New Belgium Hoptober

I'm getting tired of New Belgium. Aside from 1554 which, unless they change it like they did with Fat Tire, I will always love, there is just nothing coming out that excites me. I thought, hmm, Oktoberfest? Maybe they'll throw some spice in there. At least the typical fest style. Nope, I was wrong, boring. Clean, done well, but boring. I could knock these back like silver bullets but I'm not in college anymore. I haven't yet tried any of their Lips of Faith series beers and supposedly they are amazing but nothing they've done of late has wowed me. I'm not giving up though. I promise, that my next purchase will be a Lips of Faith Series beer. Please New Belgium, I love your bikecentric attitude but you are losing me with your blah beers. Renew my faith!

New Belgium Ranger IPA

I kept getting told how great the Ranger was from New Belgium and I kept putting off until just recently 4th of July weekend. I haven't been impressed with a lot of New Belgium stuff since they started mass producing Fat Tire. The only slam dunk is their 1554 that I reviewed. Love it.

That being said this is a decent IPA. A very boilerplate IPA. A very serviceable IPA. Nothing over the top but definitely enjoyable.

This one isn't floral. Mostly pine with a decent bitterness. A little lemon citrus in the backend and it sticks with you. Good finish. Definitely worth a sixer since it is cheaper than most "craft" IPA's. Can't really call New Belgium craft anymore in my opinion except for their experimental stuff.

New Belgium 1554

I'm not sure what makes this beer "enlightened" as New Belgium calls this Black Ale they could have called it morally deficient or even soulless and I wouldn't care because it is so good.

There is a lot of nostalgia associated with this one because the German and I used to drink this on our man nights before he went from being All-American to transplant German, Married, and Super Dad-Like.

D and I cannot wait for them to get back for so many reasons. Weekly food, beer, wine, TV, zone out sessions. Trips to the swapmeet for sausages on Saturdays. Auntie D and Uncle T "trainer baby" nights. We can practice on little H and then give her back at the end of the night. Hey, we're on a six year plan and nobody operates a rental baby service that I know of. I think that's called slavery or something.

ANYway. The beer. Right. Good.

Appearance: Really dark, opaque(can't see through it). Slight red highlights along the rim. Offwhite head

Aroma: Roasted, Biscuity, Chocolate, a little bit of spice, earthy. Is "good" on the aroma wheel?

Taste: The toasted malt comes through along with a hint of coffee and chocolate. A little bit of the bread from the belgian yeast as well. The body is a little thin for the taste but I think that is because there is quite a bit of carbonation which makes it crisp. I think it's more of the perception that since this beer is so dark it's going to be heavier than it is. It's actually a really refreshing, slightly dry brew. At 5.5% ABV this is 6-pack quaffable
though I'd punish myself in the gym the next day.

Overall: 4 out of 5 it needed a little less carbonation and a little more body. Still my favorite New Belgium Brew by far