Lips Of Faith - Brett Beer - New Belgium Brewing

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.83/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

22 ounce bottle - $7.99 at Lucky's Beverage World in Woodstock, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a hazed, straw-hued body with a medium-small, creamyish, white head. Very scant lace on the descent.

Smell: Slightly sweet-smelling, hay-hinted malts, maybe a little crumpled cookie. Agreeably fruity, with notes of pineapple, pear, apple, and citrus. Mild whole clove hints.

Taste: Light touch of pale malts (with a little sugar cookie sweetness) quickly changing to fruity tastes of sweetened pear juice, pineapple juice, and a sprinkling of fresh lemon zest. Some bitterness coming across, but also some clove-like phenolics. All of the various tastes roll around the tongue until the semi-dry, fruity, creamyish finish with a touch of alcoholic warmth.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Creamyish mouthfeel.

Overall: Well, it's not exactly what I was expecting. Essentially none of the wildness coming across from the brettanomyces. Grab hold of the bottle and shimmy your thumb over "BRETT" on the label. This leaves a more straightforward, honest "BEER" on the front of the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 21:50:26 | More by ChainGangGuy

Stalgondo

Georgia

4/5  rDev +19.8%

05-19-2013 16:38:34 | More by Stalgondo

Fargrow

North Dakota

3.5/5  rDev +4.8%

05-18-2013 19:30:07 | More by Fargrow

MaddDogg84

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +27.2%

05-18-2013 02:34:35 | More by MaddDogg84

Sludgeman

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +27.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A bomber. Poured into a small wine glass.

A delicate, complex brew. The aroma itself is complex, hard to describe and worth the purschase.

A - Poured a cloudy straw color, half-finger dense white head, which quickly dissipates.

S – Barnyard funk, grassy, maybe a little litter box, slightly fruity.

T – Medium to low bitterness balanced with light maltiness, some oak, medium dryness.

MF – Some smoothness.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 04:26:18 | More by Sludgeman

MN_Beerticker

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +12.3%

05-16-2013 16:10:56 | More by MN_Beerticker

bismarksays

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev +12.3%

05-16-2013 16:06:27 | More by bismarksays

PsychicBubblegum

California

3/5  rDev -10.2%

05-07-2013 17:46:21 | More by PsychicBubblegum

Tilley4

Tennessee

3.95/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I've had this bottle for quite some time and decided now was as good a time as any to give it a go...

A fairly clear appearance reminds me of a chardonnay actually... A little lighter than gold...

Aromas are interesting here... Lots of funkiness from the Brett... definitely the band aid thing but the aroma is pregnant with this past-its-prime fruit that adds an interesting twist to this. Maybe it's the Soriachi hops? It's like you've taken a beer and thrown it in an old oak barrel, covered it with cheesecloth and let it sit for a month or so...

I actually like what I'm getting from this. Mind you, it isn't earth shattering or anything but I don't think it's quite as bad as some of the other reviews would let on. In the world of Wild Ales, it's definitely not a superstar but it is still a good beer and seems somehow different than others. There's more funky Brett and less sourness than one would find in others... Very earthy and old feeling...

I admit it... I liked this one... I would drink this again if offered... That being said, it's not the best Wild out there, not by a long stretch of the imagination... But it's still a good beer that I enjoyed...

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 12:55:13 | More by Tilley4

djs467

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev +4.8%

04-30-2013 16:15:50 | More by djs467

Googs

New York

3.25/5  rDev -2.7%

04-27-2013 15:10:11 | More by Googs

sparx1100

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -2.7%

04-25-2013 02:53:34 | More by sparx1100

tectactoe

Michigan

2.78/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.75

Thanks to Mike for opening this one with me. Lost Abbey and New Belgium creating a beer with Brett... what could go wrong, right? This one pours a dense shade of gold, moderately translucent with lots of tiny sediment hanging in suspension within the beer. Foamy, nearly soapy white head fizzles up and dissipates almost as quickly; moderate lacing left behind.

