Lips Of Faith - Cocoa Molé - New Belgium Brewing

seedsofchaos

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

My local bottle shop just got this in tonight and a buddy and I decided to give it a go-around. I can definitely say, Cocoa Mole is like nothing else I've ever tried.

Cherry cola in color, Cocoa Mole pours with just a skimming of a head. Although dark, it has great clarity, active carbonation and highlights of ruby. The aroma is immediately sweet. This smells more like freshly baked cinnamon churros than a beer. Just a touch of cocoa and a touch of fresh sweet pepper but mostly sweet malts and cinnamon..

The bouquet isn't immediately echoed in the flavor as black pepper and alcohol are perceived first. Barleywine-esque malt sweetness comes in quickly on this full bodied brew. Definitely... Without a doubt... Spicy!! Cocoa Mole is so spicy, in fact, that it makes me feel as if I've just eaten a stuffed habenero and am on the verge of heartburn. Eventually, your palate gets used to the edge and a subtle chocolate begins to take its place among flavors of churro batter, cocoa and fresh peppers.

This is definitely a unique beer and, whereas I wouldn't be opposed to having another some time in the future, I wouldn't seek it out ever again. This is for sharing and sipping as the lingering spice can be quite unappealing at times. Different but not necessarily in a good way...

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 02:28:11 | More by seedsofchaos

claspada

New Jersey

3.28/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a semi-clear medium-dark brown color with a thin off-white head that fades pretty quickly. Just a few spots of bubbly lacing on the sides of the glass.

Aromas begin quite cinnamon forward with some mild but increasingly intense chocolate. The spice/peppers are noticed, but in the background.

The tastes are quite spice forward, both cinnamon and chile pepper. The chocolate and toasted bready maltiness in the aroma is completely overpowered by the dualing over-spicing, which is unfortunate, as they really drown out the other aspects of the beer.

The mouthfeel is light-medium bodied with medium carbonation. The finish has quite a bit of lingering spice. The heat isn't overbearing at all, but it is disproportionate to the other characteristics of the beer. Typical thin mouthfeel that is found with many of New Belgium's beer thanks to them filtering and not bottle-conditioning anymore

Overall this beer started okay but ended up completely falling flat for me. The spices overwhelm the flavor profile of the beer leaving it too cinnamon forward in the end (which says a lot because I love it, I put a crap-ton in in my oatmeal everyday). LOF series beers are quite hit or miss, you can guess where I feel this one falls.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 20:10:20 | More by claspada

TKEbeerman

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: poured into my taster, this brew pours a caramel red with an average head. Nothing to special.
S: The aroma of this brew is just a hint of chocolate. A little pepper is present in the noise. Natural chile.
A: the flavor has a very ballanced pepper tasted with chocolate to mellow the peppers. the peppers kick on the back of the pallet.
MF: the mouth feel is a little thin and the carbination is light, but still the body of this brew can hold up....barely.
Overall a unique beer, worth the try.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 03:23:52 | More by TKEbeerman

jethrodium

California

3.2/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

650 ml bottle. Pours a dark cola brown with a small tan head that settles to a ring and leaves very little lacing. Aroma is rocoa, smoked chiles, vanilla, a bit of cinnamon, and a mineral note. The taste is sweet cocoa, cinnamon, some smoked pepper, and a bit of a mineral note. It finishes with some smoky pepper heat and a light bitterness. Light body. Low carbonation. This reminds me a little bit of Hunahpu's, but without the roastiness to balance the other flavors and without the amazing full, creamy mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2012 08:07:11 | More by jethrodium

sbl556

Georgia

3.03/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I was really excited to try this as it pulled on my foodie heartstrings because I love experimenting with Molé sauces. That's pretty much the reason I got this as I've been underwhelmed by every other lips of faith i've tried...and I was pretty excited about those as well.

Bomber, poured into 20oz pint glass.

A- Dark brown pour with appealing tan head. Unforunately the head dissipates immediately with no lacing creating a really unappealing flat coke like appearance for the brew,

S- the highlight of the beer from what I can gather. Inviting Molé smell with cocoa and fresh chile scent being clear on the nose.

