New Belgium Trippel

4/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle into chalice, best by 11/20/2011. Pours clear, yet cloudy, golden straw color with a 1 finger fairly dense white head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Some bits of lacing on the glass, with a nice amount of carbonation streaming up. Aromas of big banana, clove, pear, pepper, lemon, coriander, bread, bubblegum, grass, light tart grain, and yeast spices. Nice and well balanced aromas with good strength. Taste of lemon, pepper, pear, coriander, biscuit, banana, herbal, clove, lightly tart grain, and yeast spices. Lingering notes of lemon, pepper, clove, and yeast spices on the finish for a bit. Nice overall balance of flavors with no cloying sweetness as expected. Medium carbonation and body; with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Alcohol is well hidden with only a slight warming after the finish. Very drinkable and smooth for the level of alcohol, but it is a bit of a sipper. Overall this is a damn nice and well balanced Belgian style tripel. Nice flavor profile and complexity.

Very nice tripel offering that is nicely drinkable. This would be a nice introduction to the style for someone who has not had the style before.

New Belgium Abbey Grand Cru

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle into tulip, no bottle date. Pours a clear, yet finely cloudy, reddish orange color with a nice 2 finger fairly dense off white head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap. Some decent lacing on the glass. Aromas of big banana, molasses, caramel, clove, pepper, plum, cherry, apple, bread, light fruits, and yeast spices. Some nice and well balanced Belgian aromas. Taste of big molasses, nuttiness, banana, clove, caramel, raisin, light fruits, biscuit, pepper, and yeast spices. Lingering notes of light fruits, pepper, clove, banana, and molasses on the finish for a good bit. Not overly spicy from the yeast at all; yet still has nice balance with no cloying sweetness. Slightly above medium carbonation and medium bodied; with a slightly creamy and slick mouthfeel. Very smooth to drink but it is still a bit of a sipper. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming well after the finish. Overall this is a very excellent Belgian style offering. Great flavor balance and complexity; with smooth drinkability for the level of alcohol.

An excellent dubbel offering here; with great flavor balance and smooth drinking. I have a couple other Lips of Faith bottles on me at the moment; but I will definitely be ordering some off the net in the future. They have a lot of great styles to offer in this series.

New Belgium Hoptober Golden Ale

3.8/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best by Nov 20, 2011. Pours hazy golden straw color with a nice 2 finger dense white head with great retention that reduces to a cap. Some nice lacing down the glass as well. Aromas of grapefruit, floral, orange, apricot, light caramel, bread, and a bit of wheat. Some nice aromas with decent strength. Taste of nice grapefruit, pine, floral, orange, bread, light pine, spices, and wheat. Good amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus, pine, spiciness, bread, and light caramel for a bit on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy mouthfeel that drinks smoothly. Alcohol is well hidden with only a slight warming after the finish. Overall a nice and drinkable blonde ale. Quite enjoyable and definitely a nice option for a session. It is nicely balanced in flavors and not anything extreme that would make it unpalatable after a few glasses.

Another nice beer from New Belgium. I have really enjoyed the blondes they have made(other one being the Somersault). Very drinkable and balanced stuff.

New Belgium Snow Day

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best by 02/26/2012. Pours crystal clear dark reddish brown color with a huge 2-3 finger dense light khaki head with incredible retention that reduces to a thick cap eventually. Some nice thick lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of chocolate, caramel, roasted malt, biscuit, grapefruit, pine, and spiciness. Damn nice balanced aromas here; definitely hoppy, but they have a nice roasted malt backbone as well. Taste of big orange rind, grapefruit, pine, caramel, roasted malt, biscuit, and light chocolate. Fair amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of orange, pine, caramel, and spices on the finish for a bit. Super hoppy in the taste, making the roasted malts a bit invisible. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy and smooth mouthfeel that drinks easily at 6.2%. Alcohol is well hidden with only a slight warming on the finish present. Overall this is a damn nice black IPA. I was hoping for more roasted malt presence in the taste. I would have this again.

I always look for good roasted malt balance in a Black IPA, but this was more over the hoppy side. Still very nice and tasty though.

New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

3.6/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best by Feb 19, 2012. Pours crystal clear dark reddish brown color with a nice 2 finger dense khaki head with great retention that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some decent lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big caramel, toasted malt, chocolate, light coffee, spicy hops, and light biscuit. Some nice and well balanced aromas with good strength. Taste of caramel, biscuit, toasted malt, light chocolate, spicy hops, and malty sweetness. No bitterness; with lingering notes of light chocolate, caramel, and toasted malts on the finish for a bit. Finish is a lot drier than I was expecting it to be, and the flavors aren’t very robust. Medium carbonation and body; with a lightly creamy and very smooth mouthfeel. No alcohol noticed other than a slight warming after the finish. This is extremely drinkable. Overall a nice beer, but pretty lack luster in my opinion. When I read it was a black ale, I was expecting a much more robust flavor and body.

