Beer Tasting Notes {New Belgium Lips of Faith: Grand Cru and Super Cru}

Last night Jim and I joined our friends at Alley Katz in Sacramento for some happy hour love.  We were lucky enough to be treated to an exclusive sampling of two new Lips of Faith brews from New Belgium - we shared 1/2 of each bottle between 5 of us, so it was a very light sampling, but enough to get a good taste of each.  Good company, interesting beer... what more can a girl ask for on a Thursday night? :)

New Belgium Lips of Faith Super Cru

Super Cru is a 10% ABV sour Belgian Style strong ale that pours a lovely reddish orange.  I wish the flavor had been as pretty as its color.  It has a pretty overwhelming sour pear and cherry flavor mixed with the unmistakable earthiness of the Saison yeast, sweet maltiness and a soft alcohol warmth.  The first sip was a little off-putting with the sourness; it has the rotten sour cherryish characteristics of a very tart Flemish sour or Lambic, not the clean light citrusy Belgian sour flavor that I adore.  After a few more sips, it grew on me some, but then toward the end I didn't like it so much anymore and actually gave up the rest of my sample.  They should have marketed this as a Flemish sour.  Not something I'd drink on the regular (at all), but it was interesting to try.  Glad I didn't pay for it.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Grand Cru Abbey Ale

Grand Cru is a 9.5% ABV Abbey ale that pours a light cola-brown color.  The nose holds some sweet malty sugar and fresh bread.  It is very malty, slightly smokey and has a lightly sour banana-clove Belgian yeast flavor hiding at the edges.  It's a very chewy beer, like a nice fresh yeasty brown bread.  I'd drink this again.

 

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And a quick shout out to the AGG... pffft, you know who you are!  Tushy!  Kisses!

>^..^<