La Folie
2011 Vintage, poured into a snifter. Pours with minimal head, and what is there disappears quickly. Body is dark and beautiful shade of ruby. The nose is very inviting! I smell tart cherries and raspberries, along with a general sweet/tart fruitiness that begs me to take a sip. With more olfactory investigation, I find notes of granny smith apples and fresh hay. Much more sour than the nose suggests, this beer packs a moderate amount of puckering sourness. Never is it overpowering however, and the classic Flanders sweetness is very alive and fights back against the sour with gusto. The balance is still tipped in favor of the sour, but by the time the aftertaste kicks in it is nearly perfectly balanced. Fruity, tart, acidic flavors abound and layer upon each other with surprising poise. A bit of malt comes through in the end. This beer is interesting in its flavor because it seems to be more sour in the beginning than of examples I have tried, but then sweeten up throughout the taste experience and come out sweeter in the aftertaste than other examples. Very pleasant and quenching to drink. The mouthfeel is lively because of the abundant carbonation, and feels on the dry side because of the tart, lactic quality. Conclusion: This is a great beer. The fact that it didn't originate in Belgium is impressive as well. To my humble palate this tastes nearly exactly as the style dictates, but it still seems to lack the indescribable complexity sometimes found in sour beers. That being said, it is still an awesome beer and one that I would turn cartwheels over if I brewed it. Thank you New Belgium, for brewing authentic Belgian ales within a few hundred miles of my home.