T- The Cocoa flavor hits upfront hard. It's clear that this is really cocoa and not chocolate which was refreshing, and the finish is a nice spice hit. these two flavors completely overpower everything else, save for a hint of cinnamon dark malts. the alchohol flavor, which was anticipated and I was looking forward to isn't even coming out by the bipolar flavor of this beer. While both are good flavors I enjoyed, this beer is screaming for more complexity that never develops.

M- nice feeling on the tongue and roof of the mouth that's essentially ruined by the soda like carbonation for me. the first thing that came to my mind is it felt like spicy dr. pepper going down my throat. I was not happy with the sensation.

O- There's a lot of promise in this beer. If it would have done what I anticipated it doing, namely had some head retention and developed more than a duopoly of flavors, it could have been very good. As it is, average to below average brew. Will not try again and I'll try to restrain myself the next time a LoF beer looks interesting.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2012 02:17:15 | More by sbl556

Justin_Neff

Ohio

2.94/5  rDev -26.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22oz bomber

A: Pours a dark brown body, translucent when held to light. Fizzy light brown head. Disappears quickly with no lacing on the glass.

S: Strong cocoa flavor. Spicy pepper aromas. Sweet malt and cinnamon.

T: More pepper than anything. The sweet and spice conflict - not good. Some chocolate and cinnamon.

M: High carbonation. A little dry. Medium Body.

O: Appreciate what it's trying to be, but not my cup of tea.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 19:37:21 | More by Justin_Neff

Murrhey

Montana

2.93/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured on-tap in a taster at Haven Gastropub in Orange, Calif. Reviewed from notes.

A- Thin tan head. Little retention but laces quite well. Mahogany color with excellent clarity.

S- Cocoa and chili peppers, caramel. Nutty brown. Strange and spicy.

T- Extremely odd flavor. Spicy chilis and cocoa. Tastes musty and funky. Is actually somewhat spicy.

M- Very light feel with a strange dry, dusty flavor.

O- It's a weird beer. Not sure I would order it again.

Serving type: on-tap

12-01-2012 03:14:13 | More by Murrhey

BrutalSusan

Texas

2.9/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

bottle to pint glass.

Quickly diminishing head. Translucent brown in appearance. Strong cinnamon and baking spice flavor with a little pumpkin and a hint of salt on the finish. I feel like it needs more of a bittering hop presence. decent beer if you split three ways, a half pint is all i need. should be released in the fall. it would make for a nice after dinner drink. Not my thing, but an unusual beer that i am glad to have tried.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 07:17:40 | More by BrutalSusan

david18

New York

2.88/5  rDev -27.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I had this on a recent visit to Todd English Pub in Las Vegas. I wasn't a huge fan of it. I found the atypical to beer elements to be too overpowering for the beer itself. I'm probably not the best person so listen to, as I see lots of good reviews but I could barely finish mine.

Serving type: on-tap

04-26-2012 19:49:53 | More by david18

CasanovaCummins

Nevada

2.83/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Very colorful, Mariachi style graphics. Very fun look.

Sorry to say, but the pour is a murky brown pour that isn't appealing to the eye. Minimal head that fades quickly.

Smells strangely of Cocoa powder, molasses cookies, and a cold chicken sandwich! A bit confusing. Not unpleasant, just a little cold on the nose.

The taste is a swirling Uber-sweet flush of spice heat. Ayyyiiiiyyyiii. Man, that pungent sweet heat packs a wallop. I'm grabbing for a tortilla to knock back some of the heat. The heat doesn't dissapate but grows with each mouthful.

Found this a bit overwhelming. A snifter pour is a good serving size, anything else is masochism!

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2012 02:10:54 | More by CasanovaCummins

pants678

California

2.8/5  rDev -29.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Looks like a stout, thick and black with quite a bit of action going on just after the pour. Frothy white head.

You can smell the chiles right oft.

Chocolate and chile but not peppery in the way I'd expect. The chocolate's pushed off in the details as the heat is up front. There's cinnamon but there's so much of an amalgamation here it's hard to point anything out. Seems muddled, never unravels--I wish there some something sweet here. No idea about hops on this one. Not really pushed to try it again.

