We’ve toyed with the idea of making some sort of video series for the site, but could never come up with the right way to go about it that involves our love of craft beer, with our sense of humor. That was until Melissa Marth, of The Big Friendly Corporation, and Emily Miller agreed to get involved as well. They don’t have nearly the obsession for craft beer that we have, so we though it would be interesting to have them taste a few of our favorite beers, and get their reactions. It also helps that they are two of the funniest people I know.

So Danny sat down with them for what was supposed to be a quick 5 minute video of them tasting 5 different beers. However, they showed up after a couple bottles of wine, and we instead got 40 minutes of drunken ramblings. So, this will be broken up into 5 different videos, one for each beer, and each one progressively becoming slightly more belligerent.

So, without further ado, here is the first of the videos, my favorite sour beer, New Belgium La Folie.
*Parental discretion is advised*

New Belgium’s La Folie has become one of my favorite beers. The first time I had it, I didn’t know what to think. I could tell that this was an amazingly complex beer, but I wasn’t ready for the amount of sour that was coming my way. To me, it was like drinking vinegar. It wasn’t until I began drinking other lesser sour beers, and learning of how La Folie is made, that I began to understand, respect, and ultimately, enjoy this beer.

Lauren Salazar is the blender at New Belgium who creates La Folie. This Embrace the Funk interview with her is worth a read. In it, she describes the process that New Belgium goes through to create this beer. Some notable bits of info regarding La Folie:

– La Folie is a technically a lager. Before the base beer is acidified, it is fermented with a lager yeast strain, making it a dry as possible.
– Different oak fermentors of the base beer are continually being individually drained by different amounts to make different sour beers throughout the year. As a result of this, the beer that is being used to blend and create La Folie is already between one and four years old.
– Because La Folie is a blend of aged sour beers, Lauren doesn’t recommend aging the beer. In her mind, she already did the aging for you.
– La Folie is pasteurized, meaning that after it is blended, the beer is heated to kill all living bacteria in the beer. The idea behind this is that the beer is frozen in time in it’s ideal form.

The next time I had a bottle of La Folie, it was an entirely different experience compared to the first time. I could taste the flavors of cherries, red wine vinegar, leather, oak, and green apples. It was like a sweet berry fruit dipped in a balsamic reduction. The bright, clear color was amazing to look at.

This past Wednesday, Khoury’s Fine Wine put a keg of La Folie on tap. Keg beers need to be kept a fairly cold temperature to balance the carbonation and to keep the beer from getting too foamy. If you order this beer on tap, be sure to let it sit for a few minutes to warm up. Wrapping your hands around the glass helps with this. If the beer is too cold, most of the flavor is hidden; as it warms it will start to open up.

Despite Lauren’s advice, New Belgium was selling 2010 bottles of La Folie during GABF week. Danny picked up a bottle so we could compare it with the keg at Khoury’s. The beer had some of the obvious signs of oxidation in the aroma and aftertaste. However, rather than being a deterrent, it complimented the sourness of the beer. It seemed to reveal a more berry like flavor. The sourness was still very present, if not more so. Your own preferences will determine which one is better. Danny preferred the aged version. I liked the cleaner, fresher version. Regardless, both were delicious, and trying the two side by side was a great experience.

As much as I love this beer, it is difficult for me to recommend it. It truly is a one of a kind beer, and as such, is not for everyone. It really takes an open mind and a previous experience to sour beers to keep this from being an overpowering shock.

See also: The Science of Sour

Over the past year, I’ve been very impressed with New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series of beers. The collaborations they’ve started making with other breweries has been fantastic. Last year’s Kick, made with Elysian Brewing from Seattle, is still one of the most unique, and flavorful takes on the fall pumpkin beer theme. This year’s Brett Beer, made with Lost Abbey from San Marcos, was an incredibly refreshing beer that should age very well. More recently, Super India Pale Ale, from New Belgium and The Alpine Beer Company, brought immense flavor and balance to the over saturated IPA market.

About a week ago, New Belgium released the last of it’s 2012 Lips of Faith beers. Bière De Garde is a collaboration beer made with Brewery Vivant from Michigan. I haven’t the chance to try this yet, but I’ve heard several people call this one of the best of New Belgium’s beers.

The second Lips of Faith beer that New Belgium released last week was Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout. I tasted this beer on tap last Wednesday at Khoury’s. Once again, New Belgium shows it’s ability to combine and balance multiple flavors into a beer that not only highlights each element, but also succeeds in not overdoing it.

