La Folie | New Belgium Brewing
Brewed by:
New Belgium Brewing
Colorado, United States
newbelgium.com
Style: Flanders Oud Bruin
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 7.00%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Flemish Sour Brown Ale fermented in stainless then transferred to barrels for 1-4 years of aging then blended to taste.
Added by BeerAdvocate on 09-22-2002
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 3,924 | Reviews: 1,061
4/5 rDev -5.2%
DSlim71, Mar 12, 2012
3.4/5 rDev -19.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clear copper with a tan head that attenuates to a thin cap. Has a raisin and mild olive aroma. A sour taste that lies somewhere between green apple and a little less than fully ripe grape. To be fair, this is not my style. I intend to develop my palate a little more to better discern good from bad wild ales.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clear copper with a tan head that attenuates to a thin cap. Has a raisin and mild olive aroma. A sour taste that lies somewhere between green apple and a little less than fully ripe grape. To be fair, this is not my style. I intend to develop my palate a little more to better discern good from bad wild ales.
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4.55/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
2012 vintage.
A - Pours an inch of light tan head into my tulip. The head has pretty good retention and laves a little lace. The beer is clear with a brown-ish ruby red hue.
S - The nose has just hints of the sweet malts from the brown ale. A sour cherry and lactic sourness make up the greater portion of the aroma.
M - Medium in body with prickly carbonation. the beer has a very dry finish.
T - The beer begins with tart cherry followed up quickly by some lactic sourness. It finishes with a red-wine like taste with some lingering sour notes.
An excellent sour. It's nice to see a more accessible sour at a decent price.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
2012 vintage.
A - Pours an inch of light tan head into my tulip. The head has pretty good retention and laves a little lace. The beer is clear with a brown-ish ruby red hue.
S - The nose has just hints of the sweet malts from the brown ale. A sour cherry and lactic sourness make up the greater portion of the aroma.
M - Medium in body with prickly carbonation. the beer has a very dry finish.
T - The beer begins with tart cherry followed up quickly by some lactic sourness. It finishes with a red-wine like taste with some lingering sour notes.
An excellent sour. It's nice to see a more accessible sour at a decent price.
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4.27/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
22 ounce bomber from 2012.
A - rich brown with a rising head that fizzes out quickly.
S - tart! sharp! sour!
T - blam! tongue is still recovering from the hit. Straight out sour but not distilled vinegar. Quite nice with a noticeable woody taste.
M - Easy feeling viscosity with a biting, puckering sourness that lasts.
O - quite good for just straight up drinkable sourness. Maybe there are others with more complexity but this one delivers what it promises.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
22 ounce bomber from 2012.
A - rich brown with a rising head that fizzes out quickly.
S - tart! sharp! sour!
T - blam! tongue is still recovering from the hit. Straight out sour but not distilled vinegar. Quite nice with a noticeable woody taste.
M - Easy feeling viscosity with a biting, puckering sourness that lasts.
O - quite good for just straight up drinkable sourness. Maybe there are others with more complexity but this one delivers what it promises.
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4.53/5 rDev +7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2012 bottling.
Pours a deep, garnet body. Brownish head that fizzles out and only amounts to a ring of bubbles.
Tons of sour notes on the nose: balsamic vinegar, sour cherries, lacto and oak. Red wine tones as well, with a deep and alluring tannic and raspberry aroma. One of the best smelling sours I've ever had.
Juicy, tart cherries up front, lead into an acetic, biting sourness. Good amount of oak as well. Deep and jammy raspberry flavors with tannic, red wine flavors. The sourness is balanced out very well, and while it makes you pucker, it is not overwhelming at all.
This is a great sour. Deep but also accessible. Very good flavors. Right up there with RR sours.
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look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2012 bottling.
Pours a deep, garnet body. Brownish head that fizzles out and only amounts to a ring of bubbles.
Tons of sour notes on the nose: balsamic vinegar, sour cherries, lacto and oak. Red wine tones as well, with a deep and alluring tannic and raspberry aroma. One of the best smelling sours I've ever had.
Juicy, tart cherries up front, lead into an acetic, biting sourness. Good amount of oak as well. Deep and jammy raspberry flavors with tannic, red wine flavors. The sourness is balanced out very well, and while it makes you pucker, it is not overwhelming at all.
This is a great sour. Deep but also accessible. Very good flavors. Right up there with RR sours.
