Mountain Mantra
New Belgium Brewing Company

Appeared today on draught @ the brewery. I presume this will replace the saison as this is again referred to as an experimental, "pilgramage" type beer. It’s a very strange, extremely hoppy beer, spiced with kaffir lime leaf and lemon peel, as well as Sterling, Goldings, Liberty, Saaz and two other varieties. The strange thing is that it is fermented with Belgian yeast; the same yeast used to ferment Abbey. It leads to a clear orange color, a minty, lemon and lime infused aroma (from both the spices and the hops) with a touch of fruit and Belgian yeast. Light and airy on the palate with a tremendous diversity of hop flavor and underlying notes of caramel and the attributes of Belgian Yeast. They didn’t call this beer an India Pale Ale but unfortunately, this is definately one of those beers that doesn’t even come close to being stylistic. It’s hoppy and weird. Going by what is in the glass, I say IPA but if there would have been an IPA/Belgian Ale/Saison/Spiced Beer/XX Bitterish option, I would have chosen that. It will be interesting to see what Belgian beer enthusiasts say about this beer, because it is a straight hop bomb. I enjoyed it, but I also love hops.

Sampled at the brewery, and brought home a growler.
Crystal clear gold, topped with a mountain of white foam. Tons of lace, sheeting down the glass. The aroma really confused me at first. A swirling mass of spices and citrusy, orangey hops. I don't know what's going on here, but it's complex, and frankly, gorgeous. Peppery, spicy, fruity and floral. A wierdo belgian dry-hop bomb. The aroma is deceiving in it's hoppiness, which doesn't show through nearly as much in the flavor. Spicy notes throughout, with a milder phenolic tinge. A bit of sweet, garden grown tomato, pineapple and pear. Spicy, moderately hopped finish, with a hint of pepper. Light bodied, with hyperactive carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel, drinks very easily with the citrusy finish. For a lighter bodied, summer styled beer, this is really amazing. I don't think I've had anything so complex this side of lambic or biere de garde. IPA? I don't think so. Wacked out pale ale? Maybe. Wierdo saison/belgian/kolsch hybrid that plays keyboards in a funk band? Absolutely. I loved this stuff. I could have taken down the whole gorwler, no problem.

Had this yesterday at the brewery. Appearance is a light amber with massive foam and sticky lace. Aroma has notes of several malts, bitter hops and, well, that’s about it. Body is medium and carbonation about right. It is a light, refreshing beer, with not much complexity: malt and hops and hints of citrus fruit. Finish is crisp and clean.

Amber; lace like a satin blanket.
Smells piney with unique... Let's try celery, citrus and the fruity muskiness of an orchid.
Musky IPA: Terribly innovative and luscious. It's musky, spicy, sharp. There's sour cherries, wood-cedar, grapefruit pith, kumquat. It's bright and lively on the palate. Wait, a mountain mantra is forming: "march on mash madness, march on. march on mash madness, march on." This is delicious. The belgian yeast adds a great spicy dimension to the hop portfolio, and a wonderful fruit. I enjoyed each aspect of this a lot.

The beer pours a nice golden color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is awesome. It has a solid malt scent that boasts of pale and carapils malts along with a wonderful hop aroma that is quite refreshing. The taste is good. It has a malty flavor that boasts of pale and carapils malts. It goes down smooth and finishes dry and earthy with a very bitter hop aftertaste. It also has great hop flavor throughout. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a house beer exclusively for brewery guests. I love it. They should release it and retire one of their other beers.

A good beer (as usual) from one of my favorite breweries. All of their beers are on point!

This sample was brought back by my friend Glenn from the brewery in Fort Collins. Sampled at the MBAS meeting on Wednesday night.

Interesting beer, I loved the complex aroma. Smelled of a very distinct Belgian yeast strain.

Hops were hard to identify. There was definitely a nice proportion of bittering, flavor, and aroma hops, but it is hard to identify which strains they were.

Beer was nice and I recommend it; I'd like to see what it's like if they begin to brew more batches of it and streamline the process.

I felt lucky to get to try this "tasting-room-only" release by New Belgium.
A light orangish colored beer, transparent, with a thin but persistent head.
Smells really amazing. Definitely a lot of hops (server presents it as a "dry-hopped ale", no further description), with different hop profiles coming out: floral and citrus and also spicy. I detect a sweeter Christmas type spice that I'm not sure I can identify but it might be cardamom. I wish I had some here to compare.
Tastes much like it smells, with various diverse hops being most overwhelming, still with the unidentified spice, and some fruity sweetness to balance. Yum.
I like this beer. I hope they sell it outside the brewery someday. Go check it out.