Whoof, the aroma is an overload of Brett and bready malt. More than I care to handle in one serving, at least. Liberal amounts of funk, biscuit, and heavy, heavy baked bread. Don't get me wrong, I love bread. But not in this capacity when describing a beer. Moderately damp, musky citrus, though not enough to give an appealing sweetness or tartness. I hate to say this, also, but I think this marks the first time I'm actually smelled "band-aids" in my beer. It's got a funky, medical, sterile, weird-ass aroma. Not a big fan - let's hope this one tastes a little better.

Well, don't get your hopes up too high. There really isn't much variety going on here, sadly. Huge, gaping quantities of Brett smash your palate - earthy, wet cardboard, band-aid, damp cellar, and medicinal off-flavors. Yuck. Up front, there's a light lemon and citrus zest that kind of spritzes the tongue for a moment, but the magnitude of Brett comes in quickly and just sweeps that under the rug.

Not sure if it's from the Brett or the malt bill, but this beer is super bread heavy, also, just like the aroma was showing. Some strange astringency wafts over my palate during each successive sip, too. Very yeasty, belligerently funky, and dryer than the Sahara in the finish. It's almost like the Lost Abbey / New Belgium were just trying to play along with this "Brett" craze, so they added a metric shit ton of it to a malt-heavy beer and tried to pass it off as a "wild ale", forgetting that more is not always better.

Very disappointed that a collab between these two breweries, who have compiled an impressive list of wild ales and beers with brettanomyces on their own, missed the mark so badly. Just a mess of a beer with no balance or effort (it seems). Extremely forgettable - Mike and I didn't even finish our pours. Pass on this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 11:46:46 | More by tectactoe

Evan

Maryland

3/5  rDev -10.2%

04-22-2013 00:02:10 | More by Evan

mrebeka

Michigan

2.75/5  rDev -17.7%

04-21-2013 14:47:30 | More by mrebeka

Eighty

Washington

2/5  rDev -40.1%

04-21-2013 06:59:28 | More by Eighty

bmwats

Louisiana

3.46/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 650 ml bottle into a stemmed tulip.

A: Hazy hay colored hue. Pours about a 1 finger, thick, foamy, white head. Settles quickly leaving a blanket, and a thick foam ring. Plenty of beer ring lacing. Head completely renews with each pour.

S: Hay, sourdough bread, and a slight bit of raspberry.

T: Very bread, with just the slightest indistinct hint of fermented fruit.

M: Light and crisp. Slightly bittersweet aftertaste.

D: Not much resistance. Very light, despite (relatively) high alcohol content.

Atmosphere is really solid. Decent foamy head, and lots of lacing. Nose is simple bready and light fruit accentuates. Bready flavor with an indistinct fruit compliment. Overall, this is a pretty good quaff.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 06:29:48 | More by bmwats

mikeradebaugh

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +12.3%

04-21-2013 02:05:33 | More by mikeradebaugh

anteater

Oregon

3/5  rDev -10.2%

04-20-2013 08:32:41 | More by anteater

Bizoneill

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev +12.3%

04-18-2013 20:09:20 | More by Bizoneill

Lare453

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +4.8%

04-15-2013 00:56:41 | More by Lare453

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +19.8%

04-09-2013 22:03:18 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

vobr0002

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev +4.8%

04-07-2013 05:53:09 | More by vobr0002

dbossman

Nebraska

3.94/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Golden yellow hue with a thin but solid and steady hue and fantastic lacing

S: Definitely some cheesy, funky barnyard aromas on top of citrus, apple, tangerine; this is a nice little funky, fruity, and grainy smelling beer; I am excited (despite the poor reviews this beer has gotten)

T: Not quite as funky as I was hoping and a surprising malty sweetness but the fruitiness balances things out and a touch of the cheesy funk in the end lets this come together

F: Quite creamy and sticky--pretty nice body

O: This is solid; I don't get the naysayers on this beer--the brett is prominent and it plays well off the other characteristics

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 02:43:52 | More by dbossman

BeerThursdays

Delaware

2.5/5  rDev -25.1%

04-03-2013 02:38:01 | More by BeerThursdays