New Belgium/Elysian Collaboration The Trip XII Pink Peppercorn IPA

So New Belgium and Elysian has this collaboration series called The Trip. I’m under the impression that these are actually brewed in Seattle, but I could be wrong on that. Neither brewery website has updated information on the series. Anyways, it’s an IPA with pink peppercorns. What else do you need to know?

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 7.5% ABV. Washington. Limited Release.

Burnt orange in color with a really nice, fluffy head.

Well, you definitely get that peppercorn aroma on the nose. Just go open a tin of black pepper, that’s what it smells like. I’m not sure how a pink peppercorn differs, but it’s certainly peppery. You don’t get much else here other than a little bit of caramel.

Mouthfeel is really nice in this beer. A nice medium body with a lower carbonation level leaves this beer with a fairly heavy mouthfeel.

Peppery, with a little hint of caramel and vanilla. It’s like a spice cabinet in my mouth, but the pepper isn’t spicy and obnoxious. It does over power the hop flavor until the finish where you get some medium bitterness.

I like this beer. If you like pepper, then you will probably also like this beer. I’m glad it’s not overbearing, but it does over-power the hop flavor. 89 points.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Cocoa Mole

I finally got my hands on this brew. It’s certainly making waves around the beer community as a completely unique beer. It’s got a 90 on BA, so it looks like people are digging it. Pale, C-80, Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate malts with Target hops. But the real flavor is from the Ancho, Guajillo, and Chipotle peppers with cinnamon and cocoa.

Stats:
Chili Beer. 9.0% ABV. Colorado. Limited Release.

Dark rum to ruby in color. It’s got an off-white head that dissipates fairly quickly.

The nose smells fantastic. It’s a cinnamon treat with a hint of chili powder and cocoa. It brings a little bit of sweetness as well. It just smells delicious.

Mouthfeel is medium body with lower carbonation.

Cinnamon, chili, hint of caramel and cocoa up front and it’s delicious. Little bit of sweetness there as well. But then the flavor dies down a bit to showcase the chili flavor in the mid-palate. Then all that delicious flavor completely dies on the finish and you are left with some bitterness and heat. The finish tastes watered-down and astringent somehow.

This is one of the most interesting beers that I’ve ever had. It’s got some amazing flavor, but then it brings that strange, off-balanced bitterness, mixed with this watered-down flavor on the backend and finish that makes it almost undrinkable for me. I actually almost dumped this entire bottle. I think this is a beer that I will recommend, just because it’s so unusual, it’s worth a try at least once. 82 points.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Biere de Mars

This is a style called Biere de Garde, and it may very well be the first that I’ve ever had. Obviously, it’s not a terribly popular style. The malts are Pale, C-80, Wheat, and Carapils with oats. The hop selection is Target, Willamette, and Cascades with some lemon peel and lemon verbena added. It looks like there’s some Brett in here as well, so I’m expecting a big dose of citrus on this one.

Stats:
Biere de Garde. 6.2% ABV. 22 IBUs. Colorado. Limited Release.

It’s got this lovely bright orange color with a fantastic head.

The nose has some earthy-spicyness with a bit of lemon zest. Doesn’t seem sour at all, but has a hint of a yeast character. Reminds me a bit of a saison, but not quite as pronounced.

The first thing that comes to mind on this beer is just how light it is in flavor. It’s got a bit of citrus, a bit of earthy-ness. Hint of vanilla follows with a low bitterness on the back.

I really liked the idea of this beer. I love citrusy beers and I love Brett, but I’m not getting much of anything on here. It’s shockingly light on flavor. 82 points.

New Belgium Dig

This Spring Seasonal is one of the newest in New Belgium’s lineup. It’s an American Pale Ale that has a bit of twist, with some interesting hop additions. It’s got Pale and C-80 malt with Target, Cascade, Nugget, Nelson Sauvin, and Soriachi Ace hops.

Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.6% ABV. 36 IBUs. Colorado. Spring Seasonal.

Orange to light copper in color. It’s got a decent head that fades, but leaves some nice looking lacing on the glass.

The nose isn’t as hoppy as I was expecting with that crazy hop profile. You get a nice biscuit malt profile with a mostly earthy and spicey hop profile.

Mouthfeel is solid, a bit light in body, but it makes for an easy drinking brew.

I get some black pepper and earth on the palate initially, then it transitions to a bit of a tropical fruit profile, but it’s quite light. Medium bitterness on the back with a grainy finish.

It’s a solid beer, but I find it pretty forgettable. 86 points.

New Belgium Snow Day

This is the new seasonal from New Belgium. It’s under the American Black Ale category on BA, but originally I thought this was a Winter Warmer. It’s brewed with Pale, C-80, and Midnight Wheat malts with Styrian Goldings, Centennial, and Cascade hops.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.2% ABV. 55 IBUs. Colorado. Winter Seasonal.

Dark ruby in color. Tan head that doesn’t stay very long.

A lot of piney hops on the nose. It’s got a bit of spice, but it’s really all about the forest here with a lot of that pine cone coming through.

Mouthfeel is a little bit light, with some crisp carbonation.

Tons of pine, but it’s not overly bitter. A little bit of orange comes through now with a hint of cracked black pepper.

This is a pretty big departure for New Belgium, but it’s probably become my favorite beer of theirs. It’s an aggressively hopped, but balanced-ly bitter brew. It’s a hearty winter ale that takes it’s place among the other hoppy beers of the seasonal. 88 points.