Carbonated like a stout, feels sorta milky with a dry finish.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2012 23:48:52 | More by pants678

StLThrash

Missouri

2.78/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a bomber into a snifter.

A - Dark brown, with very minimal head that dissipated rather quickly and left no lacing.

S - Not getting a lot here - a little bit of spice, a little cinnamon, not much of the chocolate or cocoa.

T & M - Very thin. Don't get much of a taste at all until the aftertaste where I get a hint of what this beer is supposedly all about. Fair carbonation, but very lacking and a disappointment.

Overall - I might have gotten a bad bottle, but this beer didn't live up to expectations. Not even close. Surprised given all of the other high ratings here. I might try on another occasion, but doubtful.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2012 13:05:29 | More by StLThrash

Arborescence

Finland

2.73/5  rDev -31.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Served in room temperature.

Appearance: Very dark brown, but not quite black. Pours a head like soda, it recedes immediately -- disappointing.

Aroma: Cocoa and chili, some malt in the background. The spices are evident, the beer not so much!

Taste: Strong and spicy, but where are the beer characteristics? There are no hops evident, and the malt is very mild and on the background. Chipotle is present as a hot spiciness, but not too strong. The cocoa is perhaps dominant, although not like in a chocolate stout. It's clear that they used cocoa. Cinnamon is also clearly there. Alcohol tastes through as well, although not as much as you might think for a beer of such a high ABV.

Mouthfeel: Pretty bland, carbonated like soda, light to medium body.

Overall: Disappointing. I was excited an curious about this beer, but it fails to deliver. It's only the second beer from the Lips of Faith series that I've tried, but they've both been below average (the other one was Biere de Mars). Surprising, as I really like New Belgium's other beers. Anyway, this beer just doesn't taste like beer. It seems like an experiment gone wrong. The spices are nice, but given the strong spices, you'd need an equally robust beer to support them.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 00:59:36 | More by Arborescence

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

2.63/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle to tulip.

A - Medium brown; very slightly translucent. A small amount of cream coloured head formed on the pour and immediately disappeared.

S - Roast, spice and spicy chillies. Not much chocolate at all in the nose.

T - Roast, chocolate and chillies with a bit of a kick. Some cinnamon is present in the finish. The chillies completely dominate and drown out the other elements of the beer. I couldn't get through more than a few sips of this one.

M - Light body. Moderate to high carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2012 13:34:30 | More by TheSevenDuffs

GlassHalfFull

2.25/5  rDev -43.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

This was a huge letdown for me. As an avid Mexican food fan, I was looking forward to something complex, flavorful, and spicy. The bottle design is intriguing and colorful. The initial nose is nice, with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. The appearance was a little thin, with very little lacing and a weak head.

This was shared with a few mates at a tasting party. We all came to the same conclusion...it wasn't worth finishing our glasses. The remainder of the beer was poured down the sink. I rarely dispose of mediocre beer. But, I couldn't bring myself to finishing this one. Very disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 01:59:01 | More by GlassHalfFull

Homerb3

1.53/5  rDev -61.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

I did not like this beer at all.

I saw it, liked the bottle, read the ingredients and thought that could be good. I was wrong.

Had a nice light brown color.

Poured almost flat with no head at all.

The taste was spicy chocolate in a bad way. Burning alcohol aftertaste.

I normally like all of New Belgiums creations but do not recommend this unless you wanna play a joke on someone,

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 12:43:02 | More by Homerb3

TheTot

Indiana

1.43/5  rDev -64.2%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a strange dark brown but see through like soda. Had a strange carbonation fizz that went away instantly leaving no head at all and no carbonation bubbles at all. The smell is of cinnamon and all spice, reminds me of an apple pie a lot. No cocoa smell at all. After a minor spillage incident we will get to the tasting. Very harsh on the tongue, and by that I mean the carbonation bubbles are very intense and unpleasant. Like the smell the taste is a lot like cinnamon and other spices but in an unflattering way. This might be my least favorite of the lips of faith series and may not be finishable. The mouthfeel is very light and unpleasant. I apologize for giving this beer such a bad review but I think there was a lot to be desired after drinking this beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 07:09:38 | More by TheTot