Meet the New Belgium (not) the Same as the Old Belgium

Looking back, the Lips of Faith bottles were big culprits in my obsessive beer bottle collection. Of course I blame my friend (who started soaking off labels not long before I) and my obsessive nature, but this photo endeavor was the result of the accumulation of bottles which were too rare, or the labels too fragile, or in most cases, such as with New Belgium, printed labels.

I have a special affinity for printed bottles. I would say they speak to me, but if they do, I know it's time to put it down. They showcase a pure sort of design, limited to shapes, text and lines above a certain thickness and a set number of colors, but not limited by the generally rectangular shape of labels, they do look great on a shelf. Perhaps not my shelf, given the difficulty of photographing transparent subjects and the tendency of such setups to showcase the amount of dust that resisted my efforts to remove, microfiber cloth or no.

New Belgium's Lips of Faith somehow maintains a sort of visual cohesion over the years, spanning many different design themes, some literal, some abstract, and flavors.

Most of these came out around when New Belgium first entered my market; I remember Clutch being a dark sour when such things were new to me, Biere de Mars as being similar to Sam Adams Summer (which if you know me, is among the highest of praise I can give), and Tart Lychee being outstanding as a light-bodied sour on both occasions I happened to drink it.

Or was it the one with the rooster on it that was like Sam Adams Summer? De Gardes and de Mars and crisp malty saisons sort of run together for me. Cocoa Molé was great as well; if you're looking for a substitute, I recommend El Molé Ocho from New Holland, which is around the same price point and comes out seasonally.

What the hell is a yuzu? This was the question on everyone's lips,  but once that beer passed between those lips (of faith?), all doubts were cast aside. Fantastically light and tart. The coconut curry was a singular experience.... I promise it worked. The pluot probably tasted like pluots, but I didn't care for it or the Paardebloem. The Cigar City Collaboration I don't really recall.

La Folie is New Belgium's perennial Grand Cru of Oud Bruins (dark Flemish sours). I think I liked the 2014 the best, but I didn't end up getting a bottle. The tripel was quite tangy (unexpected, but delightful), and I recall the quad being delicious, especially for the price.