chance to find this offering from New Belgium (@newbelgium) - Mandi got some for me in Houston - then I'd highly recommend you do so.

As for the beer itself... this one is a Blonde Ale, so local examples of the style would be the NOLA Blonde (on tap only as of now) and the upcoming Bandit Blonde Ale from Tin Roof and LSU.

 

Poured into a pint glass, it's a hazy bubbly deep gold color with an inch or so of frothy white head.

The aroma is earthy with hints of citrus and honey.  The taste is mostly the same, grassy with honey and a slight bitter grapefruit hint at the end.

There is a slight hoppy grapefruit aftertaste, with a very nice body for a lighter beer.

This is a very well crafted blonde ale. A fantastic summer beer for when the heat index is 106, or even when it's a little cooler in the Louisiana early fall.  I can only hope the Tin Roof Blonde Ale compares favorably to this one, it would be awesome to have a beer like this in cans for football season.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B+

Reviews: New Belgium Mothership Wit & 1554 Black Ale

Okay, time to get back on track with a few beer reviews for you all.  Both of these came to me courtesy of Danielle Wheeler, who along with being a pretty awesome kickball player loves her craft beer.  As I'm sure you all know, New Belgium Brewing (@newbelgium) is mostly known for their Fat Tire beer, but they also brew some fantastic other beers in their standard lineup and a long line of specialty beers.  I've been enjoying their Lips Of Faith series a lot lately but those will be for another blog post.  

First up, the Mothership Wit, an organic witbier in the Belgian tradition.  Never forget that glassware is important and that beer is always best tasted out of the proper glassware.  For a witbier a pint glass or pilsner glass is recommended but I went with a stange.  It's almost the same as a pilsner glass, so I guess it'll do.

It has a cloudy pale yellow color to it reminiscent of fresh squeezed lemonade. The head is bubbly and frothy and huge with great retention. The aroma is earthy and grassy with a hint of citrus.

The taste is more of the same with no real surprises. It's a good witbier but nothing revolutionary. Good mouthfeel, extremely drinkable, a really nice witbier.  

You can find better witbiers locally like the St. Bernardus Witbier or the Hitachino Nest White Ale, but they are both going to come in more expensive than this New Belgium offering.  For a cheaper version of the style locally, look for a 6-pack of Hoegaarden and enjoy!

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B

The second New Belgium beer Danielle brought me was the 1554 Enlightened Black Ale.  This one fooled me as based on the name I was expecting a Cascadian Dark Ale, AKA American Black Ale style, but this one is actually a Belgian Dark Ale.  Oops, I had poured it into a pint glass before catching that and this style should definitely go into a Belgian tulip glass.  Oh well, too late now and it's not a HUGE deal.  (Yeah, I know it's New Belgium, but they do other styles, including an IPA or two in there...)

As for the beer, it's a dark brown color with a creamy off-white head. Good retention and great lacing. Yup, the aroma is distinctively Belgian like I should have expected. Smells like dark fruit and chocolate, quite sweet and tasty.

The taste is more of the same, the roasted chocolate notes cone through a lot. It's a little thin, but not bad, and very drinkable.

Despite my glassware mistake, this one is a good beer, very well done, and I'd try it again.

My Rating: B+
BeerAdvocate: B+

So there you go, a couple of solid beers from New Belgium to check out when you get the chance.  I know Fat Tire is their flagship, but they really do some other good stuff too.

New Belgium - Lips Of Faith Series

Time for a couple more standard reviews... this time from the "Lips Of Faith" series from New Belgium Brewing (@newbelgium) out of Fort Collins, Colorado.  I'm not sure how long they've been doing this series but each one seems to be inspired by a different old-world style and have some pretty crazy flavors!  I picked up the Sahti and Vrienden from Spec's in Houston a little while back, and I have a few more waiting for future tastings.

First, the Sahti... this is a take on a Finnish style of beer traditionally flavored with Juniper berries, and it's my first go at this style...  I poured it into a goblet... wasn't sure what would be best and I see that BA recommends a pint glass. Whoops... hopefully a goblet will do just fine though.

It's a deep golden color, not hazy like the style says it should be, with a really small head. Nothing too impressive here, but it's not like it looks bad.

The smell is very biscuity, with a warm maltiness to it and then just a hint of floral note at the end. It's interesting for sure and makes me want to dive in.

The flavor is very similar to the smell... malty up front but there are definite woody bitter notes at the end. This one tastes more like a Belgian ale than I was expecting with floral undertones to it.  It's got a nice body to it... very very drinkable. This one could be trouble at 7.2% abv if I had more of it or was sitting at a bar.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B-

Sahti

Up next, the Vrienden, which is apparently Flemish for friends.  There, don't ever say my blog didn't educate you about something other than beer!  This one is a pretty potent 8.5% abv American Wild Ale, brewed with hibiscus and brettanomyces.  For those unfamiliar, brettanomyces (or just brett) is a yeast strain used in many Belgian wild ales and sours, along with lambics and guezes... it tends to impart a bit of a sour flavor to beers, sometimes desirable, sometimes not!  This beer was served in a 22 oz. bottle, poured into a Corsendonk goblet.

It's a reddish-amber color, with a small white head.  You can definitely smell the floral notes... the dominant flavor is definitely the hibiscus with a hint of hops.  The hibiscus is even more present on the tongue, with those sour brett flavors coming through too. A good blend of floral and sour notes, pretty delicious really, and not what I was expecting.

The mouthfeel is good... not too thin, very carbonated, pleasant.  I don't know how many of these I could drink... the sour notes make it tough to really down it. Plus it's pretty strong despite not tasting too boozy. Overall, I enjoyed this one a good bit, and it was certainly nice to try something new!

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: B

Obviously I liked these two a little more than the masses, so I look forward to trying some more of the series!