Eric's Ale
New Belgium Brewing Company

Sabtos from Ohio

3.37/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Slightly foggy yet bubbly light amber with a large off-white foam settling to a thin film and fuzzy blanket leaving camo lace all over.

Smell is toast and a little metallic of cherry and peach.

Taste isn't much different, starting a little bready, then going into that metalic cherry-peach, with an almost wine oak swallow but not quite. There's only a slight amount of wood, which does help dry out the finish. The body is otherwise crisp and medium-thin. Again it's more like fresh cherry than peach, with a slightly tart sourness.

Jan 09, 2018

Phil-Fresh from California

4.16/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2015 Bottle

A: Moderately light peach aroma, light funk, with moderately light tartness and wood.

A: Light orange color, hazy, with a thinnish white head that has decent retention.

T: Moderately light peach flavor, light funk with a moderately light tartness on the finish.

M: Medium bodied with moderately light carbonation, with a soft mouthfeel.

O: Tasty; luckily this bottle was stored at a pretty cold continuous temperature, so the fruit aroma and flavor was still prominent. Always have loved Eric’s Ale on draft and it was good to see the beer back in bottles. The beer has a great balance between fruit, funk and light sourness.

Apr 19, 2017

jngrizzaffi from Texas

4.06/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a very cloudy golden color with some floaters. Finger width foamy head. Retention is decent. Lacing is good. Has a tart, peachy aroma. Not very strong. Some Belgian yeast up front with a nice tart taste and a big peachy aftertaste. I am not normally a fan of peach/apricot sours, but this one is much better. Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

4.0 3.5 4.25 4.25 4.25

Jun 16, 2016

TreyIsWilson from Michigan

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A - Pours a golden orange with a one finger fizzy white head. The head fades fast leaving amount of sticky lacing.

S - Aroma is peach, lemon peel and oak.

T - The taste is sweet and tart peaches with oak and some light vanilla notes.

M - Light body with medium/high carbonation. Very crisp mouthfeel with a dry finish.

O - This is a very nice beer. The flavors are crisp and refreshing. This would be a nice introduction to people looking to get into sour ales.

May 29, 2016

Cthulhusquid from Washington

4.62/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Look: 1 finger white head, light orange body.

Smell: Juicy peach, mild oak and vanilla, light grains (probably the pilsener malt), a hint of lime or lemon.

Taste: Same as above. The peach surfaces at times like peach ring gummies or fresh peach.

Feel: Medium body and carbonation, medium sour. Sour lingers on the finish.

May 01, 2016

Crubbsy from Minnesota

4.45/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from bomber bottle into a taller tulip glass.

Appearance: Nice semi-transparent golden color. Very little head on the pour, and almost none remaining in glass. Very cloudy with larger particulates sticking to glass (peach particulates or yeast?).

Smell: Amazing peach aroma. Can smell a hint of the sour notes coming in if I look for them, but peach smell dominates the nose.

Taste: Great balance between tart sour flavor and the fruitiness of the peach. Not to sweet and fruity, but not too sour either. Fairly acidic. The wood character is there, and adds an nice complexity to the beer.

Mouthfeel: Fairly astringent, but pretty much what I would expect from a sour fruit beer.

Overall: Delicious beer. Would be perfect for a warm summer day. Great balance between sweet and sour. Fruit constitutes so much of the character of the beer without making it seem like a wine cooler. Wood aged sours are one of my new favorite styles, and this beer rivals the best of the ones I've had.

A-

Feb 12, 2016

rodbeermunch from Nevada

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Hits that peach color somewhere in between orange and yellow with a half inch of white head on it, this looks like a pretty beer, something New Belgium has never had a problem with in my experience.

Aroma hit with faint peach, nice, but mellow, not quite understated, but far from a peach bomb.

Relatively lower level of sourness, like around a 3.5/4 on a 10 scale, allows for more peach to come through. The taste is definitely good, but you can think of saying just give me more of what it is would make it even better. Wonder if this was blended with a percentage of non sour beer. Dry, at times I wondered if there was some brett to it. The price and availability are decent when it comes around, so I have made it a repeat purchase, but its not as good as le terroir.

Jan 27, 2016

Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -20%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

BOTTLE: Brown glass. 1 pint 6 fl oz. Branded red pry-off crown cap. Fancy screen-print label art. 2015 vintage. Best before April 2, 2017.

Served chilled into a tulip. Expectations are quite high given the deliciousness of New Belgium's Le Terroir and La Folie.

HEAD: ~2 inches wide. Fluffy and white. Good adequately thick consistency, good complexion. Retention is above average - ~4 minutes. Leaves no lacing as it recedes.

BODY: Vibrant gold. Clean; no yeast is visible within. Appears well-carbonated.

It's a nice looking sour ale. I'm eager to try it.