Beer Club 12/10/11 Winter Seasonals

Yes, I’m finally getting around to posting a recap of the last beer club. This one might be on the shorter side, because we consumed the largest amount of beer for a beer club yet. It was also the smallest crowd that we’ve had for a beer club. So we drank a lot. I grabbed a bunch of random Winter seasonals. Some are my favorites, and some I just thought would be interesting.

We started with the Winter Bock from Silver City. This one was actually a big hit. It’s an easy-drinking beer, with a hint of sweetness, which went over very well.

The 10 Degrees Below is one of my favorite seasonals from this state. It’s a weizenbock, which makes it an interesting, and delicious, twist for the season.

Moving back to Silver City, we have the Old Scrooge. This is actually considered an English Barleywine. I have to say that the beer seems like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s more like a cross between a winter warmer and a barleywine. I don’t think this one was a winner for anyone.

Moving on to a winter warmer from Oregon, the Laurelwood Vinter Varmer went over pretty well. It’s an alright beer, but doesn’t blow me away, especially with all the other great examples out there.

Then one of my favorites, the Deschutes Jubelale. I love this beer, but it didn’t seem to be a huge hit that night. It’s my favorite winter warmer, and it’s just a delicious beer. This year’s batch is actually quite a bit different, but every bit as excellent as last year’s.

And now for something a little different. This hopped up New Belgium Snow Day actually went over pretty well. Even though it’s a hoppy mother of a beer, the bitterness was on the lower side, which made it fairly drinkable for the rest of the club. I was expecting people to hate this, but they didn’t.

And here’s another one of my favorite Winter beers. This barleywine was a bit too much for everyone, except the one person who is a big fan of barleywines. I love this beer, and I’ve got one stashed away for next Christmas.

To end the night, we had the imperial stout from Port Brewing called Santa’s Little Helper. The beer was surprisingly light for an imperial stout, but it still had a bite. I wish we would have had this one before the HotD barleywine, because it wasn’t a very roasty beer and the hops from the barleywine really destroyed the palate.

We’ll see you next month!

New Belgium Lips of Faith Prickly Passion Saison

This saison features Pale and C-80 malts with Target and Liberty hops. Oh yeah, it also has passion fruit and prickly pear juices in it. It sounds delicious, let’s see if it is.

Stats:
Saison. 8.5% ABV. Colorado. Limited Release.

Golden orange color. Very little head on this one.

You get some of that yeast and a little bit of fruit. It doesn’t really seem like juices were added. It’s got a bit of a spice component as well, with a little honey drizzled on top.

Mouthfeel is decent. It’s highly carbonated, but it does have a decent body. The carbonation makes it feel light.

It’s actually fairly sweet. It’s got a heavy honey and yeast component with a little bit of tropical fruit and a black pepper spice.

It’s not terrible, but it just doesn’t excite me very much. The added fruit juices don’t come through much. 84 points.

New Belgium Trippel

Here’s NB’s Tripel. A lighter, but generally high alcohol Belgian ale. This one clocks in at 7.8%. This beer features Pale, Munich, and Victory malts with Saaz, Liberty, and Target hops. They also threw a little coriander in here, as well.

Stats:
Tripel. 7.8% ABV. Colorado.

Pale golden color with a little bit of white head.

Very “New Belgium” on the nose. Lots of light fruits with a hop spice with some nice apple and pears, but I do notice a little bit of alcohol.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side, but carbonation isn’t really high.

To be expected, light fruits with some spices. The backend feels really disjointed and slightly hot, which I don’t like. And again, some nice fruit flavors, namely apple, pear, and peach.

This is an alright beer. A pretty sessionable tripel, but the backend bothers me. I would look to other beers. 83 points.

New Belgium Ranger

This is New Belgium’s first American India Pale Ale, if you can believe that. This IPA features Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe hops with Pale and C-120 malts. It’s gotten some good reviews, and I know @sudsymaggie is a pretty big fan. Let’s see how it is.

Stats:
India Pale Ale. 6.5% ABV. 70 IBUs. Colorado.

Light amber in color with really nice lacing on the glass.

Very hoppy nose with lots of citrus and pine coming through. I get some gorgeous oranges and tangerines on the nose. Lots of apricots coming through with a tad bit of pear and a hint of vanilla and earth.

Mouth feel is a tad light, and a bit carbonated.

Citrus flavors up front with pine following down the palate with some apricots showing up at the end. The end shows a little earth and pine with a tad bit of petrol. A considerable bitterness on the back end, proving a bit off-balanced.

Well it’s a solid brew, but pretty boring and typical. I’ll recommend, but there are better choices out there. 86 points.

New Belgium 2° Below

Yay Winter seasonals! This is New Belgium’s Winter ESB. The malts feature Pale, Munich, Caramel, C-80, Carapils, and Victory with Target, Sterling, and Liberty hops. Normally I like my winter beers to be dark and malty, so let’s see how this lighter one fairs.

Stats:
Extra Special Bitter. 6.6% ABV. 32 IBUs. Colorado. Winter Seasonal.

Slightly orangish in color with a head that completely escapes the glass as soon as you pour it.

Mostly a malt forward, almost grain quality on the nose. There are some definite hop notes here as well. Some honey notes and a slight vanilla. There is a bit of alcohol on here as well, which concerns me.

Body is a bit light, but carbonation is alright.

I’m getting some hops first on the palate with a bit of orange and honey, slight earth note. The back-end is really disjointed. The bitterness and alcohol mix to leave a terrible taste in the mouth. I do get quite a bit of lemon as well.

Really unimpressed with this effort. Terrible back-end, really light, and a pretty shallow beer. 78 points.