New Belgium In General

[Chrisdon]

Hey guys I am really interested in knowing what everyone thinks of New Belgium Brewing Company. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews on several of their brews and was curious to see what everyone who has tried them thought. Reply with favorite brews, least favorite, anything to do with the brewery!

-Chris

 

[McKBrew]

I personally have nothing against them. They do seem to have a common flavor with many of their beers, but they turn out some good really good brews as well. Pretty much all breweries seem the same way to me. Some good beer, some bad beer.

 

[Chrisdon]

McKBrew I agree with you completely! I myself am very excited for Skinny Dip!!

 

[boostsr20]

Try the La Folie. Its awesome

 

[Airborneguy]

I love New Belgium.

 

[Chrisdon]

Boostsr20,

Is La Folie a brew in the lips of faith series?

 

[boostsr20]

Yup, sure is.

 

[flaminpi3]

+1 on La Folie. Great beer. I'm also a big fan of their seasonals. Mighty Arrow, Hoptober and 2-Below are all excellent beers.

 

[dwarven_stout]

La Folie was my intro to sours, and it's the reason that I went off the deep end with them the way I did. NB's other sours are good, too- pretty much anything from the Lips of Faith series is worth checking out. From the standard lineup, Fat Tire is the beer that got me into microbrew back 6 or 8 years ago, but 1554 is the one I still seek out on occasion.

 

[northernlad]

I saw the thread title and all I could think was NO.

 

[Chrisdon]

I will have to try some lips of faith brews!
Northernlad, why no? I have heard that a few times I am just wondering why exactly!

 

[JediJoel]

Totally agree with McKBrew. Some good, some bad. I find it a little ironic that their flagship (Fat Tire) isn't really a Belgian brew. A lot of their seasonal stuff is good though. I suppose a lot of breweries do that though. Some for the masses and some for the real beer people.

 

[northernlad]

1554 is good but the rest, like Alaskan, possess a brewhouse flavor I do not care for. I could probably get past it in both cases if any of their beers were beyond mediocre. For me.

 

[pjk49202]

IMHO, over all i think NB is overrated. I do like a couple of their seasonals like Bier de Mars but Fat tire and their triple are very over rated. I can honestly i don't know the last time I bought a NB beer. Just too many other good ones out here to choose from.

 

[HokieBrewer]

Who else thinks Chrisdon works for New Belgium?

 

[Airborneguy]

who else thinks chrisdon works for new belgium?

+1 .

 

[slowbie]

I think that much of the anti-NB talk you see is a reaction to the fact that for whatever reason, Fat Tire is very popular with 'the masses'. My in-laws love Fat Tire, but as far as I know they don't really drink anything else not produced by BMC. A lot of people who have not tried a large variety of beer think that Fat Tire is the greatest beer ever. In fact, everyone I talked to about it before I tried it thought so. Needless to say, I was disappointed when I discovered that it is (IMO, and in the opinion of most people I've found with more beer experience) an average at best amber ale.

I think part of it too is that NB does make some legitimately good beers, they just aren't as widely distributed as Fat Tire. I haven't had the opportunity to try too many, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone say bad things about their sour ales. Some of their other beers seem to have a 'love it or meh' reaction (Ranger IPA).

Most (if not all) of the criticism you'll see will use the word 'overrated', and I think that's mostly because of the people I mentioned earlier that overhype Fat Tire which gives the rest of us too high of expectations.

EDIT: Upon re-reading this, I feel the need to take a position. I think that it's unfair that NB gets such a bad rap. But olllllo said it better than me anyways.

 

[olllllo]

The people decide what your flagship beer is, not the company.

There are very few breweries that don't have an accessible beer that pays the bills and allows them to do some special and unique things.

NB is at the forefront of artisanal blending. They take that philosophy right down to the taproom where you can often get a beer blended with 2 or three varieties.

NB can also be lauded for their corporate stewardship and their progressive work environment.

I have big love for NB.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I love the brewery - probably the nicest I visited out in Colorado. Their beers range from meh to excellent in my opinion. La Folie is something else I also liked Fat Tire quite a bit as a session beer, but that was early in my craft beer drinking days, so if I had it now, my opinion might differ.

 

[ChshreCat]

I think Fat Tire is overrated, but isn't a bad beer. Just not as great as some folks say it is. Mothership Wit was just kind of "meh" to me. Most of their other beers are among my regular purchases though and are quite tasty. If they were priced with some of the "premium" beers (10-15 bucks a sixer) I might have a different opinion, but for a beer that's regularly on sale around here for 6-7 bucks a six-pack, it's pretty damned good.

 

[hoppymonkey]

I love 1554 and two below is a good session beer, but I am not a big fan of the rest that I have tried. Judging by the rest of the responses I should try la folie.

 

[Chrisdon]

Thanks for all the input. And no I do not work for New Belgium. I wish I did... I have just lived in Fort Collins all my life and wanted to see what some other people thought

 

[Synovia]

I saw the thread title and all I could think was NO.

Agree.


Pretty much all of their beer has the same kinda weird funk, and I don't like it at all.

I think that much of the anti-NB talk you see is a reaction to the fact that for whatever reason, Fat Tire is very popular with 'the masses'.

I disagree. I'd never even seen Fat Tire until I moved out here. I don't like their beer because I don't like the way it tastes. And I'm one of the few on here who will defend BMC because they're perfect examples of their respective styles. The opinion of the masses is irrelevant to me.

 

[EricCSU]

The people decide what your flagship beer is, not the company.

There are very few breweries that don't have an accessible beer that pays the bills and allows them to do some special and unique things.

NB is at the forefront of artisanal blending. They take that philosophy right down to the taproom where you can often get a beer blended with 2 or three varieties.

NB can also be lauded for their corporate stewardship and their progressive work environment.

I have big love for NB.

Once again, olllllo is right on the money.

Fat Tire was my introduction to good beer, so it has a special place in my heart. I rarely drink it now because it has been surpassed by many others, but I would never turn it down.

I don't think that NBB ever believed that Fat Tire would be their flagship when they started. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I had read that Abbey Ale was their first beer and what they were most proud of as a budding brewery.

Eric

 

[McKBrew]

New Belgium does contract brewing for Elysian Brewing in Seattle. Some of Elysian's bottled beers are made at NB.

 

[northernlad]

The people decide what your flagship beer is, not the company.

There are very few breweries that don't have an accessible beer that pays the bills and allows them to do some special and unique things.

NB is at the forefront of artisanal blending. They take that philosophy right down to the taproom where you can often get a beer blended with 2 or three varieties.

NB can also be lauded for their corporate stewardship and their progressive work environment.

I have big love for NB.

I think they are a great company and I do wish I enjoyed their product. In general.

 

[KellyK]

I wanted to add that New Belgium is also incredibly supportive of the Colorado home brewing community which in my book should earn them points on this forum. The brewery has hosted an AHA rally where they literally gave away all the beer anyone wanted to drink, they have acted as the host judge site for homebrewing competitions, and they have volunteered their resources to many beer related events in Colorado - ie: the Big Beer festival in Vail. I've seen Peter Bouckaert, their head brewer, speak on several occasions and for anyone who doubts the skill and talent of what's going on at the brewery, I recommend you hear Peter talk before formulating your final position. Sure, some of their "mainstream beers" are not to my specific liking, but everyone likes different things and there are a heck of a lot of people out there drinking Fat Tire and Sunshine Wheat. Having those beers on the roster allows for the production of the Lips of Faith series and other experimental stuff only available at festivals and from the brewery.