I’m convinced that this beer has some lactose in, as the smooth, creamy mouthfeel, and residual sweetness remind me of every other milk stout I’ve had. I’ve been told that there is no lactose in the beer, so I’m wondering if this sweet, creaminess may be coming from the chocolate in the beer. The coffee flavor is incredible. This beer really does taste like a black cup of coffee with some sweet creamer added. Again, I assume that this sweetness is coming from the chocolate, which, by the way, is perfectly balanced in this beer. Not over top, but some definite chocolate undertones present.

If you are a coffee lover, like myself, then I highly recommend you try this beer out. It is currently on tap at Khoury’s as well as Aces & Ales. Also pick up a bottle of Bièr De Garde while you’re at it!

A shot of the festival grounds with local band Tribal Seeds

On October 20th, Motley Brews presented the follow-up to their 2012 Great Las Vegas Festival of Beer: The Las Vegas Downtown Brew Festival. After having a blast at the last Motley Brews presented festival, I was more than excited for this one. To start with, the location and timing of this event could not have been more perfect! The Clark County Amphitheater is a nice, large, outdoor venue, and the great October Vegas weather made for a phenomenal marriage!

For their first outing in 2011, I had complained that the event seemed disorganized, and way too compact. These problems were pretty much resolved on their second go around. This time, I can only tip my hat to the organizers and sponsors of this fantastic festival! We arrived a bit late (roughly 2:15 PM), but had no trouble finding parking in the large adjacent parking lot. Upon walking up to the entrance, we were quickly able to redeem our Groupons, and were inside and ready to drink within just a few minutes.

Upon entering, we made our way right to the Joseph James tent to try and wet our palettes with their R/D #11 Ginger Lemon Weizen. Thankfully, and remorsefully, we were able to get our hands on the very last drops, which may have proven to be the best beer I had the pleasure of experiencing. The beer tasted like a mix of spicy ginger ale with a refreshing lemon twist. I really hope this one sees a bottle release, as I want everyone to be able to taste this amazing local brew! Their other two R/D offerings did not disappoint either; both the Black Rye Session Pale and the Bourbon-Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout were quite the tasty offerings! Joseph James never ceases to amaze me when it comes to what they pull off for these special events. I will continue to look forward to more R/D batches, while still sipping on their great year-round fermented offerings.

Karl Herrera, the Las Vegas Beer Ranger, pouring some New Belgium brews

Our next stop was to the New Belgium tent to get a pour of their refreshing Shift Lager. Shift really is a perfect summertime beer with its light-body, and flavorfully crisp finish. While chatting with Las Vegas’ new Beer Ranger, Karl Herrera, he officially coined the term “Get Shift-faced!” which pretty much demands to be on the front of a T-shirt! New Belgium was also pouring their Red Hoptober, Ranger IPA, and of course, Fat Tire. Their Super IPA was also on display at the Get Hopped Up Tent, along with Stone 16th Anniversary IPA and Bear Republic’s Racer 5.

Tim and Alex from Tenaya Creek

From there we hit another local favorite in Tenaya Creek. They were happily pouring their new Dutch-style Belgium Tripel, Oktoberfest Lager, the recently bottled Hauling Oats Oatmeal Stout, and their iconic Hop Ride.  Not to mention, they also decided to unveil a Hop Ride infused popcorn!  Being a Las Vegas staple for years, you really can’t go wrong with anything that Anthony and Tim brew up. Their year round beers are top-notch, and their seasonal brews always leave you looking forward to the next one! If you haven’t been to the brewery yet, you should make it a point to do so. Hell, there’s a good chance you’ll see your’s truly at the bar sipping on a Hop Ride!

Another local staple, Big Dog’s Brewing Company was pouring just nearby. Their selections included Dirty Dog IPA, Las Vegas Lager, Lake Mead Monster Double Red Ale, and the Great American Beer Festival 2012 Silver Medal winning Red Hydrant Ale! Big Dog’s is another local brewery that you just can’t go wrong with! While I would have loved to have seen the seasonal Pumpkin Ale, or the monster that is War Dog IPA, I was more than pleased with what they had to offer! With 2 locations in the Valley, there is no reason not to stop by and grab a drink!