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3.88/5 rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
First had: "picnic tap" at Monk's, Philly, PA
Served as part of the PtY charity event at Monk's, with the proceeds going to charity. This one was poured into a pitcher, kept on ice at the bar, and then served in a 8oz. wine glass. Dark, ruddy, reddish-brown color, nearly translucent; a few stray bubbles on top, but otherwise no real head to speak of. Aroma mostly of sour grapes, sour cherries, and a dash of vinegar. Taste was similar, with sour fruit notes, causing the salivary glands to tense up a bit; underlying that were notes of wood and nutty malts. Medium body, prickly and drying, pretty enjoyable in a session of sours and wild ales.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
First had: "picnic tap" at Monk's, Philly, PA
Served as part of the PtY charity event at Monk's, with the proceeds going to charity. This one was poured into a pitcher, kept on ice at the bar, and then served in a 8oz. wine glass. Dark, ruddy, reddish-brown color, nearly translucent; a few stray bubbles on top, but otherwise no real head to speak of. Aroma mostly of sour grapes, sour cherries, and a dash of vinegar. Taste was similar, with sour fruit notes, causing the salivary glands to tense up a bit; underlying that were notes of wood and nutty malts. Medium body, prickly and drying, pretty enjoyable in a session of sours and wild ales.
648 characters
4.3/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
La Folie. I distinctly remember the year La Folie was first released. I was in college and they sold it in wine bottles. I was a HUGE fan. For whatever reason I haven't been back in years, until tonight.
Poured from bottle to Duvel tulip the beer pours a rich cloudy brown amber color with a decent 1 finger off-white head, good retention and lacing. The nose is sour, though sweet with a hint of vinegar and malty sweetness. The flavor is much the same. The sour character is dominate but not so much so that it overbears the malty sweetness, actually quite well balanced the beer has hints of oak, vanilla, and a touch of citrus. Mildly bitter. Finishes crisp and yet smooth. Good. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Overall, I missed La Folie. I will be back again and again.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
La Folie. I distinctly remember the year La Folie was first released. I was in college and they sold it in wine bottles. I was a HUGE fan. For whatever reason I haven't been back in years, until tonight.
Poured from bottle to Duvel tulip the beer pours a rich cloudy brown amber color with a decent 1 finger off-white head, good retention and lacing. The nose is sour, though sweet with a hint of vinegar and malty sweetness. The flavor is much the same. The sour character is dominate but not so much so that it overbears the malty sweetness, actually quite well balanced the beer has hints of oak, vanilla, and a touch of citrus. Mildly bitter. Finishes crisp and yet smooth. Good. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Overall, I missed La Folie. I will be back again and again.
780 characters
4.25/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.81/5 rDev -9.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
La Folie pours a dark deep amber color, with a very small soda like head. There is a strong vinegar smell, but it is also sweet, and dry like a champagne. The taste is at first awfully sweet, with a notes of berries, and then finishes with a bit of sourness, and the vinegar flavors really finish the beer. Very funky flavor, and the sourness/vinegar may make it hard to drink, but not a heavy beer. Overall a funky beer. I am not sure if everyone would enjoy this one, but I found it very good.
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look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
La Folie pours a dark deep amber color, with a very small soda like head. There is a strong vinegar smell, but it is also sweet, and dry like a champagne. The taste is at first awfully sweet, with a notes of berries, and then finishes with a bit of sourness, and the vinegar flavors really finish the beer. Very funky flavor, and the sourness/vinegar may make it hard to drink, but not a heavy beer. Overall a funky beer. I am not sure if everyone would enjoy this one, but I found it very good.
495 characters
4.32/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
At Max's. This is one that I never expected to have on tap on the East Coast. Very excited for see it (and the bottles too) in the Old Line State.
A: Dark, murkier and muddier that I remember La Folie being, the ale sits thick and sediment-filled. An off-white head blankets the ale, lasting for a few minutes.
S: The nose is vinegary, acetic with a strong dose of acidic sharpness. A nose like this doesn't come around often, puckering me up before I even have a sip. The Flemishness can't be denied, but the beer isn't a vinegary mess ala Duchesse (my beer nemesis).
T: More vinegar with a great pucker up factor. Sharp lacto, ample lemony citrus adds acidic bite. The wildness is very nice, scalding almost with each sip. Oak, vanilla, is plentiful, relaxing the lemony acidity. Vinegar returns for a swansong, a last blast of puckery sourness. Quite good.
M: Sour and tart, but very vibrant. Bracing at time, thin at others, the ale nicely straddles the middle of the road.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
At Max's. This is one that I never expected to have on tap on the East Coast. Very excited for see it (and the bottles too) in the Old Line State.
A: Dark, murkier and muddier that I remember La Folie being, the ale sits thick and sediment-filled. An off-white head blankets the ale, lasting for a few minutes.
S: The nose is vinegary, acetic with a strong dose of acidic sharpness. A nose like this doesn't come around often, puckering me up before I even have a sip. The Flemishness can't be denied, but the beer isn't a vinegary mess ala Duchesse (my beer nemesis).
T: More vinegar with a great pucker up factor. Sharp lacto, ample lemony citrus adds acidic bite. The wildness is very nice, scalding almost with each sip. Oak, vanilla, is plentiful, relaxing the lemony acidity. Vinegar returns for a swansong, a last blast of puckery sourness. Quite good.
M: Sour and tart, but very vibrant. Bracing at time, thin at others, the ale nicely straddles the middle of the road.
981 characters
La Folie from New Belgium Brewing
4.22
out of 5
based on 3,924 ratings.