New Belgium - Lips of Faith - Transatlantique Kriek

[Pokes28]

A week ago I stumbled across some of this at one of my local liquor stores. As I've posted before, the Lips of Faith beers from New Belgium Brewery are all very limited run beers that are very special for one reason or another.

This is actually a beer made by two different breweries. First, the Brewerij Boon of Belgium creates a lambic beer. Again, this is beer without hops and is "spontaneously fermented" which is just a fancy way of saying that the natural yeasts in the air are used instead of adding yeast to begin fermentation. They add in Polish Cherries. Then the beer is aged for 2 years in oak casks and shipped to New Belgium Brewery in Colorado. Then NB brewery takes this and adds a golden lager to it.

The final result is out of this world. It smells of sweet cherries and caramel. This beer has several different distinct taste phases. First one is sweet cherry. Then there is a full body lagar followed by the crisp bitterness of hops. Then finally a satisfying sour taste that is the balance to the sweet cherry.

This isn't a daily drinker. I got a steal on it having to only pay $6 per bottle (normally $16 per bottle). I have one more bottle in the fridge and I will only bring it out for a special occasion. It is that good.

8% alcohol

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[JDubb]

$10.49 for a 750ml?

[Pokes28]

Good price if you can find it. They are large bottles.

If you can get your hands on a bottle, this is definitely one to try. There is a good chance that you will never be able to drink it again.

[JDubb]

My local wine/beer shop have it on hand. I am going to pick some up.

[LeNeve]

mine does not have it. I'm not surprised.

[JDubb]

$32.50 for beer.


JDubb

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[Joe]

$32.50 for beer.


JDubb

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And you only get 3 bottles?

[JDubb]

Pokes said that was a good price.


JDubb

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[Joe]

Pokes said that was a good price.


JDubb

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Pokes must have been on a runner's high when he bought that.

[Pokes28]

Nope. $10 a bottle for that beer is a good price. First, they are big bottles (750 ml).

Think of it like wine. You have some wines that are overpriced no matter how little you pay. Then you have some wines that are truly amazing, low production, etc that can run in the hundred if not thousands of dollars.

The Lips of Faith beers are like the second. They are all small production runs and all require a ton of work and time to produce something completely unique and fantastic.

Case in point. The Transatlantique takes about 30 months in total from when work first starts going on to make the beer to when it hits the shelves to be purchased. It is brewed and aged in Belgium in a slow process. Then shipped to Colorado where it is finished, then bottled and distributed. The La Folie take about 26 months, etc.

The problem is that people think of beer as a "commoners drink" and in general that is true. However there is so much to it that when there is something special like this, people need to put aside their normal thought processes because this doesn't fit.

Joe, you would have no problem paying $10 for a bottle of mediocre wine. Why would you have a problem paying $10 for a beer experience unlike any you've ever had before?

[Pokes28]

The info on the other two Lips of Faith beers that were in the picture:

Dunkelweiss

Deep amber brown with a dense off-white head, Dunkelweiss rediscovers hefeweissbiers through a Belgian brewer’s lens. Envisioned by our own Matty “Smooth” Gilliland, this beer opens with sweet clove, chocolate and banana notes that give way to a warm finish with a peppery tingle across the palate.

“I thought it would be fun to make a German wheat beer; we’ve explored the Belgian wheats pretty thoroughly,” said brewer, Matt Gilliland. “Since this is Lips of Faith, and part of what makes that program fun is to make beers that are really unique and different, making a big, strong, dark Weiss beer sounded pretty folly-licious. It’ll still showcase all of the flavors that a Hefeweiss beer would have, but add in the burly body and extra punch. Think of it as a Gran Cru dunkelweiss.”

Just the facts Ma'am...
ABV - 9.0%
Hops - Target
Malts - Pale, Wheat, Black Barley
OG - 24.7
Fruits/Spice - Black Pepper, Cloves


------------------------------------------------------------------------


Biere de Mars

For the first time in three years we are pleased to offer one of our favorite harbingers of spring, Biere de Mars.

With earthy tones of ripe mango and lemon verbena, this bottle-conditioned ale reflects the hearty character of the southern Belgian and northern French countrysides. Brewed with barley, oats and wheat malt, Biere de Mars' celestial orange hue inspired the planetary play on words.

Brettanomyces, a wild yeast strain, added for bottle-conditioning creates a refreshingly sour flash across the palate. Lemon peel coupled with the lemon verbena imparts fruitlike character and a citrusy finish.


Just the facts Ma'am...
ABV - 6.2%
IBU - 22
Calories - 195
Hops - Target, Willamette, Cascade
Malts - Pale, C-80, Aromatic, Oats, Wheat, Carapils
OG - 14.9
TG - 2.9
Fruits/Spice - Lemon Peel, Lemon Verbena

[Joe]

Nope. $10 a bottle for that beer is a good price. First, they are big bottles (750 ml).

Think of it like wine. You have some wines that are overpriced no matter how little you pay. Then you have some wines that are truly amazing, low production, etc that can run in the hundred if not thousands of dollars.

The Lips of Faith beers are like the second. They are all small production runs and all require a ton of work and time to produce something completely unique and fantastic.

Case in point. The Transatlantique takes about 30 months in total from when work first starts going on to make the beer to when it hits the shelves to be purchased. It is brewed and aged in Belgium in a slow process. Then shipped to Colorado where it is finished, then bottled and distributed. The La Folie take about 26 months, etc.

The problem is that people think of beer as a "commoners drink" and in general that is true. However there is so much to it that when there is something special like this, people need to put aside their normal thought processes because this doesn't fit.

Joe, you would have no problem paying $10 for a bottle of mediocre wine. Why would you have a problem paying $10 for a beer experience unlike any you've ever had before?

All your points are valid except for the last one. I don't buy mediocre wine.

[Pokes28]

Never? You've never spent $10 and got a bottle that was just "ok?" Even as a gift.

[Joe]

Never? You've never spent $10 and got a bottle that was just "ok?" Even as a gift.

My wine is usually $11 and I usually always buy it from teh wine maker and get to sample ahead of time. :grin:

I think I spent $9 on on that rasberry stuff for my Chocolate beer so I guess I'd try one.

[Pokes28]

What did you think of the Fraboise with the Chocolate? I don't think I ever heard.