After making our rounds with the local breweries and New Belgium, we decided to hit the outside circle and try and get our hands on some beers we haven’t had before. Our next stops were to Tommyknocker’s and Moa. Tommyknockers, from Colorado, is fairly new to the Las Vegas craft brew scene. They had with them a nice assortment, including Vienna Amber Lager, Maple Nut Brown, Imperial Nut Brown, and a nice, mild, Pumpkin Ale. All of their offerings were solid, and can be found locally at this time.

Moa, from New Zealand, is a brewery that I have yet to try, but I’ve always been curious about. They had samplings of their Breakfast, Pale Ale, and Blanc Evolution. I only tasted the first two, but I was quite fond of both! As a nice contrast to most breakfast inspired stouts, Moa’s Breakfast had a bright, wheat, sweet cherry flavor that would pair nicely with a berry muffin or eggs. While it won’t be for everyone, I think it would be a nice substitute for a mimosa at brunch. The Pale Ale had a subtle citrusy hop nose and flavor, which was balanced by a bitter malt aftertaste.

From here, we went along the line, sampling well known beers from the likes of Dogfish Head (Namaste and Midas Touch), Firestone Walker (Pale 31, Union Jack), Sierra Nevada (Hoptimum, Pale Ale, Torpedo, Kellerweis), Lagunitas, Indian Wells, Three Monkeys, Chicago Brewing Co., and a newer name to the Las Vegas scene: Riley’s

To be honest, I had not heard much about Riley’s until this event. Riley’s is a smaller brewery from Madera, CA, who are in roughly their fifth year of existence. Their lineup consisted of: Sancha, which reminded me of a cross between a pale ale and a honey ale; Vixen: a coffee/chocolate inspired stout; and Wildcat IPA. All three were quite tasty brews, and show a lot of promise for this new brewery. I’ll be looking forward to what they decide too cook up next!

If there is one beer trend that I really enjoy, it’s the new “Session IPA/Pale Ale” trend. Something just appeals to me about a low ABV, flavorful IPA that won’t make you feel all nice and fuzzy after just one glass. Thankfully, one of our last stops, Ballast Point, brought along a beer that is a perfect pale ale for this occasion. Their Even Keel Pale Ale, was just fantastic, and perfect for this mild October day. It had a perfect pine aroma, with just enough citrus to hit your nose. The taste was quite the same, with a great dry finish that didn’t linger for too long. Not be outdone, they also brought along an arsenal of their other lovingly-crafted brews: Big Eye IPA, Calico Amber, Pale Ale, and the incomparable Sculpin IPA.

 I can’t finish this without giving a shout-out to all of the food vendors that made it out to quench the hunger of the beer sipping crowd.  From restaurant representatives to food trucks, there was something for everyone. Our eatery of choice ended up being Haulin’ Balls, who serve a variety of gourmet sandwiches based around, you guessed it, the meatball.  The food was nothing short of remarkable, and I would recommend that any carnivore seek them out.

All in all, this may have been the most pleasant beer festival that I’ve had the opportunity to attend. A big thanks is in order to all the vendors, sponsors,  and especially Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada for all the phenomenal brands that they helped bring together! As a group, we’d also like to thank any of our followers that found us and said hello. It’s always great to meet you guys in person, and we appreciate all of the kind words and constructive feedback that we receive.

In closing, if you have not had an opportunity to attend one of these festivals, then you are missing out! Do yourself a favor and make sure that you clear your calendar off and come out and have a blast! …I’m sure you’ll see us there!

Your’s truly filling in for Karl at New Belgium, while he took a well deserved bathroom break

There came a time in my life that I was deeply enamored with IPA’s. The more bitter the better. An American IPA is probably about as American as you can get. Loud and in your face with a giant floral aroma and a painfully bitter bite. Sadly, after trying countless IPAs, I began to get bored with the style. It seemed there were only so many ways to make an IPA. Nearly every IPA I had began to taste like the last IPA I had. Sure, there were my go-to IPAs that never let me down, but anything new that I tried, tasted too familiar.

Thankfully the good folks at the Alpine Beer Company came along and reminded me that while everyone can make an IPA, not everyone should make an IPA. An IPA is a balancing act of so many different elements. If all the different attributes of an IPA are in perfect balance, it is truly a work of art. Too many brewers strive for this perfection, but fall short.

When I first heard that New Belgium was collaborating with Alpine to make ‘Super IPA,’ I was disinterested. Just another double IPA, I thought. Then Armando introduced me to Alpine’s IPA, Duet. What an incredible beer, unlike anything that I’ve had before. Perfect balance of pine, citrus, and pineapple, with a perfect balance between the firm bitterness and malt backbone. After drinking Duet, I had been reminded of what a good IPA tastes like and was immediately looking forward to trying Super IPA.