AROMA: It does smell a bit off, actually - hinting at vomit. Hm. Peach, pear, acid, pilsner malt, lime, sour apple, and lactobacillus bacteria. I don't pick up on any lambicus yeast(s), and the bacterial sourness seems somewhat one-dimensional. Sourness seems disappointingly tame...maybe 3/10 in terms of intensity?

Suggests an imbalanced but enjoyable sour ale that lacks the complexity of, say, La Folie.

Not boozy.

TASTE: The sourness is indeed disappointingly reticent and downplayed, coming in at a 3-4/10 in terms of intensity of flavour. The peach is nice, ringing distinct and vivid, but the depth of flavour just isn't there; this doesn't burst with fresh orchard peach fruit like it ought to. Additionally, it almost hints at marmalade or peach jam - playing it sweet when it should play it sour. Hints of other fruits come into play throughout: sour green apple, lime, cider, maybe even pear. The malt backbone is clean and light, comprised of pilsner/golden malts. Lactobacillus seems to provide the entirety of the sourness; neither pedio nor lambicus yeast make appearances.

It does slightly remind me a bit of vomit; I'm not sure if that's just the acidity combined with some kind of off-note. The beer is not as off-putting as that descriptor makes it sound, and it really is quite faint - but it's there.

Not particularly well-balanced. This lacks the intricacy and depth of flavour of superior sour ales (like New Belgium's own La Folie), but it's pleasant enough for what it is. I hoped for a more tart peach presence.

As a blend, it tastes quite young. Using older constituent sours would obviously help curb this, but maybe the heavy reliance on pilsner malts is also doing the beer a disservice.

Ale esters are strangely absent. Oddly, there's zero wood/barrel presence whatsoever. No acetic notes, no unifying oak, no wine. I'd like to see New Belgium ditch the foeders in favour of barrels, and give this more time in wood.

TEXTURE: Acidic. Somewhat refreshing. Smooth, wet, light. Not as smacky as most bacterial sours are. It doesn't induce puckering.

Decently executed, but not quite there. Not boozy, astringent, gushed, or hot or anything, but lackluster.

OVERALL: This entry into the Lips of Faith series is better than most of its brethren, but never quite rises to the high quality seen in La Folie or Le Terroir. Pricey by Lips of Faith standards, to boot. It's enjoyable and I'm glad I tried it once, but I wouldn't purchase a second bottle. More sourness, more wood presence (i.e. any wood presence), and deeper peach notes would really improve this. Basically, if you're going to brew a fruited sour, I recommend going big on the fruit and huge on the sourness. This, unfortunately, does neither.

If anything, this has me curious to try the older constituent sour used in the blend. As-is, the blend hardly seems harmonious; indeed, it even seems diluted. Discerning drinkers familiar with New Belgium's other sours will find this ultimately to be quite a let-down, but generally speaking it's well above average.

Low B- (3.28)

Jan 15, 2016

GreesyFizeek from New York

4.43/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Bottle purchased at Stateline Liquors in Elkton, MD.

This one pours a basically clear vivid orange, with a small amount of head, very little, and just a little bit of lacing.

Smells like peaches and cream- almost- there's a good amount of refined peach, some oak, and vanilla, with just a hint of sourness on the nose.

This is a very interesting. The bottle says something like this is a sour ale for people who don't like sours- I could see that, for sure. The sourness is very mild, and integrated very well into the rest of the flavor profile. There really is a great amount of oak and creamy vanilla here, it's really quite wonderful to get this level of those flavors in a sour. It's got a definite sweetness to it from the peaches, more so than a sourness from the peaches, which is interesting. It says it's made with a blend of beers, including a three year old wild beer- I'm guessing that's where the sourness comes from, though mild, and the strong golden lager adds sweetness and body.

It does have a good body, rich, and surprisingly creamy for an AWA, with a moderate level of carbonation.

A pretty fascinating and tasty beer here. I really enjoyed it.

Jan 07, 2016

Moose90 from Washington

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Served On-Tap

A — Pours a mostly clear and vivid orange hue into the glass, no real formation of a head, but there are some off-white foamy bubbles that form on-top and leave some light hints of lacing behind.

S — Smell is light for the most part, there are notes of toasted oak and peach fuzz in there though, just muted and hidden behind a semi-sweet malt profile.

T — Light again, notes of peach, white oak, and vanilla intermingle on top of a chewy malt base.

M — Light-Medium bodied, easy drinking, little bit of a sweet lingering finish.

O — Good overall, not the most developed, but the flavors are all subtly there.

Jan 05, 2016

SHODriver from North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: poured into a tulip to a hazed gold topped by half a finger of dense white head that fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass
S: Smells of light sourness, oak and peaches
T: Taste is mild tartness, peaches and some oak all in a nice balance. A little dry maltyness at times as well. Swallow is more sourness and peaches with a little oak.
M: lighter side of medium in body with soft carbonation and a drying finish from the acidity
O: This is a very approachable and tasty sour beer and I'm very happy that New Belgium brought it back. It isn't the sourest or the most complex but it isn't designed to be that way.