I was expecting much more from this. I was expecting "Black IPA" when I read the label. Not as robust as I would have hoped. I can see the mass appeal of it though.

New Belgium Mothership Wit

3.8/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle into weizen glass, best by 12/04/2011. Pours slightly hazy light golden straw color with a nice 1-2 finger fairly dense white head with nice retention that reduces to a thin cap. A dacent amount of lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big banana, clove, pepper, bubblegum, grass, coriander, wheat, citrus peel, and biscuit. Very nice aromas with good strength. Taste of coriander, pepper, bread, lemon, wheat, light banana, light bubblegum, and yeast spice. Lingering notes of coriander, pepper, clove, citrus, and banana on the finish for a bit. Light-medium bodied with medium-high carbonation as expected. A bit on the watery side for taste, but still solid. Very drinkable with no alcohol noticed at all as expected. Good balance of flavors, but the spices are a bit too strong in this one. Overall this is a very nice and enjoyable witbier. Definitely worthy for a session in my opinion.

Quite an tasty wheat beer from New Belgium. A little watered down, but very drinkable and flavorful.

New Belgium Somersault

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle, best by 08/28/2011. I think this will be my first blonde ale. Pours hazy golden straw color with a nice 2-3 fingers of fairly dense white head with fantastic retention that reduces to a decent sized lacing cap that lasts. A nice amount of lacing clings around the glass as well. Aromas of big lemon, pepper, biscuit, grass, spiciness, and other light fruitiness. Some very nice aromas here with good strength as well. Taste of lemon, pepper, spices, bread, citrus, grass, and a bit of tart graininess. Fair amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, bread, and spices that last for a bit on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a moutfeel that is a bit on the watery side, but not in a bad way. Drinks really easily as I would have expected for a beer brewed for the summer months. No alcohol presence at all as expected. Overall, some seriously great stuff here. Nice amount of well balanced flavors and super smooth drinking.

Surprisingly great offering from New Belgium, and my first Blonde Ale. Brewed with Centennial hops, with a bit of apricot and ginger. Very well rounded in flavor and good balance.

New Belgium Abbey

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle into tulip, best by Feb 12, 2012. Pours slightly cloudy red orange color with a fairly dense 2 finger khaki head with good retention that reduces to a cap. Decent amount of lacing clings to the glass. Tons of carbonation coming from the bottom. Aromas of big banana, bubblegum, clove, molasses, biscuit, spices, and some dark fruits. Some nice aromas that are quite different than I was expecting for a Dubbel. Taste of pepper, spices, biscuit, caramel, molasses, and toasted malts in to front; with some banana and bubblegum in the back. Lingering notes of caramel, banana, spices, biscuit, and caramel on the finish. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a warming on the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a nice creamy mouthfeel and smooth drinking. Great balance of flavors. Overall this is quite an impressive Dubbel. I would get this again if they distribute to the Great Lakes area in the future.

Surprisingly great Belgian Dubbel from New Belgium. I got this one a while back so it has a great shelf life as well.

New Belgium Fat Tire

3.6/5

AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle, best by 09/18/11, so a bit past its prime I guess. Pours slightly hazy and cloudy golden orange amber color with a small off white head with decent retention, that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts. A small amount of lacing clings to the glass as you drink. Aromas of citrus, pine, caramel, bread, honey, and toasted malt. Pretty muted aromas with not much going on; the toasted malt seems to be most dominant. Taste of big toasted malt, bread, caramel, pine, and a bit of citrus. Once again the toasted malts are dominant. Not much bitterness noticed on the finish, with a pretty dry finish. A bit of lingering notes of caramel, toasted malt, and bread. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy mouthfeel. Alcohol is well hidden with only a small warming after the finish. Overall this is pretty good stuff. It has a good flavor profile and is highly drinkable.

Very solid and sessionable stuff here, even though it was a bit aged for an amber ale.

New Belgium Ranger IPA

4.1/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle, date of 07/31/11 printed on the side. Past it’s prime, but lets hope this goes well. Pours crystal clear orangish golden amber color with 2 fingers of a fairly dense off white head with awesome retention that reduces to a fairly thick lacing cap. A small amount of nice lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big pine, caramel, grapefruit, spices, and a bit of orange. Delicious aromas with nice strength as well. Taste of big pine, caramel, spices, grapefruit, and a bit of orange. Nice amount of bitterness on the finish with lingering notes of pine, spices, and a bit of citrus that last for a good amount of time. Medium-high carbonation, with a medium body. Slightly creamy mouthfeel with a bit of prickly carbonation as well, but still very smooth and easy to drink. Overall, for this supposedly being past its date, this definitely surprised me and is an excellent IPA. Very Chinook forward it seems.

Quite impressive for my first New Belgium beer. An excellent and delicious IPA offering, even if it was past prime.