Thanks to our local New Belgium Ranger, Karl Herrera, I finally had the chance to try Super IPA.

Alpine and New Belgium are artists when it comes to formulating a perfectly balanced IPA. This beer clocks in at 9% alcohol by volume, so creating such a heavy beer, with all the proper IPA nuances is no easy feat.

First of all, there is an incredibly sweet, citrus, and fruity aroma coming off this beer. Mango, lemon, grapefruit zest, a little pineapple, altogether it kinda smells like Fruity Pebbles!
Considering the high alcohol content, it is a relatively light bodied beer, making this extremely drinkable. There is very little malt presence, but along with the light body, there is a nice bit of sweetness from the residual sugars. This sweetness balances the strong, piney bitterness that follows. The bitterness on this beer is amazing. While it’s not too overwhelming on the palate, the pine and citrus zest linger for quite a while in your sinuses, even after you swallow. The high alcohol content hides itself well, but it does give a little warmth in the aftertaste.

As I mentioned in the beginning, while everyone can make an IPA, not everyone should. This beer is an example of two breweries that should keep making IPAs.

Peach Porch Lounger is New Belgium’s most recent Lips of Faith beer. This beer is a collaboration beer between New Belgium and musician G. Love.  Check out the video talking about the collaboration here.
The beer is a saison style brewed with molasses, lemon peal, and peach juice.

Right off the bat, this beer shows signs of Brettanomyces used in secondary. The funky, tropical fruity yeast is also complemented by a fruity aroma typically attributed to peaches and other stone fruits.

This beer has an incredibly complex taste. Fruity and floral flavors along with a spicy finish from the yeast. Along with the peach, there are also hints of pineapple and lemon peal flavors. The peach juice blends well with this beer, giving it a nice, sweet compliment, but not overpowering the other elements.

The malt gives this beer a bready flavor. The 9.4% alcohol gives this beer some heat. The yeast, peach juice, molasses, and lemon peel give this beer a complex and hearty fruitiness. Together, this beer tastes like a fresh, warm biscuit topped with fruit marmalade. Absolutely delicious.

Beerpulse had previously announced label approval for 12 oz cans earlier this week, but it looks like New Belgium made it offiicial by posting the above photo to their Instagram feed.

I previously posted about Shift when it was first released in Las Vegas here. I mentioned in that article the benefits, and likely reasons, for having this beer being only available in a can, but I didn’t touch on the benefits or marketing reasons of it only being available in a 16 oz can. My guess, is that the new decision to make Shift also available in 12 oz cans was likely based on a different kind of demand than originally expected from the sole 16 oz cans of Shift.

In my mind, the 16 oz can was perfect. Firstly, it is much cheaper to manufacture only one version of a particular product. Second, at 5% alcohol, it is one of the lowest alcohol content beers that New Belgium makes year-round. Not only that, but is is one of the driest, crispest beers they make. Add in the fact that the increased hops compared to most lagers makes this one of the most flavorful, refreshing, craft beers available that isn’t too filling. The added 4 oz is well welcomed for this style of beer.

So what changed? My only assumption would be to make this beer available at a possibly more attractive price point. The 4 packs of Shift are usually available at around the same price as New Belgium’s year-round beers available in 6 packs. Assuming a 6 pack of 12 oz Shifts is also available at the same price point, consumers are able to purchase 8 more ounces of beer, but more importantly, the perception of 2 more beers than buying a 4 pack.

The only thing that I’m left still wondering, is whether the 16 oz cans will still be available. Given New Belgium’s size, and the variety of packaging available for their other year-round beers, I would assume it will still stick around, as the cost is probably not too substantial for them. Still, I loved the appeal of making a single beer available in only a single packaging format.

If you’ve been following us on Twitter, you’ve probably heard me say quite a few times, “perfect beer for summer!” I’m starting to lose track of all these summer beers I’m recommending, so I thought I’d try and compile them all for you here. Feel free to chime in with your favorite summer beers.

New Belgium Tart Lychee – Definitely one of my new favorite beers. I fully admit that I don’t exactly know what lychee tastes like, but the fruitiness in this beer reminds me of cranberry, grape, and a little bit of pear. The sweet fruitiness in the beer gives a little bit of a crisp, tart edge upfront, making it taste a little like a flavored lemonade. Just the right amount of cinnamon is added as well giving a lightly spicy finish. Surprisingly, this is 8.5% alcohol, but the dry body and slightly sweet, slightly sour taste hides it well.