Nov 30, 2015

Invinciblejets from South Carolina

4.12/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L: Golden orange copper color half a finger of head with a super light pour.

S: Starts of with a funky ripe fruit smell some acidity for sure peach maybe some apple also. Great smelling stuff.

T: Slight acidity peaches for sure not really any funk at all and an odd generic malt taste I can't really put my finger on..

F: Juice. It feels like juice.

O: Good flavor and smells .... but could definitely use more funkiness and tartness great stuff tho not my favorite wild ale for new Belgium.

Nov 30, 2015

ONovoMexicano from New Mexico

4.24/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bomber into an oversized tulip.

Easy 5 for appearance. This beer is a stunner. Golden/copper body showing perfect clarity and a ceaseless carbonation that feeds into a nice frothy, well-retained head. Lace scatters around the glass and a thick lace settles over the body long after the pour. 5

The aroma is faint but offers earthy, funky orchard fruit. There's a Jolly Rancher quality to the tart fruitiness, suggesting something candy-like but with some pucker factor. A nice twist is the vanilla and honey sweetness buried deep within this aroma that offer some real charm. 4

Growing up in northern New Mexico, the taste takes me back to the farmstands of my youth. There's a tart apricot or peach juice flavor that tastes like something homemade a neighbor would have been selling. Layered atop this fruitiness is some clear yeast-y funk, earthiness and a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg spice. Veddy nice. 4.25

Medium-bodied and vinous with a tart, juicy and earthy feel. I'm definitely reminded of some sort of pulpy orchard fruit juice but with a dry, less sweet make-up. 4.25

This beer is very pleasing to drink. Great all around.

Nov 15, 2015

SStein from Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Very well balanced. Pours a bright golden orange, smells slightly of the fruit. It is moderately tart, with a hint of the peach. Slight carbonation.

Nov 10, 2015

donspublic from Texas

4.04/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured on tap with 1 finger head. Sizzles away to a pool of foam. Golden and hazy in the glass. Nice tart smell, hint of peach. Nice tart taste, little peach coming thru. Love the taste on this. Puckering but not tart.

Oct 23, 2015

BigGold from Mississippi

3.73/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

First had poured from 22-oz. bomber, labeled "BEST ENJOYED BY APRIL 2, 2017," into tulip. Had to read the bottle to recognise the peach, but that's on me. But the disclaimer, and I paraphrase, a sour fruit beer for folks who like neither sours nor fruit beers, is offensive and, thankfully, misleading.

Oct 20, 2015

dipso123 from Oregon

3.83/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

On tap
A beautiful looking beer with a thick white head and hazy color. Strong smell of fresh cut or sliced peaches. Less peach in the flavor but still quite a bit. The beer is a bit sweet and the feel is full but a bit flabby rather than crisp and dry.

Oct 16, 2015

larryarms847 from Illinois

4.06/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours slightly hazy but a brilliant golden orange with a slight amount of airy carboation.

Peach, stone fruit, lactic acid, and a slight mustiness, but overall very fruity and a sense of tartness.

Same as aroma, but seems toned down in comparison. A light acidity and sweet peach flavor shine through.

Light-bodied, medium carbonation, light, soft, subtle tartness.

Overall, while I would enjoy a bit more acidity, the light and smooth lager body paired with a touch of peachy tartness makes for a worthwhile brew.

Oct 10, 2015

JamesStreet from Louisiana

3.86/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured into tulip from 650ml bottle
Look - semi-clear honey-gold color. Slight white head that fades into a small skim. No lace
Smell - not a huge funk aroma with some lacto and citric acid coming through. You do get a lemon-lime Gatorade smell. A bit of the wood is present as well.
Taste - acidic sharpness with a white grape, lemon, tart apple and earthy funk.
Feel - a little prickly. Medium body and a semi-dry finish.
Overall - easy-drinking sour that doesn't crank up the tartness. Would be a great introductory sour for those looking to get into this style.

Oct 01, 2015

fourstringer from Maryland

3.71/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a Brewers Art goblet. Moderate hand. Best by April 2, 2017.

A: Murky, light honey-colored body with a scant 1/2 finger of sudsy head. Quickly dissipates. Light lacing.

S: Citric and lactic acid strike first, bolstered by underlying lemon, white grape and strawberry. More subtle and slightly earthy funk. Grass.

T: Sour strawberry, peach and lemony citric acid initially with a mild to moderate tartness level. Tempered with some sweet, pilsner malt notes and an undercurrent of mellow hops that take things to a semi-dry finish. Some lingering peach and tang in the aftertaste with a touch of hop bitterness. Alcohol is rather hidden at 7% ABV.

