New Belgium Lips of Faith Cascara Quad, Ale Brewed with date with coffee cherries added. 1 pint, 6 fluid ounces. Alc. 10% by Vol. "Best enjoyed by August 2014." Don't you worry about that.
Utterly hazed and opaque, plummy, magenta hue, 1/4 inch, dotted, lace-leaving, creamy toned. Nice looking beer here.
Aroma: sweet malt, rich fruit, plums, raisins, dates. plump berries, lovely stuff, utterly wonderful. Very nice.
Taste: BAM! Big Belgian malt flavor kicks it first, with alcohol kicking it next. Great balance, malt is king, with hops laying low, and booze not staying shy. Damn. This I love. I don't know what cascara is, but I love it when dates and coffee cherries meet a great big quad. Deee-licious. I'm liking this in all the right ways.
Let's take a moment and read the gobbledygook: " Local roasters Novo Coffee turned us onto Central America's cascara, the fruit or husk that surrounds coffee beans. When dried, it can be made into a tea with hints of cherry and tobacco. Blend that into a quad fermented with gorgeous malts and date sugar for a crazy complex beer to warm your winter nights."
It's April 11, and I still need my winter nights warmed. (Still snowing.) I find fault with the phrase "gorgeous malts", but can't quarrel with the truth. Minor quibble with "quad" as a style. People, you can say quadruple, it won't hurt you. And it is crazy complex, and like I said, terribly delish. Tobacco? Yeah. And brandy, and leather, and cherries, and yum.
One of the biggest, brashest, boldest, richest beers to come out of the Lips of Faith series in recent memory. Mmmm. Right up my alley, this one. Love it.
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