Eric's Ale - New Belgium

Tried the new one last night. Tastes diluted compared to the original, but then again...the original has been sitting in my basement for years.

 

Just opened a new bomber, most underwhelming beer I've had in recent memory. I can't believe I spent $17 plus tax on this...making me rethink NBB in general really.

 

Agreed. Drinking it now as well. Pretty underwhelming. Not sure if my expectations were too high, but I'm pretty disappointed especially given the CO markup.

 

Plan on opening mine on Friday. Am really curious if it's the beer that has changed or if expectations have.

 

Better on draught and cheaper too. Not as sour as I remember. More oak as well. Still good. Come drink some at Powder Keg.

 

Boy, I'm glad I only picked up a single bottle. I had Eric's Ale at FoBAB in Chicago in 2012, and it was one of the best beers of the event. But with all of these comments about the recent batch, it sounds like I'm not going to feel the same way as I did last time I had it

 

I tried it last night. Not very sour, fairly peachy. It's an enjoyable beer, but it's not $18 enjoyable. Certainly different than the '08 bottle I had recently as well, which was far more sour. I was also quite drunk so who the hell knows really.

 

I tried this on tap at Powdef Keg last night after having a bottle last week. Not particularly good in either format, but found tap to be considerably better than bottle. FWIW.

 

Opened one last night and it's at least fairly close to what I remember. So, I think it's probably just a change in what people are wanting/expecting. I don't necessarily think it's a world beater anymore, but I did really enjoy it.
It's definitely worth the price it's going for everywhere else. With our inflated price, that's more of a debate. Especially considering how (relatively) common excellent sour beers are here, too.

 

I came here hoping to post that the bottle I tried last night was as good as I remember the first batch being, but...it wasn't. The beer seemed to lack the complexity that I remember it having; the new batch packs a good dose of peach, but not much else.

It makes me wonder what other stuff I am misremembering as being better than it really was, e.g., childhood, college, breakfast, etc.

 

We might all be mis-remembering. I've not gotten around to a side-by-side taste test yet, but another buddy (and local brewery owner) tried a new one, and he reported the opposite of what I did. He liked it, and said it tasted the same as he remembered. We might all just have built it up in our heads as out of this world.

I also just saw what @Domingo said. Sour beers are far more common now then they were when this graced shelves...it wasn't hard to buy a bunch of these back in the day.

 

Most of my experiences with Eric's Ale were nearly a decade ago, but upon trying the new one it definitely tasted instantly familiar. My wife felt the same way. It tasted close to what I remember and I liked it.
At the same time, I think the sour world has changed and it's far more subtle and juicy than most comparable beers.
Maybe a poor analogy, but it's a little like comparing a Titan or Avery IPA with Superpower. The beer's no less good, but times and palates have changed.
No matter what I think of the flavor of it - that price is still a total bummer. Crooked Stave is probably 50x smaller than New Belgium but is priced better? C'mon.

 

I would be very interested to hear the reports if you get around to your side-by-side, @MtnSoup (or anyone else for that matter). Obviously the age will change things... but it seems like that would be a little better comparison than going completely off of memory like the rest of us.

 

Depending on which CS

 

Was in Portland this past weekend and saw La Folie and Eric's in several spots for $12-14/bottle. First time seeing them out of state since learning about the pricing issues. Still stings...

Did have Eric's on tap for $5-6/12 oz I think. Pretty tasty IMHO, but nothing I would pay $17 for. Oscar Worthy Coffee on the other hand? So dope.