Maui Brewing Sobrehumano Palena ‘ole – This is a collaboration beer made with Jolly Pumpkin. The current version that is available is Maui’s version. This is a red ale made with liliko’i (some Hawaiian fruit) and cherries. The fruit gives this beer a nice tart flavor, but not as tart as New Belgium’s Tart Lychee. Again the light, crisp body and subtle fruitiness make this a very refreshing beer.

Stone Smoked Porter W/ Chipotle Peppers/Vanilla Bean – Stone has just released these two variations of their popular Smoked Porter. One is similar to an ice cream beer float, the other is similar to a Mexican molé sauce. However, hese smokey, delicious bastards are not available in Nevada. If you’ve ever had one of these at a beer festival, then you know that it is worth the trip to Southern California.

New Belgium Shift – This is basically the perfect “anytime” beer. It’s in a can, so you can safely take it anywhere. Perfect replacement for a cheap, light lager. This is a dry, crisp lager with a nice cracker like malt character and it is firmly hopped for a nice bitter edge. The light body and alcohol content makes this ideal for drinking outside when it’s over 100 degrees.

Uinta Baba Black Lager – All the benefits of a lager: light body, dry, and crisp; with all the benefits of a dark beer: roasty, malt flavor and goes great with the dark, charred bits of barbecued food.

One more, because I can never have enough favorite beers:

Stone Levitation – This is a low alcohol, session ale. The 4.4% alcohol content is similar to a Coors Light, but the difference being that this beer has a healthy dose of hops and colorful malt bill, giving this beer the same refreshing, light body of a light lager, but with a surprisingly complex flavor.

*All photos came from the respective breweries’ websites.

A couple of weeks ago, New Belgium released their newest beer, Shift Pale Lager.

Shift Pale Lager tastes like a pale ale would if you fermented it with a lager yeast. The beer is super dry and crisp like a lager, but with more hops than any lager I’ve ever had. The hop presence is primarily very floral, it smells, and tastes, like fresh cut grass. It would definitely pair well with lawn mowing. It has a dry, cracker-like malt flavor with a nice bit of hop bitterness in the finish that lingers a around for a while. This is a very refreshing beer. Definitely perfect for the hot, sunny days here in Vegas.

New Belgium will be providing Shift Pale Lager year round, much like Fat Tire, Ranger IPA, 1554, and others. However, while those beers are available on draft, bottles, and cans (in the case of Fat Tire and Ranger IPA), Shift, on the other hand, will only be available in 16 oz cans. No bottles, no draft, only cans. But why cans? New Belgium is really pushing the idea of Shift being THE beer to reach for after your work shift (get it?). All the advertising and marketing depicts this being a beer that is enjoyed while working on the car, sitting by the pool, out at the park, basically the kinds of things people do to unwind. To that end, it is only available in cans simply because it is the cheapest way to make the beer as accessible as possible for every possible scenario. What I mean by that is, you can take a can anywhere! Usually public pools, parks, beaches, etc, do not allow glass. By only allowing consumers to purchase this in a can, they are allowing those who purchase it the freedom to take it anywhere they want to enjoy a beer.

It seems these days that most of the breweries jumping on the can bandwagon tout how eco-friendly cans are compared to glass, since they weigh less and are supposedly more recyclable. The week of Shift’s official launch, another well known brewery was tweeting out all the different ways that mining for bauxite, and the process to convert it into aluminum, is very harmful to the planet, and has caused toxic damages to the countries where it is mined. New Belgium went ahead and gave an honest answer to the sustainability of cans here. What they wrote matches my own personal research: There has been no comprehensive, UN-BIASED study comparing cans vs glass, and which is more sustainable. The fact is, can’s harmful mining requirements probably equal out to the increased fuel consumption that glass requires. Basically, it’s a wash. Neither are truly sustainable. If you care about sustainability, the only way to make either one more sustainable, is to recycle.

The main point here though is that Shift is a great beer and is the perfect solution to nearly every occasion. Canning this beer was a smart move in that it is a very accessible beer for nearly every environment. Is it better for the environment than glass? Who knows, but at least you can bring it to the pool, or take it hiking. Because let’s be honest, that’s all we really want, right?

Best part: Do you like beer? No? Go to another blog that better suits your interests!

More info on the brand new Shift Lager that was just released today here.