M: Moderate carbonation with a medium to light body. I think this one could use a little more effervescence.

O: Not bad. Mellow and easy drinking with some nice tartness and good peach essence. Ultimately, I found it a bit too sweet and a bit cloying by the end of the bottle. Not quite the depth I was looking for.

Prost!

Sep 29, 2015

BeerSamurai34 from Texas

4.28/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I am actually super surprised I liked this beer as much as I did. I have enjoyed the Lips of Faith series, but their most recent offering of the pear ginger beer really turned me off. It was very artificial tasting, which lead me to believe Eric's ale would be similar. Luckily for me, it wasn't. It had really nice tartness with a good touch of peach on the finish. I actually plan to buy more of these soon.

Sep 26, 2015

scottfrie from California

3.98/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into tulip.

A: Pours a lightly cloudy powdery light orange color with a couple fingers of fuzzy bright white head that faded into a lasting collar. A network of soapy lace was left down the glass.
S: Musty nose with hints of grains, creamy yeast, and spicy wood. I get some minerally notes and just a hint of tart acidity and stone fruit.
T: Nice mix of light tartness, creamy yeast and grains, and a kiss of semisweet stone fruit juice. Flavors are not sharp or potent, and there is a nice clean mellowness to everything. I get minerally and lager flavors up front, followed by cracked grains and wheat. The finish has a touch of sweet peach juice, and the aftertaste is smooth and buttery, with a kiss of lingering woody spice.
M: There is a heavy chewiness to the body and this beer sits heavily in my mouth. Low carbonation, smooth overall, with just a hint of tartness. Buttery mouthfeel from the oak.
O: Very drinkable, mellow, and smooth. This would be a nice intro sour beer. Flavors are more creamy and buttery than they are bright and tart. I wouldn’t know there was peach in this if the bottle didn’t say so, although it does have a nice stone fruit character. Solid for what it is.

Sep 16, 2015

boilermakerbrew from Indiana

4.11/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A- Pours a bright and lightly hazy, medium golden color with a small, frothy head. The head sticks around for a bit, reducing down to a thin layer on top of the beer. There is a little bit of lacing from the remaining layer of the head. Overall, this is a really brilliant colored pour.

S- At first sniff, this beer displays a very complex and enticing scent. There is a light fruitiness up front from the peaches that almost smells like a yellow Gatorade (in a delicious way). Right after the light fruitiness, there is a light to moderate level of tartness that reveals itself. The tartness is very light and somewhat drying in flavor, very similar to a gueuze. The end of the drink is a blend of the somewhat sweet fruit and the somewhat sour base beer.

T- Peaches start off the taste, just like they did in the scent, and are juicy and a little more sour than the scent displayed. The tart component of the base beer ramps up more quickly here than in the smell of the beer, but is still just mild. The combo of the tartness and the peaches makes for a thirst quenching overall flavor for the beer through the middle of the drink. Towards the end, a light bitterness moves in and mixes in, giving a somewhat medicinal overall impression. Right at the end, a touch of oak dryness moves in and lingers on the tongue afgter the drink.

M- On the palate, the first thing that I notice about this beer's feel is that it is a touch on the thin side. The carbonation is on point for the style, being relatively high. The alcohol is undetectable in this beer and it is very easy to drink.

Overall, this is just a very interesting beer. The peaches and tartness are very enticing and delicious, but the odd, somewhat bitter flavor is a little distracting. I can only assume that the flavor came from the blend of the lager with the wild, sour beer. Still, this is a very good, thirst quenching, mildly sour beer and I would really like to try the different components of this beer separately.

Sep 16, 2015

leroybrown10 from Missouri

4.04/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a medium gold color with good clarity. One finger head is white and color. Head vanishes semi-quick. Minimal lacing left behind.

Aroma is fruity and lacto forward. Peach nectarine, papaya, and orange. Pleasant but could use a bit more intensity.

Taste similar to the aroma but stronger. Lacto bite. Peach and nectarine lead the fruit flavors. A mix of citrus and tropical. A bit of yeastiness. Light malt, biscuit-like. Some green apple. Oak and vanilla.

Nice tart mouth feel. Medium body. Medium carbonation. Fruit flavors linger. A bit of dryness at the end.

Very pleasant easy drinking wild ale. Good fruit flavors. Nice and tart without going all the way sour.

Sep 10, 2015

Franziskaner from Missouri

3.77/5  rDev -8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Shiny new copper penny color with plenty of haziness. Just a trace of a fingernail of off white is barely present. The aroma is solely that of sweet peaches and oak. The Brett is barely detectable and took a few passes to appear. The flavor is strongly sweet with peach the has almost an apple like finish. The oak is present after the fade. The mouth is heavily carbonated and lightly syrupy.

Sep 06, 2015